From Bath to Cork with Baby Grace

I’m about to go to the dentist.  I’m about to finish a cup of coffee in Cafe Beva in Glanmire, near where I live.  I’m about to upload a few photographs of Rocky - our Coton de Tulear puppy - to Flickr. 

You are about to do something too.  

The whole world is about to do something.  We are all about to make something happen.

Now I’m paying a little more attention to what I’d doing.  I had to notice what was about to do in order to appreciate what I was doing.

Appreciating now.  Slowing myself down a little…

Here’s a gift for you…

It was taken on Inch Beach in East Cork -  yesterday.  It was uploaded today, a few seconds ago.  

I simply hope you like it. 

Yesterday I suggested to someone their tweet on Twitter was valuable.  I said I’d like to see more of the thinking that lay behind those few words.

I gave the other person my words in a tweet - I then forgot about it.   I got on with the rest of my life…

I had no idea what would happen next.  Never anticipated.  Didn’t think of the consequences.

You know what the person did?  They went & wrote a whole blogpost.  They sat down & elaborated, opened up their original thought & communicated in a whole new way.

My few careless words were like a feather that tipped the scales - thrust the other person over the parapet - and they flew into valuable reflection.

Why is this worth remarking on?

Because it happens all the time.  People we meet are balanced - they are ready to move in one of two directions - forwards or backwards.  Your words, your glance, your tone, your little gesture could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back - that tips the other person over the edge.

Meaning? 

I’m not saying you’re responsible for the influence you have on another person.  This is a lot more complex than simple causation.  The impact of you doesn’t occur in a vacuum - the other person is ready for something.  You simply are the light touch that makes the difference to all that happens next.

This is the butterfly in action - the one that’s at the heart of chaos theory.

I was thrilled the other person wrote their blogpost.  Delighted they delved into the challenge of spelling out their meaning.  I felt good to be associated with the result.  

But it was an accident that was waiting to happen.

Isn’t life funny? 

An audio version of this blogpost is here 

Today is Monday - the first day in November 2010.  Today is Now - whenever you read this, it is Now in your life.  I am sitting in my office in Glanmire Cork.  I am in Now.

Now is the moment when I think of my mental health.  Now is when I realise I’ve been depression-free since the second week in September 2008.  Now is wonderful.  Now is fortunate.  Now I think of those I know who are in the depths of a bout of depression. They are real people - struggling real people.

Now I know you know people who are in the grip of a bout of depression.  Now I think you are aware of others whose mental health is at risk, who are in trouble.

Now I think of one specific man in Ireland.  One real person who’s doing his best to keep on breathing.  He lives now.  Now is a good time to think of him.

Now is the moment I am aware of the many who are Now struggling to live with their mental health.  Now we in Ireland are fortunate to have Aware.  Here… Now…

Now is what is.  Now is my effort to focus on how my mental health is Now.  This is now my effort to help you think of your mental health… and the mental health of those who are Now in your mind.

Now is us, our time for being here & Now.

Now is a moment in the journey, and the journey of mental health is Now…

Now I am doing my best.