Everything is Going to Be All Right

How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?
There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The lines flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
The sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.

Derek Mahon
Painting by David Tress

I love this poem - it speaks to me of hope and a sense of adventure and the importance of being in the moment in all its complexity. It doesn't deny pain or sadness. Ifind myself thinking of different lines at different times.
I love

The far cities are beautiful and bright

Poetry connects us to what is deepest in ourselves. It gives us access to our own feelings, which are often shadowy, and engages us in the art of making meaning. It widens the space of our inner lives, It is a magical, mysterious inexplicable (though not incomprehensible event)in language.

Edward Hirsch

I think we need to make meaning and that we can find fulfilment when we attend to the 'watchful heart' and make space for our inner lives. I am not sure how much space I give to my inner world. I am pretty sure it is not enough and that I suffer the consequences. Even a few moments of contemplation or 'attending to self' can make a difference.

Do you have poems or lines that give you hope or comfort or inspire or lift you?
Would you consider sharing them?

All in the mind? How powerful is positive thinking?

When you go to a garden,
do you look at thorns or flowers?
Spend more time with roses and jasmine.
Rumi

Cognitive behaviour therapy would have us believe that many of our emotional and behavioural difficulties are the result of faulty thinking - How we think affects how we feel and how we act and so it continues in a feedback loop which often produces unhelpful and self-perpetuating patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. According to this theory we can choose how we think and so take control of our emotions and actions.

CBT encourages an action oriented experimental approach to dealing with distress and stress. It is a psycho-educational mode which encourages active and collaborative learning.

Recent developments link Mindfulness approaches with CBT suggesting an attitude of loving kindness towards one's wayward contrary thoughts. Mindfulness research suggests that the act of observing or bearing witness to painful thoughts and attending to them in a non-judgemental way can be enought to engender change.

Neuroscience and infant development research show how the presence or absence of attention and affection can impede or encourage the growth of brain neurons. We thrive when we are cared for, babies who are neglected will 'fail to thrive' even if their purely physiological needs are met - studies have shown that infant primates will chose affection before food as a neccessity for survival. The feeling of being loved and attended to is healing in ways we are only beginning to understand. These are two of the core conditions of person centred therapy - empathy and non-judgmental listening

. If we can adopt an attitude of kindness, openness and curiosity towards our emotions then we can begin to relate to them. The relationship is the healing - with others and with ourselves.

So can changing the mental messages and switching 'channels' make a positive difference?