Monday 9 February 2015

Die Slowly





He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routes every day,
who never changes pace,
who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,
who does not speak and does not experience,
dies slowly.

He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
dotting ones i’s rather than a bundle of emotions,
the kind that make your eyes glimmer,
that turn a yawn into a smile,
that make the heart pound in the face of mistakes and feelings,
dies slowly.

He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.

He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.

He who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck, about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.

He or she who abandons a project before starting it, who fails to ask questions on subjects he doesn’t know, he or she who doesn’t reply when they are asked something they do know,
dies slowly.

Let’s try and avoid death in small doses,
reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort far greater than the simple fact of breathing.
Only a burning patience will lead to the attainment of a splendid happiness


By Martha Medeiros

Having happened upon this poem it has become my mantra for getting 
through February ..... and why I've booked a flight!!
Top tip: read more poetry.....


11 comments:

  1. Hmmm - top stuff... much to ponder on where I fall on these lines!

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  2. Hello,

    And, whatever, we must aim to not die slowly. Life is for the living, it is precious and it is short.

    A flight to foreign lands. How exciting and possible even from one's armchair! Let the mind fly if not the body!

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  3. So.....where are you going???

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  4. ….. and so say all of us !!! …. apart from the bit about not risking to change the colour of his clothes …. I pretty much wear black everyday but am still happy and laugh an awful lot !!!!!
    Where is your flight headed ? XXXX

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  5. Exciting news!
    ice pellets here - can't even be bothered to snow properly.
    I need to book a flight anywhere
    probably Morocco
    but hope to be in NY when you are!

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  6. What a wonderful poem - I read it through twice and love the sentiment. Will share it with husband. Exciting news planning to fly; we are doing the same this week!

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  7. Oh dear, this poem describes me exactly. :(
    Where are you off to?

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  8. Wow, that is a wonderful poem...Btw: where are you off to? How exciting! xoxo

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  9. Don't blame you! Where are you off to? Bon voyage! x

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  10. I read this earlier and have been thinking about it a lot today because I've had this thing about trying something different - same places, same food and drink are rut making so am making simple but significant changes and this poem sums it up perfectly, thank you. And yes, flight? ;)

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