Conversations

TLC

Posted on by fantomwriter

With everything in our lives, we need to make sure it gets all the TLC it needs to continue to stand on its own two feet, or to keep growing as it should. This means we need to take care of all the things in our lives, human, animal or even structural.

As I visited a good friend not long ago, I looked out of his backyard and saw the house behind him in was in a state of complete disrepair. It had been neglected for many years was in desperate need of some TLC. In fact, it could do with a complete overhaul. A fresh lick of paint was not going to do much to the property. A lick of paint would have the very same effect as putting lipstick on a pig.

On the off chance someone decided to put in the effort and give the place the TLC it needed, there is a very good possibility it could be restored back to it’s original state, and perhaps continue to be what it was first built to be. A home sweet home. A place where a family belonged and shared many memories together.

Some TLC goes a long way, not just on run down properties. It can make a person who is down in the dumps look up and smile and see the world in a completely different light, knowing that a person they care for feels the same way about them, and are willing to put in the effort to get them back to a happy state of mind.

TLC can be as simple as an acknowledging smile, a tender touch or even a few kind words of encouragement. In today’s technology based society, a simple text message would suffice. It doesn’t have to be an earth shattering gesture, but one that will make a difference. A huge difference.

There are many ways to show some TLC, spoken or unspoken. But in the end, that TLC needs to come from the heart, and it’s not just a gesture of show. If it’s just for show, it means diddly squat.

Take a chance on someone and give them some tender loving care, you may be surprised at what you receive in return.

Is honesty the best policy?

Posted on by fantomwriter

From a very young age, I have always been told to be honest and tell the truth. Honesty is the best policy I was told. Time and time again. And it has been something that has been ingrained into my mind.

So as I have grown older and supposedly wiser, I sometimes have doubts about the entire truth is the best policy motto. I’m not saying we should always lie, but at times a small white lie may be the best way to ensure everyone is happy and no major wars begin.

So when people ask how I’m.feeling, it’s easier to smile and say that everything’s just fine. Sometimes going into detail would only bring the mood down, and if there is no real benefit in others feeling bad about things that can’t be easily changed. Why tell the truth


And there are so many thing in life that can’t be changed, so we just put up with them. Don’t we?

So after a while we begin to lie to ourselves, until we believe the very same white lies we tell the ones around us. And in the end, the lies becomes part of our very being. Melding into our lives and eventually, we are unable to distinguish the truth among the lies.

Even after all is said and done, deep down I know that honesty still is the best policy. But it may come at a price.

The Simple Things

Posted on by fantomwriter

The more I look at life and all it has to offer, it becomes very obvious that the simple things are the ones that make us the happiest

From the delights of sharing a simple meal with friends all the way through to sitting on the beach with a loved one and watching the sun set over the calm waters. Watching the sunrise is just as spectacular, but there is the fact you do need to be out of bed rather early.

We are all very different, and what makes us happy is a very personal thing. Dining at a fancy restaurant, staying in bed all day and bumming around in pjs for the rest of the day, or getting up at the crack of dawn and cycling about until the legs scream for rest. It’s these very simple things that make life worth living.

And then there is the one other thing that makes us truly happy? To hear words of love and affection from the people who are closest to us.

‘I love you’ are the three little words that make life special to all of us, no matter how hardened we think we are. They make us smile, even if that smile is an internal one.

Tell someone you love them today, as tomorrow is never promised. And what if you don’t love them? It’s best they know that as well.

Regrets

Posted on by fantomwriter


As I sat down and had a coffee with my parents recently, my Mother said something I would have never expected to hear from her.

She started talking about the things she would have liked to have done when she and my Dad were younger.

Going back to Italy was one thing she would have liked to have done more often, but there was always something stopping her from getting on a plane and visiting her family. They didn’t make the time and put in the effort that was needed to head back home.

It seems we all have regrets of sorts. Sometimes it’s what we have done or said, and then there are times when we wished we hadn’t done or expressed our feelings to the ones closest to us in our lives.


But no matter which situation we have gone through, we will always have some regrets. There is no magic pill to help us out with our regrets, we need to deal with them head on.

If it’s something we have said, we can always apologise. And if it’s something we have done and have hurt others, do something for them that shows you do care and try to move forward.

Then there are the regrets that linger over us like a dark cloud. They are the ones we need to work on the most.

But as we get older we learn and grow, but that doesn’t mean we have to regret what we did before we learned how to do things differently. If we didn’t go through those experiences, we might not have grown into the strong and knowledgeable people we are today.

Without regrets it may mean we may not be in the place we are now. For better or worse.

Regrets

Posted on by fantomwriter

As I sat down and had a coffee with my parents recently, my Mother said something I would have never expected to hear from her.

She started talking about the things she would have liked to have done when she and my Dad were younger.

Going back to Italy was one thing she would have liked to have done more often, but there was always something stopping her from getting on a plane and visiting her family. They didn’t make the time and put in the effort that was needed to head back home.

It seems we all have regrets of sorts. Sometimes it’s what we have done or said, and then there are times when we wished we hadn’t done or expressed our feelings to the ones closest to us in our lives.

But no matter which situation we have gone through, we will always have some regrets. There is no magic pill to help us out with our regrets, we need to deal with them head on.

If it’s something we have said, we can always apologise. And if it’s something we have done and have hurt others, do something for them that shows you do care and try to move forward.

Then there are the regrets that linger over us like a dark cloud. They are the ones we need to work on the most.

But as we get older we learn and grow, but that doesn’t mean we have to regret what we did before we learned how to do things differently. If we didn’t go through those experiences, we might not have grown into the strong and knowledgeable people we are today.

Without regrets it may mean we may not be in the place we are now. For better or worse.

Lost in your own little world

Posted on by fantomwriter

As I sat on the morning train heading to work, I had a gentleman sit in front of me who had boarded at the same station. As the train continued on towards the city, a few stations further down, the seat next to the gentleman was taken up by a man of a similar age.

ey both had their heads down and were looking at their phones for the next 20 or so minutes. It was then that one of them looked up and to the side and realised he was sitting next to an old mate. The surprise in their voices was genuine and they chatted happily for the remainder of the trip into work.

They didn’t see one another because they were so wrapped up in their own little world, a space where no one is allowed to enter for a certain period of time, and no matter what goes on around them, they are lost in that world.

Being lost in your own world can be a good thing at times, but so many people become entrenched in their little world, and forget to live and interact with others around them in the real world.

The world, or space we go to when we want solitude doesn’t have to be a locked down room, it can be a place in the mind where we find peace and comfort. But, we can’t stay in that world forever, we need to venture out and live life in the real world, communicate with friends, family and lovers.

So when we do come out of our own world we need to make the time and effort to communicate with others around us, at home and at work, or in some rare cases, on the train. And when I say communicate, I do mean face to face. Texting, Facebook, and all the other variants of technology should be placed aside and a real conversation should take place.


Let’s not live and breathe all of our time in our own world, there is so much to see, do, learn and listen to once we step out and really communicate. Don’t be the one to let human communication become extinct.

Bored!!!

Posted on by fantomwriter


With everything we have in our lives and our homes, it would be difficult to become bored with it all. But there are times when no matter what we have at our disposal, we get bored. And I know that as a fact right now.


After having had the ability to move and go wherever I want, and whenever I felt the need, it’s a shock to the system to have to stay indoors and wait for someone to take me out somewhere, other than for a walk around the block.

Even the thought of watching TV or Netflix has very little appeal right now. The one event that is helping me keep my sanity is the Tour de France. Watching live stages is the one thing that is keeping my boredom at bay, but only just. And the TDF only has 12 stages left to race.


So when and how do we get to a point in our lives where there is nothing around us that has the ability to keep us not only busy, but keep the boredom at bay.


We have the ability to chat to people around the globe using Skype or other messenger programs, but we can still find it easy enough to be bored stupid with everything.


We can have hundreds of ‘friends’ we chat with, but when it comes down to it, how many people do we have in our lives who really know us intimately and deep enough that keep our minds and our hearts going and keep the days of boredom away.

Have we become so dependent on the technology in our lives that we are unable to sit and talk to each other over a cup of coffee and put together a plan on keeping the boredom from our days.


If I had a choice right now, I would be on a road bike, cruising through the streets and hills of a foreign country, taking in the scenery and stopping in the side of the road to smell the flowers. Checking into a bed and breakfast and then continuing my journey the next morning. Destination unknown.


But, a foreign country is a little out of my reach at the moment, so I will have to settle for a long and dusty ride along the Warburton trail  this year on my trusty mountain bike. Away from cars and road rage.