The Myth Of Self Actualisation

Whatever our achievements, or aim
towards yer actual 'self actualisation'
the measure of how we fall short
comes in how unaware we remain
of the pain and loss we cause in people.
People that we say we like,
as we strive to rediscover ourselves
through leaving their losses undealt with.

Optimum Numbers

Whether through silence,
or speech where we shout
and block each other out,
it only takes two
to mis-step and fall
away from each other.

Two to lose their way,
for replacing need with greed
which then morphs into tiredness.

My Dust And I,

including up to 70,000 types of fungi,
would like to thank planet earth
for the life we have shared so far.

The skin flakes, crumbs of food,
soil, animal fur and decaying fabrics
with which I co-habit, in particular
Corynebacterium and Dermabacter
who are peculiar to my gender,
find a fuller life in each other
than all the totalitarian attempts
at purity and cleanliness ever could.
   

Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet......

But it might be very soon......

Unexpected Empathy

I have long admired the idea
of Unconditonal Positive Regard,
and the silence of Rogerian therapists.
Everytime cold callers phone up,
wanting my assent to some values
they are paid to try to covertly sell,
I try to sooth away their restlessness
and their need to lie, built on the fear
of rejection, by leaving the phone near me
so I can hear them talk. I say nothing. 

Spirituality Gone Awry

How did we get to 'retreats'
in modern society being no more
than hotels with improved Fung Shui?

Evil? Yes, Necessary? Never!

30 years ago consumer surveys got longer
and with each extra question people were asked
the answers were analysed and cross-referenced.

As lives turned into lifestyles
the public were flattered,
by psychologists asking them
for their deepest thoughts.
The interviewed did not think
that the data would be used
to sell them goods they did not need
which would push them into debt
as if the only idea left untapped
might be a gift for financial probity.

Now, in the UK, ATOS uses that same technique
to probe the weak, the poor, and the sick
pushed out of a shrinking market for paid work
who have been left on benefits, long term,
for the long lost traces of their 'aspirations'.