slip-sliding away…..

Here’s one more piece from the book I’ve published.

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Rise, Rise.
The dawning of a new day.

Suburbs lay quiet,
resting under the blanket of morning clouds,
only the tree tops and buildings remain visible.

Morning flights, begin slowly.
Birds alone, birds in flocks.
People in flocks, gathered in the single, man-made vehicle of flight.

Doves coo, while the geese,
University residents they are,
pass by,
unmistakable by their crude callings.

Cars increase, taxis begin their day.
The hum of humanity
makes its way back to prominence.

The world turns,
people awaken,
busy-ness soon to return.

Yet for all the activity of mankind,
nature remains – as its always been – constant,
and peaceful.

On the horizon,
from behind the silhouette of mountains,
the big orange ball of fire peeks out:
growing bigger – more visible -with each passing second.

Warmth and light,
at first in its infancy,
but within the hour, elevated above the clouds,
growing stronger and radiant.

May this day be the beginning:
the beginning of a new chapter.

The leaving behind of much that has shackled you to stagnation.
The departure from futile occupations.

With this rising,
may you rise above the murky waters of your past,
may you be elevated beyond who you are,
to who you are becoming.

May the Light of this day – this start,
be accompanied by Truth, Courage, Wisdom and opportunity.

For this day has come with all those things,
and all you have to do is look deep within yourself,
and recognise the capabilities that have been planted in your very being.

On this day,
may the Peace and Blessings of the Almighty be with you,
stay with you,
and shine through you.

Rise.
The day has begun.

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Date written:

June 2007

Background:

At the time of writing, I lived in a relatively high-up apartment. From time to time, I’d sit outside my front door and watch the sunrise – sometimes from the darkness all the way until the full ascent of the morning sun.

The opening verses describe the scene from my vantage point: I could see across the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town – blanketed by morning cloud, with a mountain range beyond them. The sun would rise from behind those mountains, at first a tiny orange dot – muted in its warmth, peeking out at me; but steadily growing into the full force of the giant inferno it is, flooding everything in sight with a natural light that no man-made technology could ever rival.

The day would soon begin, with morning flights departing and arriving at the airport in the distance, and minibus taxis starting their daily, noisy routine. I watched this world from a place of solitude, witnessing first the perfect peace of nature’s morning routine, followed by the human population arising from its slumber, then settling back into normality of everyday life.

This daily renewal marked a new life. At the time, I was – emotionally – in a difficult place, but this sunrise reminded me that no matter what, there’s always a new day. A fresh start. A chance to rise above the darkness of all that weighed me down, and make use of the qualities implanted within me to make the coming day…days…better.

The signs of the Almighty are always with us. But we often don’t stop and fully take them in. Our minds are often occupied with the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life and responsibilities. Rare opportunities like these are beautiful because they stop us in our tracks and open our spiritual eyes to truths and lessons that have been there all along, but have been passing us by in our robotic states of busy-ness.

 

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The full book – Let it Flow – is available electronically via Amazon Kindle, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Kobo, and more. A print edition is available in South Africa via direct order.

If you’d like to see more, click the image below for a comprehensive sample: