The word ‘spontaneous’ once again brought us to different feelings and memories that inspired some of the prose and poetry this week.
What does it mean in the context of our lives, the way we live, or engage things around us. How does it feel? What does it bring? Does it have value? Does it have risk?
It gave us all something to ponder and in many instances, come to realise about ourselves, what we like, don’t like, want or not want, can bring or can’t bring.
We hope you enjoy these expressions. Where does this topic take you, and what does it bring to reflect on the word ‘spontaneous’?
Feel free to comment or pass on for others to experience these short journeys.
The next week’s word is ‘SURVIVE’
Hope to see you there.
Come my people gather close
Warm yourself beside the fire
This is a story from my travels
I set out early one brisk morning
Setting out east towards the rising sun
I settled into a measured daily pace
Hunting game and sleeping rough
Then I came across a river
It was wide and running fast
Following it south to its source
One afternoon in its late shadows
A small settlement appeared
As is our custom
I lay my weapons at my feet
And called out my name in peace
Soon a small group had gathered
Their shaman came forward
And invited me to eat with them
Settling down in the eating lodge
He and I shared our travelogues
I sought to know their village name
He smiled and replied “Spontaneous”
You can imagine I was surprised
This word was unknown to me
I of course asked of its origin
This is what he explained to me
He grew up in a land far away
Every day was much the same
Very predictable planned and controlled
Each individual had a precise role to play
Respect, trust for each other to succeed
To be willing to exceed collectively
Each day being filled with chores and more
At night around the fire they shared folklore
And once in a while when needs required
Raiding parties would seek new wives
He explained although his life was good
He felt something was amiss
So one day without a thought
He got up and started to walk
The exciting rush he couldn’t resist
He felt his pulse quicken alive inside
Impulse was the word he described
Later he found himself on a new trail
This spur left him in a dead end
In those moments retracing his steps
Another word popped into his head
He called it a spur of the moment act
Eventually he settled in this place
Others who travel have come and stayed
To discover this emotion is not to be feared
So my people this is how I learned
To know and understand the benefits
Of those sudden moments that humour us
That also brings us joy or fight our fears
The wonder and awe of being spontaneous
PJR 29.08.2022
What’s in my cavity wall?
I realise a possum is trapped
I want to get help, but being a Sunday
Who is around?
I feel stressed, I don’t know what to do
Just like that…
I decide to go for a walk
As I walk down the street, I see a friend
And we chat for a while
It is lovely to hear she is well
And a good news possum story she did tell
I feel so much better now
I decide to stop at a park bench
With the sounds of birds singing
I look up to see 2 beautiful rosellas dancing above the branches
There is a moment when it seems nothing else exists
A cool breeze drifts over my bare arms
And distracts me and I get moving again
I cross the road, with little traffic in flow
I pause for a moment and something
Tells me to look back
Stopped at the traffic lights is a car with a sign that reads
24 hour Possum rescue
I take a quick happy snap,
then phone the chap,
And just like that,
He brings a trap,
And before I know it,
the possum is back,
To nature where it belongs.TLaB 29th August 2022
Spontaneous might be my middle name
With many events off the cuff that came
One such event took place a while ago
When my children still lived at home
Like many-a-day
I would wake up with an idea
Of what we could do, I would say
Why don’t we go…
It was summer and
a long weekend too
I awoke, jumped out of bed
I had an idea, and without any research
I called out to everyone and said
‘Why don’t we go to see the whales?’
My children responded with
‘Have they been spotted
At Victor Harbour again?’
‘Victor Harbour?’ said I…
‘No, that is not right,
I mean, at the great Australian Bight!’
WHAT??
‘Um, where is that’
‘a bit of a drive to Ceduna’ I say with a smile,
‘Where they all meet…
there might even be calves’
‘A bit of a drive?’
… ‘Well a big drive, however it will worthwhile’
‘Ok…? so if we can all get ready
We can get on the road,
And bring your CD’s
To lighten the load,
We can play them and sing along
As we guess the lyrics to each song…’
Anyway, we got our things together
And set off on this adventure
We quickly embarked and set the tone
Though at this stage the true distance was unknown…
However a couple of hours in we saw the first sign
to Ceduna, which said 700kms to go, ‘that’s fine’
WHAT???
‘How long will that take…’ I was asked straight away
…’Well, if we maintain 110kms/hour um… we’ll get there today…
WHAT??
With many ‘are we there yet?’
It emerged as we arrived at Ceduna
That the whale sanctuary was actually a little bit further
‘How little?’ um ‘264 kms to go’
‘How long?’, um ‘2-3hours’
WHAT??
‘I have an idea’
‘Getting petrol and staying the night’
‘We can get there in the morning and see the whales in daylight’
‘Ok…’ replied everyone feeling tired
finding a suitable motel after an hour transpired…
We got to bed quite late in the evening
And eventually got to sleep, without much dreaming
I looked forward to the morning when we could drive and see whales
Wait, I had not actually checked those details
Of when they are here, …oh dear !!
WHAT??
We got up, had brekkie, set off and 3 hours later
We arrived at the Head of Bight Whale Centre
We parked at 9am, walked down the board walk
We looked over and down where there was some talk
To my relief, there were many
in the whale sanctuary
Adults and calves swimming around
There were even breaches from the water of which they’re renowned
There was a lot to watch
So we stayed a while…
…well about 60 minutes in all, then the sun got hostile
With the interest waning we decided to leave
With a long journey ahead from which no reprieve
I said something that was hard to believe
‘I have an idea’
WHAT??
‘Let us go back through Port Lincoln
Where the millionaires live
We can see marinas and boats
And have some food that I will give’
‘How long will that take’ I was asked
By the family again
‘I am not sure but its sure to be fun’
So we drove, and drove, and …
drove, ‘are we there yet?’ um…
About 7 hours and 700kms distance
We arrived, saw, ate which tested our persistence
After 60 minutes we were back on the road
Having gone down the peninsula on our way down to the port
We would have to drive up the other side which is not short
WHAT??
So the journey home showed I was the wronger
As it obviously took significantly longer
The sign to Adelaide said 650kms to go
And the whole family expressed their woe
I had an idea… ‘there are recommended places to see as we journey back’
‘DAD, can we PLEASE, just get home’
‘Ok’… I saw the light,
‘However we may have to stop somewhere another night’
WHAT??
The vote was unanimous to just drive back
Stopping only for fuel, toilets and a Big Mac
We had heard all the CD’s more than 3 times
Even I got to know some of the lyrics and rhymes
We got home in the early hours of the morning
I was given other middle names, after this trial
So no more ‘ideas’ for a while…
until…
NRS