Transferring "Everyday Inspiration" to "Wayne Visser"

I've decided to continue posting Everyday Inspiration on my main blog from now on - see http://waynevisser.blogspot.com/

See you there!

Wayne

#75: Quote - Stories

We all have a story to tell - of our journey through this life, of the world through our eyes, of the "I am" that we are - and the true telling is in the living.

~ Wayne Visser, 1992

#74: Painting - Superwoman

SUPERWOMAN

By Wayne Visser

Acrylic, 2005

#73: Poem - Book Lovers

BOOK LOVERS
By Wayne Visser

So what if it’s true
I sleep with my books
There’s no need for you
To give me strange looks
It’s just when I’m weary
From every day strain
I want my books near me
To massage my brain
It’s a way to unwind
And let my thoughts go
It’s relaxing I find
To let the words flow
Is that so insane?

So what if I keep
The dictionary next
To me when I sleep
So I don’t get vexed
It’s just when I’m dreaming
And wake up with words
Like bright ribbons streaming
And songs of the birds
It’s best that I check them
To see if they fit
Rather than wreck them
Before they are writ
Is that so absurd?

So what if the sheets
I have on my bed
Are blank paper sheaves
To lay down my head
It’s just when I wake up
With some swirling rhyme
Like leaves left to rake up
From star scattered time
It’s better to scribble
The words on a page
And capture its riddle
Before the spark fades
Is that such a crime?

(2008)

#72: Quote - Dancing

Dancing is allowing ourselves to be moved by music.

~ Wayne Visser, 2005

#71: Prose - Enchantment

ENCHANTMENT
By Wayne Visser

How often do you allow yourself to be enchanted?
When last were you captivated by a story, a piece of music, or a movie?
Can you think of a recent nature scene, or idea, or person who left you spellbound?

We all long for enchantment, for a world of magic.
But most of us learned to stop believing a long time ago.
Fairies and elves, princes and princesses, talking animals and friendly trees – all these were safely packed away in a box called ‘childhood fantasies’, along with Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.
Only occasionally do we allow ourselves to peek back into the box through the eyes of our children, or perhaps through the flickering lens of a cinema projector.
The rest of the time, our world is somewhat dull and grey, predictable and rational.

We draw a sharp line between fact and fiction, between reality and illusion.
And yet we trick ourselves into only believing what we can see, instead of trusting what we can feel.
We are victims of our own self-deception, conjuring evidence for drudgery when our intuition is whispering wondrous secrets in our ear.

So why the disenchantment?
Why have we allowed the technicolour to drain from our lives, leaving a facsimile in black and white?
Could it be that our parents left us in the shadow of well-meaning protection, that our schools taught us from the book of fear, that our religions forgot to tell us that the kingdom is within?

Or perhaps it was an innocent misunderstanding.
Our parents, our teachers, our religious leaders and ultimately, we ourselves, failed to understand that believing in fairies means believing in the art of the possible, that we are all knights in shining armour on the hero’s journey of our lives, and that tales of true love are not idealistic nonsense but the very reason for our being.

Somewhere in the process of growing up, we became confused and we threw out the message with the medium, the magic with the fairytales.
Nevertheless, we still all have a natural affinity for enchantment.

We can start believing again.
How?
By allowing ourselves to be delighted, by loosening the suffocating grip we have on our emotions, by being alive to the beauty of the moment, by letting our imaginations fly.

Enchantment does not mean turning our back on reality, but rather immersing ourselves in reality, with all our senses.
It means being fully present in our lives, and not denying the incredible experience of being on this earth.
We don’t have to struggle to be amazed, we simply have to open our eyes.

We are all practicing magic all the time, whether we know it or not.
The spells we cast are little affirmations we constantly chant in our heads – about whether life is fair, whether we believe in ourselves, and what is really important in our lives.
Take care, therefore, that you are not invocating bad spells, against yourself and others.

Enchantment comes from consciously inviting the light of love to shine through in every facet of life.
And expecting to see magic happen.
So, today, expect miracles, be amazed, weave good spells – in a word, let yourself be enchanted.

(2005)

#70: Quote - Strength

Sometimes strength is in recognising weakness, and courage is in accepting a helping hand.

~ Wayne Visser, 2007

#69: Poem - Haiku 3

HAIKU 3
By Wayne Visser

Twin swans, white as silk
Rise and fall with gentle swell
Curvatures in sync

(2009)

#68: Painting - Matopos (Zimbabwe)

MATOPOS (Zimbabwe)
By Wayne Visser

Watercolour, 2006

#67: Poem - The Park

THE PARK
By Wayne Visser

A time for reflecting and healing
For reconnecting and dreaming
A time out, to search within
To find rhyme if not reason

A space for thinking and writing
For tending to wounds from fighting
A space odyssey, in one place
In which to touch mystery’s face

(2005)

#66: Quote - Success

Success can always be traced back to one or two enthusiastic and committed individuals.

~ Wayne Visser, 2005

#65: Poem - Tide of White

TIDE OF WHITE

By Wayne Visser

The tide of white
The peaceful fight
Coming, ready or not
Lest Africa’s forgot
Coming to the shores
Of the Scottish moors
Knocking on the doors
Of the fortress eight
Questioning the laws
Of the Third World’s fate
From dissatisfaction
Comes a call to action
On debt and aid
And fair world trade
The snaking convoy
The voiceless envoy
Converging on the Meadows
Merging in the shadows
The masses flock
In patient gridlock
To start the march
With banners arched
Then the final crush
Before the rush
Circling the city
With hope, not pity
The tide of white
To make wrongs right

(2005)

#64: Painting - Jungle Friends

JUNGLE FRIENDS

By Wayne Visser

Colour Inks, 2008

#63: Poem - The Tunnel

THE TUNNEL
By Wayne Visser

Every tunnel has its ending
Every aperture its light
Every rainbow arch that’s bending
Shows that you can win the fight

And though the tunnel may be black
And hardship cannot be denied
Keep moving forward, never back
And you will reach the other side

And as you sojourn in the dark
You have a secret light, it’s true:
On every journey you embark
Your loved ones always ride with you

(2007)

#62: Quote - Dreams

Dream on! For success was never born from anything less than dreams.

~ Wayne Visser, 1993

#61: Painting - Dick & Harry

DICK & HARRY

By Wayne Visser

Watercolour, 2005

#60: Poem - Dream Shaper (Gaudi)

A tribute to the architectural genius, Gaudi:

DREAM SHAPER

By Wayne Visser

The very first glance took my breath away
Turning hungry night into thirsty day
With explosions of riotous colour
And swirling ideas like no other
With stone and glass curving
And wood fronds unfurling
On rooftops with teardrops
And courtyards with light-shards
You crashed in waves on my empty shore
And shook the caves of my hollow core

You stir the memory of ancient trees
And rouse the longing for restless seas
You bend and refract
My courage to act
To sculpt and create
My fusions of fate
You round my sharp edges
And speak my soul’s pledges
To fill my life’s ocean
With colour and motion

Your great gleaming spires
Hang suspended like wires
Between heaven and earth
Between magic and mirth
They echo creation
And spark revelation
To break with convention
And live with intention
To be builder and breaker
To become a dream-shaper

(2007)

#59: Quote - Change

Change is a process, not an event.

~ Wayne Visser, 1991

#58: Prose - Doubt

DOUBT
By Wayne Visser

What is the place of doubt in your life?
Do you question your abilities or potential?
Do you nurture insecurities about your desirability?
Are there lingering doubts about your relationships?
Or perhaps some niggling uncertainties about your beliefs?

Many see doubt as a disease, an unfortunate affliction that is best avoided, or if infection has already set in, a condition to be cured.
But doubt is a prerequisite for good health.
Like the friendly bacteria in yoghurt, doubt helps us to fight off life’s more serious threats.

We all have doubts, because they are the by-products of living and learning.
When a child burns itself on the stove, it has doubts about what is safe to touch - and that is a good thing.
When we have been let down by friends, we think twice about relying completely on others again - and that is a worthwhile lesson.
When we have been hurt in love, we are more cautious in our choice of future partners - and that is a sensible approach.
When our religious beliefs have failed us, we question their infallibility - and that is a wise perspective.

Doubt is the path to awareness, while certainty is the road to naivety.
Doubt is like a mountaineer with a walking stick, which she uses to test the ground ahead before stepping into the unknown.
Certainty is like a blind man without a stick, stumbling forward in the misguided belief that all obstacles will be cleared from his path.

Without doubt, there can be no questioning.
And without questioning, there can be no discovery.
Without discovery, there can be no true knowledge.
And without true knowledge, there can be no progress.

And yet, when doubt turns to despair, it becomes our prison, rather than our sky.
When doubt overwhelms us, it keeps us in shackles, rather than giving us wings.
For the purpose of doubt is not to paralyse, but to catalyse.
Doubt should encourage us to test the water, not scare into a fear drowning.

Doubt and trust are partners in time.
To have trust without any doubt is to be foolish and to court disaster.
To have doubt without any trust is to be paranoid and to invite madness.
And yet, each moves opposite to the other, like tango dancers.
As trust increases, doubt recedes into the shadows.
But break the trust, and doubt returns stronger than before.

Doubt is not an absence of hope
And faith is not an absence of doubt.
In the same way as bravery is not an absence of fear
Hope is seeing the light in spite of the shadows
And faith is trusting the unknown despite the dangers.

So let us be bold in our hopes, but not foolish in our footsteps.
Let us be brave in our faith, but not blind in our beliefs.
Let us listen to our doubts, but not be deafened by their cries.
Let us be healthy doubters
Not stuck in the mire of fear and disbelief
But en route to the horizon of living and learning and loving

(2008)

#57: Quote - Synchronicity

Synchronicity is a sign that the universe is working with us, or perhaps more accurately, that we are working in harmony with the universe.

~ Wayne Visser, 2007