I have had a slightly weird week of it. I am unsettled at home. Fine whilst I am out and doing stuff but at home I have been listless and anxious. I can’t concentrate too well either. I have been tidying up and sorting stuff and doing some minor repairs, plus I started writing a new tune. I got stuck though. My neck is a bit troublesome today as well. I feel a bit over whelmed today emotionally by the ways of the world and tired too. A nice cup of tea is not fixing it either.
Even a really, really, really nice cup of tea is not doing the trick today. What is to be done? I have no idea.

The world is still gripped by insanity, so no change there then. Today has a been a quiet day of winter sunshine in my manor. Elsewhere not so calm on this anniversary of armistice day.

A Shinto Prayer for Peace

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us,
I believe, are all our brothers and sisters,
why are there constant troubles in this world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds
which are hanging over the tops of the mountains. 

Prayer for Peace – Taoist

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbours.
If there is to be peace between neighbours, there must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.
 – Lao-Tse

Peace

Looking behind, I am filled with gratitude.
Looking forward, I am filled with vision.
Looking upwards, I am filled with strength.
Looking within, I discover peace.
 – Queio Apache Prayer

Quaker Prayer

If we hope to overcome the ocean of darkness in the world,
we must first light a candle in our own hearts…
Committing oneself to the path of love can be the most revolutionary
way to change. Make the most of your time every day of your life…
As living human beings we are impermanent,
but we are surely not insignificant, Everything we do matters.
 – Robert Lawrence Smith, A Quaker book of Wisdom

I could go on, but I guess you get the point.

For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvellous world, in this marvellous desert, in this marvellous time. I want to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it. 
 – Carlos Castaneda (Journey to Ixilan)

At this point I would normally post some music, so here we go then:

So more rehearsals, more recording and writing and music making . The last few weeks have been a bit of shake up. So I have needed to try and adjust a bit. its a delicate balance between doing too little and doing too much. being busy means not being depressed but often a small set back triggers the manic stuff. Doing too little and I get really low and don’t want to do anything. Its really hard at times to get it right ,and keep a look out for the warning signs, to avoid running aground.

Obligatory new tune below. It was going to be a song but I seem to have been a bit dumbstruck recently one way and another. My tendency to catastrophise is stil very much there, so at present I am just going forward and accepting that something may well happen that is unavoidable and hiding under the duvet is not actually the best coping strategy as avoiding life is not great for my mental health either.

Here is a picture of me lurking in a folk band at Watford Folk Club recently.
Jonathan Bickley, Richard Milo Downs, (me) Diana Stone, Phil Beavis, Bill Nimmo at Watford Folk Club performing Jon’s songs as the Invisible folk club band.

I have been out playing a fair recently compared to the previous couple of years which is a nice surprise in the post covid and everything else that has happened years.

The world is very much in turmoil at the time of writing so:

While often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the Peace Prayer wasn’t written by the saint. However, it remains a popular traditional prayer.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.