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“But by the time you’ve worked long enough, hard enough, Real Life (which insists on being capitalised as if it were a personage with a proper name and a right to barge into this rental unit called your life) begins to reveal itself as something other than effort, other than accomplishment. Real Life wishes to be left to its own purposeless devices.” Patricia Hampl ‘The Art Of The Wasted Day’
The Real Life
I set a course some moons ago,
plains of windmill grass and dianellas
were simple pleasures,
creeks with flooded gums along blue grass banks and
granite outcrops boasting ghost gums pleased the eye
as much a solace as any company of kind,
while the hills challenged my humble frame,
just as human contact did at every turn
and over time I lost my way
as other, lesser things, intruded.
One day I heard the kookaburras laugh
and I took it personally,
what a fool this way travels they sang,
chastened, I quelled my madding mind,
and reset my compass heart
for deviations, tangents,
the real life.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Paul, pvcann.com
I don’t know where to start … love it all … headed out tomorrow to “granite outcrops boasting ghost gums …” this resonates on a deeper level.
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Yes, you too know this stuff well, thank you journey friend for understanding.
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You’re very welcome.
And, yes, I know this journey well …
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🙂
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Beautiful. Every so often we all need to take stock, reset our compasses.
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Yes, otherwise we get stuck.
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There is no reason the road less traveled shouldn’t be mine, except real life.
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Absolutely
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So hard to enjoy real life, when daily life activities eat up time.
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Yes, my biggest bugbear too, though I’ve pared it back somewhat to the real, certainly a battle to keep a balance.
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Definitely a battle worth fighting.
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Yes, I agree wholeheartedly
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Great writing sir, thank you so much for sharing it. 🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏🌹🙏
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Thank you very much Francis 🙂
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You are most welcome.
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Love the Australian references. Hope to someday get to experience them for myself.
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I sincerely hope you can, not to be missed 🙂
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wow ..deep one.
nicely written!
👍✏💖
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Thank you so much for that.
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Nice Paul – you know how to wind a tale up, and then turn it for a different outcome. I have often felt the bird were laughing at me. Revelation comes in many forms.
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Thank you for such an encouraging comment VJ, yes revelation comes in many forms.
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Yes it does!
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Reclaiming real life is a struggle but worth every bit of the fight. This resonates, Paul.
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Yes, every bit of the fight, many thanks for that Punam.
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You are welcome. 🙂
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Social drags us into its norms making us believe it is the ‘real’ path but when you are aware of the benefit of the “simple pleasures” which “pleased the eye” and brought “solace,” you have found everything! I enjoyed reading and rereading your beautiful poem Paul.
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Sorry, meant Socirty!
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That makes sense 🙂
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Thank you for reflecting back on this, enjoyed your thoughts and appreciated you encouraging words.
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Thank you, it was a pleasure!
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Ah yes, I went down to the river to pray today, Paul. You’ll know what I mean.
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I do, nothing like communing
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🙂
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I wish everyone get a chance to set the compass in real life 🙂
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Yes, what a turn around for us all.
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we need to be mindful about a real life balance, and love the Aussie setting of this … bless those kookaburras!
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Yes, little jesters, and yes to that Kate
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do you mean gestures?
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Lol, no.
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Beautiful and very true
>
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We’ve been there!
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