-

-–— o O o —–-

-

One is good, the other better

similar, right to the letter

words are adding into phrases

points and commas mixed with spaces

-

But a meaning must be there

it can be from anywhere

inspiration for your mind

any or another kind

-

One is paid, the other free

both are worth it, you can see

after all, when you decide

they will not at all collide

-

You can take the two of them

then you have them, if and when

you get eager to dive in

double dose of great writing

-

-–— o O o —–-

-

-

-–— o O o —–-

-

When on your way you meet a wall

it shouldn’t make your good mood go away

it’s no problem to you, no danger at all

and it’s certainly never a reason to stay

-

You can move on with sorrow-less song and a smile

since the wall is so small, it can only delay,

it can only distract your direction, a while

and a moment thereafter, you are back on your way

-

The trick is so simple, it’s hard to believe:

Your mind wants to follow the path of your talk;

the wall is just somewhere, and that lets you give

another direction for your mind to walk

-

Then your feet will turn, and your body as well

to follow the wall to its end and behind

As far is it goes for my story to tell:

you have then been so lucky, a new way to find

-

-–— o O o —–-

-

-

-–— o O o —–-

-

You see the need

but fear it’s greed

Don’t want to feed

that vicious deed

-

While humans are inherently good

we haven’t always understood

to differ, who’s needs are real or fake

who’s claims are invented to cause a mistake

-

You want to give, to see a happy smile

You want them to live, to feel good for a while

-

But where to start and where to end?

To whom to give, how much to spend?

-

How to find the really worthy person

telling a true and trustworthy version

of their story, their suffering

to make you decide to give them your offering

-

I’ll tell you the secret: there is none!

‘cause wealth and smiles have come and gone

and happiness been down and up

with days below and days on top

-

You’ll give to nudge your heart

and not because you’re smart

-

At times, you’ll make a bad life go away

at others, help a rich man’s riches stay

-

-–— o O o —–-

-

Ever since my mother introduced me to a little book she got from a friend when they were young, written by Patience Strong, I have been thinking about the concept of it.

Patience Strong, a pen name for Winnifred Emma May (1907–1990) was a poet from the UK, and she became famous and loved for her short, daily poems that were observations of life, hints about how to enjoy life more, and other thoughts.

The poems were during many years published in various printed media, and they were also featured in collections, making it possible to have them by hand in book-form.

My mother passed away 10 years ago, so I have not been acting fast, I admit. Maybe I was reluctant to jump into something that looked like an idea from the past, not suitable for the people of today — or maybe it was more about the feminine aspect of being an everyday philosopher, not matching the more brutal, masculine business-inclined forward-thinking, I had become accustomed to.

However, life does not consist of just one end of the psychological spectre. Each and every human being has a full set of capabilities to think and wonder about the world. That some decide to suppress the ability to look behind the mirror, should not prevent others from growing it.

And this really is about mirrors. Usually, we use mirrors as an analogy for seeing ourselves. But you see everything around you as well, believing that this is the world. And what you see becomes your world. But the mirror shows us mostly what is behind us, symbolic of the past. Focusing too much on the past will make you blind for what is beyond — behind the mirror.

Many are the stories where someone walks through the mirror and sees a world where everything is opposite. Alice in Wonderland is a famous example, and it certainly is an enjoyable story.

But What Patience Strong was doing, wasn’t to walk through the mirror — she did perhaps use the mirror in some of her poems to make you, the reader, understand how you are, how you behave, what society is doing, more precisely, with you as a member. But she also moved the mirror out of the picture to be able to illustrate the full and real world, allowing you to progress through life with a bigger perspective.

These poems were a great inspiration to my mother throughout her life, and she supplemented them with other small poems from similar writers, becoming kind of an expert in these little gems of life wisdom, always able to find a suitable one for any occasion.

I am not Patience Strong. In many ways, my life and the world I live in are different sizes, having a different nature. And I, myself, cannot resemble that outspoken feminine touch she gave to her thoughts. Even a touch from a different time, you could say, but to me, it also shows a connection with the rich set of thoughts that are more prone to appear with a person who goes through life as a woman.

I am not the opposite, either. I cannot allow myself to subscribe to gender-specific ideas of what can be written, and what I should express, according to society norms.

What I try to be is a more rounded person, taking in thoughts from all sides of the human life and mind, letting empathy and compassion rule my decisions on what to write. In this try, I am in a sense victimising myself to the struggle that poets of all times have been in: how to express some kind of universal humanity, a sense of the world that will resonate with all readers, be they male or female.

So, the concept is to continue in the spirit of of Patience Strong but with a different soul, different observations of life, different perspectives at times — forever trying to make my daily thoughts on life being valuable and rewarding short reads to inspire and build hope for the future, joy of the day, and a combination of what is reflected by the mirror, seen behind it, and found when moving through it.

I will let these observations, the Life Thoughts, be a reward to the premium subscribers of A Rich Life. This way, they will be an element that can connect us as a community, but it will also help me bring in the patience and the strength to do the effort of writing it consistently, aiming for one per day.

At first, they may come dripping unevenly, until I get the grip of it, and I will make some of them available to everybody, to spread the word and seek feedback.

Getting started offer!

In order to get the new thing up and running, I am offering a paid, yearly subscription with 50% off — for life! 1

When making use of this offer, you will additionally be entitled to gift a yearly, paid subscription to a friend for one year, at no cost to neither you nor your friend.

The offer is valid until the end of 2024. You can use this button to get it:

Getting started offer!

Please note: In order to get the free gift subscription, please follow these steps:

1. First buy your paid subscription,

2. then ask your friend to sign up for a free subscription,

3. and then contact me, telling me the email address that you used for signing up, plus the email address that your friend used for signing up;

4. I will then upgrade your friend’s subscription to a paid subscription for a year.

This procedure is to make sure that your friend knows what is going on and is signing up at their own free will (and I need the email addresses, as these are the only information I have about subscribers.)

You can contact me by using the Inidox contact form at https://inidox.com/contact/ — just put a couple of words in the message field to tell the details.