Energy is the source of our life's happiness.
Energy is one resource over which we have more influence than we think. Energy gives zest to the day. It drives the mind. It awakens the body. It lifts the spirit. It works on us like sunshine. See how we all brighten in the bath of sunlight. Real, natural, creative energy comes from within. We can make our own internal sunshine. That's what Mindset, Attitude and Practice is about. Accessing, and using, the Four Energies. That's what makes the difference between living and existing. You can make this the month in which you HELP YOURSELF. Then you have the energy and drive to help all the others you feel you'd like to. That's how we can all play our part, make the contribution, make the difference. Learn how over the next few weeks.
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Energy is expressed in various forms. The fundamental energy is physical.
It allows us breathe, move, digest. It’s the foundation that permits us to think, feel, and express ourselves. Many people lack physical energy. They feel tired, rundown, off form. This can make for difficult living. It turns even the simplest of chores into hard work. It has an impact on the life of the individual. We may have the best of intentions, a clear and achievable goal, and a meticulously planned strategy, but if we don’t have good physical energy, our plans may amount to nothing. All the energies are inter-dependent. But physical energy is what allows the others to function. The mind, the emotions, and the spirit of every human being, assume a fundamental health and wellness. To ignore this basic fact is like sitting in a car in preparation for a journey and having no fuel in the tank. All aspects of the journey like route planning, designated stops, and estimated time of arrival, become irrelevant. First rule for the car journey: fill the tank. First rule for the journey of life: fill the tank. Take the necessary steps. Go to the sources that are available to anyone and apply them to your life. These are simple steps. They’re available to anyone sound in wind and limb. “Where does he get his energy?”
“I just don’t have the energy for it” “It’s not worth the hassle” Now, “ trouble” and “hassle”, are two words we hear a lot of today, particularly in relation to things and stuff we need to get done. Trouble and hassle use energy. They demand energy. You need Physical energy, Mental energy, Emotional energy and Spiritual energy. The energies are inter-dependent. We can be fired up with an idea. We can be ignited by a feeling. We can be consumed by a belief. But if we don’t have the physical energy to act on what's needed, the fire, the ignition, and the consuming drive count for nothing. Rule one; source your physical energy. We need to know what to do, how to do it, and then, as my dear wife once told me about a project I had in mind, we need to shut up and do it. We source our energy from within. We make sure that we have an adequate amount of nutrients, water, and oxygen in our bodies. We make sure we exercise our limbs and our internal environment. And we commit to an adequate amount of rest. That will do for a start. When we observe these simple principles they affect our bodies, our minds, and how we feel with an impact that improves our lives, sometimes, beyond recognition. Simple means. Ordinary powers. Applied with extraordinary consistency. That's where a system comes in. Just like running a business, doing a job, writing a book, practising a sport, learning a course, organising a life. Over the next few weeks, we'll be reviewing the essentials for creating energy...from within, what the energies are, how they can be developed, how to apply them in daily life. When did you last talk to yourself?
Seriously Most say, “last year, ten years ago, can’t remember” and give other similar answers. Well, you’ve never stopped talking to yourself. Self talk, as it’s known in sport psychology, is one of the contributory factors to success. And failure. We talk ourselves in and out of wins and losses every day. “I’d never manage that.“ “I haven’t the time.“ “It’s the wrong time.” “It’s too dear.” “It’s too cheap.” “What will the neighbours say?” “What would my colleagues think?” “I’m not qualified” “I’m not educated enough.” OR “I can do this.“ “I’ll make the time.“ “There is no time like the present.“ “That’s great value!“ “What a bargain!“ This won’t to bother anyone but me.“ “ Time to put my money where my mouth is.“ “I just know I can do this.“ “I’ll start and commit, and I’ll learn as I go…“ See those statements. Ask what you say to yourself. Learn the awareness of your self-talk. Acknowledge the results. Or the consequences. Now talk to yourself as a friend. 'Firefighting' is a term we hear a lot of these days. People seem to be caught up in the speed of the world, and in the high tempo of everything that once was simple.
It isn't that we get more done; we tend to be doing more and getting less done. The reasons are many; fast transport, instant communications, the relentless bombardment of the senses, they all accumulate into a wave of overwhelm on the individual. And the individual can become swamped. So, what can an individual do? She can take a DECISION. He can make time. Then they can keep to it. Small, regular times of peace, quiet, solitude break the pattern of GO, GO, GO. GET, GET, GET. HAVE, HAVE, HAVE. Time to let go. Be at ease. Recover. Rest. Revitalise. But, like anything, it needs to be done. We need to do it. We need to DECIDE. And DO. Friend, good morning...
In 1859, Samuel smiles wrote in his iconic book on self development, appropriately called “Self Help“, “The worth of a nation is the worth of the men and women in it.” Sound, common-sense principles never change. They’re as true today as they were in Roman times, Mediaeval times, and Modern times. Any organisation, a football team, a business enterprise, a stage production, a community, is as good as the men and women in it. Men and women give an undertaking the vitality, the energy, the human input that gives value to any inanimate policy, procedure, or method. To this end, it’s vital that we are aware of our responsibility in being able to access our personal resources and personal abilities. We need to be FIT for PURPOSE. That’s our duty to ourselves, our community, those near and dear to us, and any activity of which we are privileged to be a part. Are we agreed? You may like to look at this...CLICK HERE PS...And keep your mind on Friday, 29th., 9 am...Half Hour Friday... you'll find a really useful agenda for the month of November... -- As we all know, Health is Wealth...well, it's a figure of speech, a telling one, because we all understand that if we don't have our health, everything else in our lives is diminished in value, even lost.
The peculiar thing is that Good Health is available to most of us. Clinical illness apart, there is no excuse for being unhealthy. And it isn't because of pandemics, the economy, lack of education, no opportunity, exclusion, or any other of the myriad excuses we cough up in our defence that we don't have it. It's the decision to do nothing about it. And no mistake, it IS a decision. Most of us know what to do if we want to get into reasonable shape. We even know how to do it. And that's where we score goals against ourselves; we fail to DO it. According to the WHO, 65% of Americans are overweight or obese. According to a recent article in the Irish Times, Ireland ranks second in the overweight and obesity levels in the EU. Something CAN be done about the condition. And a lot of people who feel tired, run down, out of sorts, can do much for themselves too. It all starts with the decision, doesn't it? And there's the courageous acknowledgement of acceptance too, isn't there? Once we accept that we're in a particular condition, largely of our own making, then we can do something about it. If we've put ourselves in a frame, we can change the frame. That's taking responsibility for our lives and our actions and ourselves. and once we do that, we start making progress. But until then, we're in the land of self-delusion, wishful thinking and denial. Note that I use the word 'we', I've been heinously guilty of this myself at times. Ain't none of us perfect. However, even in the depths of stagnation, we casn see that there may be a way out of our dilemma. And sometimes that's all we need; to know there's a way. Then we go about finding it. Those of you who've studied the power and the simplicity of applying the Reticular Activating System will understand the logic of this. That's why the system of using the Mind to direct the Body, which then reciprocates by reinforcing the Mind, is such an effective and simple way to do it. If that appeals to you, click here for a simple course of action you may like to take. But, whatever you do, DO DOMETHING. good morning.
I was listening to a coach the other day saying that he hated the word “mindset”. He didn’t explain why, and left his listeners with no idea why either. Language is powerful. There are words that can lift us or bury us. We are affected not just by the words used, but how they’re spoken. That's what interpretation is about. Our moods, our beliefs, our experiences of life, can give meanings to words that will be different to someone else's. Most of us tend to speak as we think. Sometimes that can be very unhelpful. We’re so keen to make our point that the words tumble out before we’ve had time to formulate them into a coherent sentence, or be aware of how they might sound to a listener That’s when we can land ourselves in trouble. I imagine we’ve all experienced the feeling at times, when we hear ourselves speaking, and as the words fall into place, we listen to ourselves in wonder. And then we find ourselves following up with “What I mean is…“, “That is to say…“, “You know what I mean…“. And of course it’s highly unlikely that anyone does know. And that’s why it’s important for all of us to take time, consider what we're saying, and give ourselves time to choose helpful, simple, meaningful words. Tall order. And not always an easy one to fill. In any communication with our fellow humans, it's a simple expedient to consider how we sound. Being irritated by a missed phone call, an elusive parking spot, a traffic delay, can convey itself into an unintended tone, pitch and impression that undermine the best of intentions. As an exercise in awareness, even if it doesn’t result in perfect communication, it may often give the necessary pause for thought that does prevent disaster. This is one of the great benefits of regular meditation. The body, how it feels, the very physical experience of our existence, tends to become more comfortable, easy, less fazed. The mind becomes more quiet, calm, composed. Meditating, or relaxing the mind, or doing a structured mindful exercise, frequently, usually results in a more comfortable body, and a clear mind. And one of the benefits, just one of them, is how you may find, as you begin to get the habit, that your responses to life tribulations becomes less abrasive, and more effective. But that assumes practice. Your move. When Stirling Moss, in an out dated Lotus, trounced the Ferraris of Phil Hill and Richie Ginther at Monaco in 1962, the spectators remarked on how relaxed, how at ease, and perfectly comfortable he looked as he drove lap after exhausting lap on that tight and demanding circuit.
As a performance, it was a tour de force. In the eyes of many, it was Moss' Finest Hour. DJ Carey, the Kilkenny hurler, and a breaker of many stalwart hearts, could waltz through a six-man defence group to billow opponents' nets with another of his blistering exhibitions of artistry. A youthful Cassius Clay, in the 1960s, dazzled the entire world as he danced, jabbed, and bludgeoned his way to the throne of the Boxing World. All accomplished men. And they all had one thing in common: they practised, rehearsed, drilled, and internalised their basic movements. They rehearsed their moves so that they not only got them right, but they couldn’t get them wrong. I heard a story of Michael Jordan, the basketball player, who, in doing an ad for a soft drink company, had to consciously rehearse and practice missing a shot at the net before he could make the miss look natural. The story of the ad was that he then comforted himself with the soft drink. In sport, business, in the arts, in any undertaking in which a man or woman intends to be at the top level, they practice the basics. Ernest Hemingway, no slouch when it came to raising the rafters and having the craic, in his own particular way, was at his desk by five or 6 am every morning, applying himself to his craft, regardless of the monumental hangovers he was reputed to have suffered. “To speak well in public“, said author Howard spring, “we need to think well in private.“ And there is the secret to an effortless performance; practice, practice, practice. The same goes for exercise, reading, relaxing, meditating, using food well, conducting ourselves through our lives. Practice, the age old open secret. I was listening to a coach the other day saying that he hated the word “mindset”.
He didn’t explain why, and left his listeners with no idea why either. Language is powerful. There are words that can lift us or bury us. We are affected not just by the words used, but how they’re spoken. That's what interpretation is about. Our moods, our beliefs, our experiences of life, can give meanings to words that will be different to someone else's. Most of us tend to speak as we think. Sometimes that can be very unhelpful. We’re so keen to make our point that the words tumble out before we’ve had time to formulate them into a coherent sentence, or be aware of how they might sound to a listener That’s when we can land ourselves in trouble. I imagine we’ve all experienced the feeling at times, when we hear ourselves speaking, and as the words fall into place, we listen to ourselves in wonder. And then we find ourselves following up with “What I mean is…“, “That is to say…“, “You know what I mean…“. And of course it’s highly unlikely that anyone does know. And that’s why it’s important for all of us to take time, consider what we're saying, and give ourselves time to choose helpful, simple, meaningful words. Tall order. And not always an easy one to fill. In any communication with our fellow humans, it's a simple expedient to consider how we sound. Being irritated by a missed phone call, an elusive parking spot, a traffic delay, can convey itself into an unintended tone, pitch and impression that undermine the best of intentions. As an exercise in awareness, even if it doesn’t result in perfect communication, it may often give the necessary pause for thought that does prevent disaster. This is one of the great benefits of regular meditation. The body, how it feels, the very physical experience of our existence, tends to become more comfortable, easy, less fazed. The mind becomes more quiet, calm, composed. Meditating, or relaxing the mind, or doing a structured mindful exercise, frequently, usually results in a more comfortable body, and a clear mind. And one of the benefits, just one of them, is how you may find, as you begin to get the habit, that your response to life's tribulations becomes less abrasive, and more effective. But that assumes practice. Your move. Trust can be a poignant, sensitive, even delicate word.
It can rise all kinds of feelings within us. The word “trust“ summons up images of close friendship, dependability reliability, or it may suggest it’s a very opposite, mistrust, treachery, betrayal. A lot of how we interpret the word will reflect our own experiences. I’m often asked why I counsel people to keep their aims, goals, aspirations, to themselves, unless they are speaking to someone in whom they have complete trust, or who will support them 100%. I do this because the reasons why people will undermine, discourage, even belittle the aims of someone else are myriad. If you have a friend who knows you as you are at this particular moment, and have been for many years, it can be very difficult for them to accept that you want to change something in both your lives. Because both lives do change when one life does. If you have been shy, diffident, hesitant, because you don’t feel really well about yourself and how you appear to the world and you’re not really happy in yourself, the change for the better in your life may be a change for the worse in your friend’s life. They may find it difficult to accept the new you. They may find it difficult when you become assertive, positive, confident in your presentation to the world. When that happens, you cease to be the predictable, hesitant, quiet and compliant person they knew. Because they see you differently, they're not sure how to deal with you. I’ve seen this over the years, when a man or woman has lost weight, toned up, got a new wardrobe, and re-asserted herself or himself in life. Acquaintances suddenly find themselves at a loss as to how they should respond to the changed individual, paying more attention to what they say, being aware of the emergence of a new person. This can lead to huge discomfort on the part of acquaintances. They may become lost, unsure of themselves. It brings doubt, uncertainty into their lives. They have to figure out how to handle the change. They may be well out of their comfort zone. But that’s not your fault, or anyone else’s, who decides ( that great word) that there is more to their life than what they’ve been tolerating for ages. That’s why I counsel privacy, discretion, when you talk or think about your aspirations. Let the ideas and plans you have build inside you. Let yourself become acquainted with them. Let them build in the Intensity and Force of your imagination till they express themselves in action, and not get leaked in dribs and drabs, to unappreciative and possibly damaging minds, where they can then get shredded, and ineffectively trail the ground at your heels. Trust people by all means. With discretion. In about three months from now it’ll be Christmas time. We’ll either have done things we set out to do, or not done them. Either way, the time will have passed. Which is a good thought to have about how we can make the most of the next two or three months. We can do this without encroaching on anything else we do. There’s a great deal of talk today about “making a difference”. However, if we want to make a difference of any kind, we need perhaps to begin with ourselves. These are challenging and disruptive times. We are all learning new ways to live. Some of the changes are small, some huge. None are insignificant. Never more than now is the need for us to be able to adapt our bodies, our minds, and our emotions, to the demands of daily living. Contrary to popular belief, these skills can be learnt and developed and practised with relative ease. It’s a matter of understanding the principles and the fundamentals. Then putting them into practice on a frequent basis. At any age, at any level of accomplishment, we can enhance our lives enormously by learning how to make the most of our personal resources, our abilities, and our talents. That is the driving principle that informs the strategies and tactics of www.commonsensewellness.ie If you haven’t looked recently, have a look at the website again here: www.commonsensewellness.ie Let this be the first day of the rest of your wonderful life. What do you believe to be the most important elements of being fit, healthy and well?
Is it exercise? Food use? Meditation? Regularity in training? Technique in performance? Use of supplements? Anatomical knowledge?, There are many more questions along that vein. And they're all relevant. But the one factor overlooked by so many, trainers and trainees alike, is rest. Rest between exercise sessions is vital. That's when the body's repair system kicks in and lets Nature do the repair work on the body that's just been subjected to the assault of vigorous activity. Taking the time to allow this to happen will double the effects of your efforts. It's how the body, and indeed the mind, refresh and revitalise. There are few sleeps as refreshing and restorative as those after physical exercise. Not only is the sleep usually deeper, it tends also to be continuous. Seven to eight hours uninterrupted sleep helps rest the mind, revitalise the brain cells, and get rid of toxins that can accumulate in the brain, and thus impair cognitive use. This is a vital aspect for living today. Rarely has the Human Race been so subjected to Mental and Emotional speed and engagement, while lacking the inbuilt physical activity to counteract the effects of these trends. The result is that we have to schedule exercise into our lives, we have to plan our food intake if we don't want to stuff ourselves with junk, and we need to organise our lives to allow for rest as well. No rest, no repair. No repair leads to fatigue, strain and burnout. Look at your life and ask yourself, "How can I make the most of my training, food use and myself to maximise my way to sound fitness, constant wellness, and optimum health.?" And when you're writing your answer, schedule in your time for "R &R", "Rest and Recreation". And observe the word, "recreation". that's exactly what rest does. It allows your body, your mind, your nervous system to RE - CREATE themselves. So, have a peaceful and a restful weekend. The truth is, change can be hard.
Change can be forbidding. Why? Because our results come from our actions. Our actions stem from how we think. How we think is driven by our beliefs. To get different (and better) results we have to take different actions. And that means that sometimes we have to change what we believe about life and ourselves, by making the effort to change what we may have believed about life and ourselves for many years. So if you want radically different results from the average, typical, normal results you're getting at the moment, you may have to change from the average, typical, and “normal” thought patterns you're practising, or to be more precise, what we perceive to be "normal thinking". And we all know what happens to those who are “different”, how their actions, ideas, concepts, can be viewed. That's frequently the biggest deterrent to making changes in life; "WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK?", we ask ourselves . Provided our actions don't intrude on the rights, property or freedom of others, we can pretty well decide to be, do, and have anything we want. All we have to do is pay the price. And frequently the price isn't always to do with money. It can be family time, personal relationships, personal stress levels, sleepless nights, frazzled days, that get laid on the altar of success...we can end up achieving what we thought "success" to be, only to be physically, mentally and emotionally bankrupt. What people think of that is their business. If that's the price we pay, and accept it as that, like a hangover after a wildly enjoyable night of revelry, then it's our business and we live with it.(And that’s a philosophy I share with you in Common Sense Wellness™). Like it or not, our ultimate success or failure in our aims in life is largely up to us. It’s our choice, and we’re free to make any choice we wish. But, but, but, we’re NOT free to avoid the consequences of our choices. Choose wisely.... With the amount of talk about the Mind/Body connection, you'd imagine that some of the mud being flung at the wall would be sticking.
Not always the case. Anything we can do in life usually takes place first in the mind. It begins as an idea. As we think about it, it begins to clarify and develop. Then perhaps we begin to regard it as a possibility. Before we know it, we’re beginning to see it as distinctly possible. The next step is that it begins to become something we'd like in our lives, an aim, something we would like to do, or achieve or see done. But it starts in the mind. What’s important is that it starts as our own idea. Even if it’s a variation of what someone else is doing, it is our individual take on it that will make it ours. This is why designers, engineers, authors, all copyright or patent their ideas. A lot of us think along similar lines, but it isn’t until someone actually does something that we begin to take it really seriously. The very fact that someone else has begun it reinforces our belief in it. And because we believe in it, we want to do it. The belief influences our thinking, not what we’re thinking about, but how we are thinking about it. And those thoughts affect their feelings. And so, the desire is generated. The desire then influences our action and we begin to take steps to implement our idea. And all this comes about from what may originally have been a nebulous, vague, rough idea of something we would like to do. But it is the force of the thought on our feelings that generates the action. Observe your ideas. Don’t dismiss them because someone else might. Or because of what someone else might think about them. Whether you implement them, or finally dismiss them, let the decision be yours and not the effects of an imagined outside opinion. Nurture your ideas. Guard them well. If after due consideration, you feel strongly about them, believe in them, and in your ability and determination to see them through, honour them. -- Stress is largely a decision. We decide, unconsciously, to allow ourselves to be stressed, or distressed.
Yes, I know that that isn't always the case. There are times in all our lives when we're distressed because the circumstances with which we're faced are daunting. And that can be good for us. How is that? Here's how. You know the saying that a situation can make you or break you. Well, if you 're determined that it's not going to break you, you instantly open to the possibility that you're going to come through the ordeal. And when you do, you'll be wiser, better armed for future events in life, and confident in your ability to withstand pressure and deal with it. You'll have faith in your self-sufficiency. It's what we call getting experience. That's what living is about, isn't it? We've all experienced situations where we thought that our world was tumbling down around us. Then, after a day, or a few days, maybe one or two sleepless nights, a thin crack begins to show in the wall of impossibility and we begin to see that maybe there's a way through it. Then as we looked for ways to widen the crack, open the wall, our minds became creative and we found a solution. Now maybe the solution wasn't perfect. But things weren't going to be as bad as we thought they were going to be, and that alone gave us the will to drive on. We've avoided disaster. We're living to fight another day. So, how about the unconscious decisions where we allow ourselves to become distressed? How do they come about? They come about because we tend to experience small annoyances regularly, and they tend to then become what we expect. And that's where the unconscious decisions come in. When we get used to being stressed, or even distressed, our minds and bodies get accustomed to that feeling, so that when it isn't there, it raises its own kind of discomfort. Being calm and at ease can become such an alien feeling that we distrust it. This often leads to the situation where the only place we feel comfortable in is the one of discomfort. We then quickly correct that feeling by finding something about which we can stoke a bit of worry, fear, uncertainty, doubt, and voila, we're back in our familiar and comfortable zone of anxiety. It's called conditioning. It's a habit. Again, I acknowledge that there are times when stress at its worst is justified, but that's not the one I'm talking about. Over the years, I've worked with many who have not realised that they had been creating their own sense of doubt and uncertainty. There are many ways this can come about and there are ways to deal with it. Regular exercise, Mental Training, and some attention to food use, Meditation / Mindfulness are simple, effective, and proven steps to take. And they work. They won't always solve your problems, but they will help change how you think and feel about them. And that in itself has often been the opening of the door to a solution. Not all stress is evil.
We need enough attention, energy, and urgency to achieve what we set out to do. Those factors create what we would call a good stress. It gives immediacy to our action. It gets us up and doing. It can be a great driving force and source of mental, physical, and emotional energy. It’s the other kind of stress that gets to us; it’s what is generally seen as distress. Stress is really are euphemism for fear, worry, anxiety, frustration, anger, uncertainty and even doubt, isn’t it? The first one can help us get things done. The second one can interfere with the best of efforts. Distress has not so much to do with the circumstances were faced with, as it has to do with how we perceive those circumstances and react to them. Armed with this information we can take very definite steps to altering the effects of distress in our lives. We can lessen those effects. We can change them. We can, in time and with practice, turn them to energy. This can give us a great advantage in potentially stressful times. Our minds are more calm, they are more quiet. Quieter, calmer minds think more clearly. They can access resources and abilities that can otherwise be lost in an emotional storm of distress. I’ve seen thousands of people over the past 50 years make this make this change in their lives. They’ve had the desire to achieve it, and by learning good reliable straightforward, practical techniques, have been able to reduce the discomfort of inappropriate tension and stress in their lives. They have then been able to use talents and abilities that they’d forgotten they had, or never knew they had. It’s no mystery. Sometimes it’s the very simplicity of a methods or ways to do things that causes people to ignore them. Learning to direct the mind, remain at ease physically, and to quieten the emotions, is a skill that repays the practitioner out of all proportion to the trouble it takes to do it. Yet, once people have done it, and then apply it on a regular basis in their lives, they often wonder how they existed without it. Many of the ways to achieve this are often referred to as “soft skills”. In my view, that’s an unfortunate name. It implies something that is suitable to the dreamy-minded, romantic notion of escapism in which we place our trust in the idea that “something will turn up”. It’s on a par with the misconception of “positive thinking“, in which a solution to a challenge or a problem can be achieved merely by wishing for it. Nothing happens without action. Whether it’s dealing with problems or dealing with distress, it’s only by taking practical steps and putting them into action with force, drive, and determination that we can experience the benefits of positive thinking or dealing with stress. Simple. Not always easy, but simple. And available to anyone with the gumption and will to do it, as thousands have. -- “The more I practice the luckier I get“ said one famous golfer. And it’s a sentiment with which I would entirely agree. It all started when I, and two other 13 year-olds went to see a movie called “the Glenn Miller story”. That was the biographical film at the eponymous band leader of the 1930s and the 1940s, responsible for such enduring hits as, “In the mood”, “American Patrol”, and of course, “Moonlight Serenade.” In that movie there is a four-minute clip in which there is a scintillating, driving, rhythmic drum solo, performed by the inimitable Gene Krupa. I believe Gene Krupa was responsible for the emergence of more drummers in the world then any other person. Spellbound, I watched and listened as Krupa performed the most musical of solos, with swinging arms, flashing teeth, waving sticks, and a rhythm that had the entire audience in the cinema tapping their feet, clicking fingers and simply wallowing in the driving swing that the man created. Gene Krupa was the man who brought drums to the fore in big band popular music. Not only were his solos wonderful to listen to, but he had a style to match. So rhythmic was his playing, that dancers never paused when he gave a solo. If anything, dancers were energised and invigorated by his rhythmic playing and showmanship. My two friends, Tommy Lambert, a gifted young trombonist, and Billy Whelan, a really musical trumpet player, and I, emerged from the picture house in a daze of musical ecstasy. My two pals played, practised and rehearsed in the local Confraternity Brass Band. Both of them were inspired to improve their playing. Up to then I had not played an instrument. But I emerged from that cinema as the Boy Who Would be Drummer. But more than that, as I walked out into Georges Street, still hearing the rolls, the rim shots, the steady beat of the bass drum, the cymbal crashes, I was Gene Krupa. So much so, that over the next two days, I gathered an array of pots, saucepans, saucepan lids, round ashtrays, and hat boxes. Anything, anything at all, that remotely resembled a percussion instrument was put to use in the construction of my simulated drum set. I was ensconced in the room at the top of our house, out of sight, but not quite out of earshot So, after three weeks of musical mayhem , percussive pandemonium, and an endless stream of complaining neighbours, culminating in a visit from the Garda Sergeant, my poor, bewildered, overwhelmed mother invested for me in a rubber practice pad and a pair of drumsticks with which I could beat the unfortunate item. Peace descended on the neighbourhood. But it doesn’t end there. In the name of progress, I next inflicted my energetic enthusiasms on the town's well-known percussion player, Mr Jack Roche. He agreed to give me lessons. But, there were conditions. The main condition was that I agreed to practice regularly. That was the least I could do. That was the least I intended to do. Not only did I practice, but was deemed earnest enough to merit an invitation to go and watch, and listen, at a rehearsal of the 11 piece dance band in which Mr Roche played. For this, I was invited to the local dance hall where the band performed once or twice a week for the benefit of hundreds of their followers and eager dancing fans. To my amazement, all 11 players were reading and playing from written musical charts, Including the drummer! To me this was heresy. Treachery. Up to that minute, I thought drummers were meant to be seated acrobats, gum chewing, elbow flailing, demonic maniacs, tyrannising the band into performance, spurring audience and dancers into a non-insurable, hysterical, limb swinging frenzy, that we called jiving. And there he was, Mr Roche, sitting sedately behind his drums, relaxed, at his ease, looking for all the world as if he was enjoying himself, and driving the band with a meticulously timed, steady, swinging, metronomic beat. As I watched and listened, to the up-tempo quicksteps, the foxtrots, the tattooed tangos, the rhythmic rhumbas, the Latin Sambas, and the wonderful waltzes, my life was transformed The precision, the apparent ease, the resulting ensemble of months, years, and in some cases decades, of individual practice and application was to me a revelation. The eleven musicians gelled into a perfect symphony of sound, rhythm and melody. It was a sound that filled the hall, reverberated through every fibre of my existence, and lifted the human spirit to a celestial height. That evening, new horizons opened up. The value, and the possible rewards, of diligent practice, in any undertaking, were imprinted on my young and impressionable mind. That evening was an epiphanous event in my life. Out went Gene Krupa and the extravert showmanship. In came Jack Roche and the rhythm, and the fluency, and the easy relaxed style of precise and practised musicianship. Jack was The Man. And for the next 10 to 12 years my aim was to play as well as Jack. I don’t believe I ever did. But in my way, through the skiffle groups, blues bands, trad jazz band gigs, and even Ceili sessions, not to mention the hours spent on my trusty practice pad, I had a great time trying. And of course I had the great advantage of seeing the value of practice. For the principal spilled over into other areas of my life. Most of life‘s skills are just that, skills. And so they have fundamentals. And those fundamentals can be learned, developed, and practised. And so, you can help yourself get good at whatever it is you do. It goes for anything. And if you apply yourself you just might, might, become very, very good at it. And of course there’s always the consolation that you will, at the very least, become competent. And there lies the power of practice. We've all experienced the sickening effect of some shocking event, a nasty surprise, or other unexpected turn that life can take.
Though we can't know what's around the corner, we can help ourselves by being aware of the fact that we can learn how to respond in a way that lessens the impact. That's what this morning's piece is about. " He lay flat on the bank. The surrounding grass and ferns afforded cover. The road running below him was clear in his view. The butt of the rifle sat into his shoulder, snug, the barrel steady on the small tripod. The quiet rumble of the vehicles coming into view around the bend belied the threat and the firepower they possessed. He knew that the first three were outriders, light armoured cars with shortarms, ready to attack and repel, maneouvereable and fast, easily handled and a good foil for enemy engagement. He let the first three through, settled the sight against his eye and waited. The target was in the sixth. He had done his homework, studied the routine, timed it, watched it, had done two dry runs. He was known for that; planning. He knew it himself. It was the reason that his work was so highly prized. And paid. The fourth came into view, a larger vehicle, fully closed, with a short thick barrel jutting from the turret, moving slightly as the gunner scanned the road and ditches through the sight. He watched the vehicle run steadily past, clocking the fifth as it emerged from the bend and rumbled under his place. Taking a long sigh, he settled. This was his reward for painstaking preparation; certitude. Resting his finger on the trigger, he sighted the long bend from which the sixth, his target, would come. This was so simple, he thought. Get all the information, gather it and collate it in view of your aims, and then just go to work, turn up, and get the job done. So simple. He loved that feeling of confidence he had in his work. It let him rest easy, dismiss distractions and focus his abilities and training on the job in hand. The rifle felt good. He knew the kind of recoil to expect. If he did have to use two rounds, he had allowed for the trajectory, the pace of the car, and the shift in the firing angle. Nothing came into view through his calibrated sight. He consciously relaxed, allowing the instinctive ruffle of annoyance to run from his system as he viewed the empty road. Any second now, and the sixth vehicle would cruise into view, exactly as he expected it would. He was thinking how these clowns in their self-important uniforms and pageantry thought that they were efficient, just because they ticked boxes and followed the rules of engagement. They imagined that they were invulnerable. And that was their mistake, he thought; there are no rules of engagement. Still no car appeared from the bend. Through the crosshairs of the sight was the high hedge on one side of the bend, the sycamore trees on the other, and the road. The empty road. Then his attention was diverted by something for which he had not planned. He consciously relaxed, quelling the instinct to turn, to look, willing himself to not react, as the hard metal touched lightly behind his ear and the calm authoritative voice said simply, 'Don't move'. " It happens to us all, doesn't it? We make the best of plans. Then something goes awry. Our expectations get kicked into the air and we can crash into a storm of frustration, anger, disappointment, fear. And that's when the adage we've all come to learn comes into play; 'It isn't so much about what happens to us, as it is about how we respond to what happens to us.' That's when the training we've used can help us adapt to a sudden turn of events, when we can call on latent resources, personal qualities, the innate knowledge that these will occur in our lives. And while that may not give us a way out at the moment, it does plant the notion that this can be dealt with, redirects the mind, instantly, in that direction, and helps prevent panic and subsequent overwhelm. This is one of the reasons why institutions, companies, teams, individuals, in any field of endeavour, are paying attention to the skill of self-development in the realm of Mindful Awareness. It helps harness the faculty of clearer thinking in life, in work, especially in times of potentially stressful moments. It's a skill that can be learned, practised and applied. You don't have to rush off to the Himalayas, sit on mountain tops, don robes and sandals, or study Sanskrit for 20 years, to learn this technique. We all have the ability within us to do this. There'll be more about learning this valuable resource in coming mails... Stay in touch. The afternoon stretched out before me. It was 1968. We’d just finished a Sunday lunch gig in the “Green Man“ pub, Blackheath Common, South London. The instruments had been loaded into the van. Our work was done for the day. I said my goodbyes to the boys of the band. There are times when the only way to be is solitary. A vague anxiety hovered somewhere in the back of my mind. I couldn't fix a name or a cause. It wasn't even that there was anything wrong. It just didn't feel right. I felt without direction, unsettled, aimless. And that was how my mind responded, aimlessly. Moving from the Common, I found myself wandering into Lewisham High Street. In those days most shops were shut on Sundays. The street was a canyon of glass and concrete, with people meandering, strolling, up and down, window-shopping, chatting, looking, buying tea at the tea stalls, all moving slowly in the warm September sun. Behind a tea stall at which I had stopped, was a barrow full of books, all hardbacks, with their spines turned up. Picking up what turned out to be an old English reader, with essays by the likes of Hazlitt, Charles Lamb, Dickens, a page dropped open on “The Wayfarer”, the poem by Padraic Pearse. There, amid the roar of traffic, the walls of hot sun-reflecting glass, the chug of buses and the crowd on the sun-brightened city concrete, my eye fell on the words, “… To see a leaping squirrel in a tree, Or a red ladybird upon a stalk, Or little rabbits in a field at evening, Lit by a slanting sun, on some green hill, Where shadows drifted by…“ And they took my breath away. I paid the 6p for the tea, three pennies for the book, and moved on. Turning down an alleyway which wound down to the green square in Catford where I lived, I was now surrounded by tall chestnuts and beeches, with the sun dappling through the leaves and branches in shadowed patterns on the short, manicured grass of the square. I was heading for a wooden bench in the sunny gap between two trees when I was brought to a standstill by a strident high and familiar voice. From an open window on the far side of the green, Miceál O’Héihir was sounding the halftime score of the All Ireland Hurling Final. Like filings to a magnet, I was drawn across the green. “And the Wexford men are traipsing off” intoned Miceál . A face appeared in the open window. “Where are you from?” Asked the face. “Wexford” I answered. “A Jaysus! We’re batin’ the shite out o' yiz”, he exclaimed. “Come on in! Hear in the second half!” “Thanks”, I said “leave the window open, I’ll sit here on the wall.” On the wall, with my back to the window, I sat looking over the small green. But I wasn’t seeing that green patch of grass in a square in South East London. I was seeing the green fields and the rolling hills of south county Wexford, the back roads and the winding lanes, the high hedges and the looping Hawthorne. I was hearing the rattle of the empty billycan on the handlebars of the bike on the old dusty road, the chirrup of birds in the hedgerow, that early evening birdsong, the bark of a dog as I passed a gate, the greeting, 'grand day' from a passing farmer, as I made my way to Grant’s farm to to collect the milk for the following day. But then a Croke Park roar interrupted my reverie. The second-half was starting. Miceál was announcing the throw -in. The cheering and the roaring filled the air. “Nine points down!… A wide for Tipperary!“, Shouted Miceál “…pucks it out… Phil Wilson catches….bursts past Babs Keating…runs through Jimmy Doyle. …flicks it over to Jack Berry! Here come the Boys of Wexford!” Roared Miceál, voice rising, excitement mounting….”a pass back to Paul Lynch…Paul looks up, steadies and strikes…and it’s over the bar! A point for Wexford!! This looks like a different Wexford team from the first half…”. The rest of his words were lost in the voice of the entire Wexford county as it roared the team on. “…a long puck out…a bobbing ball…Dan Quigley gathers.” Some of his words were getting lost in bursting roars from the crowd in Croke Park. Amid the background din came names and words that meant that the Wexford men were fighting back. The name Dan Quigley came up again,… “What a catch! Flips it over to Ned Colfer! Colfer to Willie Murphy! Murphy to Phil Wilson! Phil turns and fires it up the field! It’s coming down!. Tony Doran is in there!! So is Christy Jacob! So is Seamus Whelan! "Up goes Tony! He catches! Holds, and swivels.! He palms the ball! He shortens the grip and with a mighty twist of the shoulders buries it in the back of the Tipperary net!” “The game has changed!, ”shouted Miceál into the microphone and out to the world. “The Boys of Wexford are hurling back! This is a different team from the first half!” A roar drowned his commentary as Tony Doran pumped another one over the bar. The noise from the crowd and the speed of commentary melded into a continuous stream of sound as the Wexford men hurled their way into the game…”Wexford 2 goals and six points, Tipperary, one goal and twelve points!" shouted Miceál. "Only three points in it! Who’d have thought it at half time!?! Wexford had been trailing by 8 points. They looked beaten, bedraggled, done! It must be the spirit of 1798,” continued Miceál, “….the Boys of Wexford! Fighting with heart and hand!” The game roared on. Down the field it came. Wexford were hurling like men possessed. Purple and gold were bursting up the field again. Down came the ball. Up went the hands! The roar of the crowd filled the square in Catford. The two teams hurled it out in Croke Park. And I was hurling it out in Catford, Southeast London! Off the wall, seeing the green of Croke park in my mind’s eye, the jerseys of the Blue and Gold of Tipperary, and my own countymen in the Purple and Gold of the Model County, my heart and mind and spirit were hurling the air, swinging the arms, screaming and shouting as I heard it on the radio and saw the spectacle in my head. ‘…another one for Wexford’ shouted Miceál. Tipperary one goal and twelve points, Wexford three goals and six points…..the teams are level!!” Hysteria throttled up my throat and roared the Wexford men on! Out come Tony Doran again! The square was a frenzied maelstrom of Blues and Purple and the flashes of Purple and Gold as hands and heads and scything hurls flashed in the air. Then a mighty roar lifted Jimmy O'Brien's Hurley and smite it against the tiny white sphere once more to the Tipperary net !!! Wexford four goals and six points! Tipperary one goal and twelve points. On they hurled! The men in Croke Park, battling every ball, hunting every chance, hooking, blocking, tackling through the game! And there was I, in Catford, swinging, dodging, palming, so that when Jack Berry belted in Goal number five, London, in the United Kingdom, just like Tipperary, in the Republic of Ireland, was at the mercy of anything Wexford. To seal the game, our Tony pumped over another point, just before a desperate but willing Tipperary punched the Wexford net with their second goal of the game. On we hurled, Tony and the boys in Croke Park, Me in South London. We hurled and we tackled and we blocked and we hooked and we pointed and we ran and we played till our legs and our lungs and our shoulders screamed for relief. The pitch was getting bigger and the ball was getting smaller, the lifting of the stick was like hauling it through thick mud. Heart and Soul, I was there with them on that green patch of grass across the breadth of England and over the Irish Sea, hauling aching limbs and indomitable minds through those last few minutes of physical hell. And then it went; that shrill, thin, lung-long blast of the game-end whistle. And we, Tony and the boys in Croke Park, and me, in a distant corner of South East London, and the men and the women and the boys and the girls of the county of Wexford, had won! We had won the All Ireland Hurling Final! Sitting on that wall , back to the window, a kaleidoscope of visions and sights running through the hungry eyes of my turbulent mind, the relief, the elation, the welling pride, the rediscovery, the sense of place, of identity, the exquisite sadness, erupted through my system in mighty body- shocking sobs. “What’re ye bawlin’ about?”, demanded Tipperary. He was leaning on the wall a foot or two away from me. He held a packet of Gold Flake in one hand, a lighter in the other. “Yah”, he continued” It’s hard to be here when that’s goin’ on over there. It’ll be a lonely day for many a one of yere county.” To the background of speeches, declarations, supposed commiserations coming from the radio, I moved from the wall, feeling my feet firmly on the concrete of the pathway, and turning to that kindly Tipperary Man, heard my own voice uttering the words “I’m going home.” It was a simply stated declaration. And it wasn’t talking about the small apartment around the corner; what I had casually called my home, the place where I currently lay my head, where I slept, where I ate. No. It was to green fields and the high ditches, the winding lane ways and the hidden farmhouses, the birds in a clear sky, the warm quiet greetings on the roads, and chance meetings at the crossroads, rabbits in the fields at evenings, lit by slanting suns on green hills, where shadows drifted by….. That was the home to which I was going. And went. |
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