These precious moments
Words by Tim Carter Illustrations by Anthony O’Callaghan
Contents And I am always with you
The clock
Closer
Too young
Somewhere on another plane
In the gallery
The table
Wanting to love you
The horizon
The passage of life
Little baby
Being safe
No action
Something new
The journey
And on each day they had a choice
Missed
In pieces
The hurting
Unity
It’s gonna happen!
Like a child
Riddles
Froze to the bone in my igloo home
Just Looking
What a cheek! What a liberty!
Shouting into the void
Enter the new day
The balance
The pain and the presence
And I am always with you In the washing up In the shopping In the cleaning In the dressing In the talking In the listening In the laughing In the crying In the exploring In the routine In the loving In the hoping
In the future Whatever – whoever – whenever I am always with you
Closer Sometimes it almost seems too much As if the two of us are joined into one Talking, joking, laughing, sharing, loving We follow each others lead without a prompt Time stands still Just for that moment And then it’s gone It can’t be held It can’t be kept Like trying to hold water in your hands When something slips through your fingers you know how precious it is Make me treasure these moments Make me search them out Make me believe in them
Somewhere on another plane She always smiles—Always It doesn’t seem to matter what she is dealing with, what she has been told Who wants something from her, good or bad She smiles—Always Sometimes you want her to react to exclaim that it isn’t fair that the man is an arse Or the woman’s motives are see-through Yet all she does is smile—Always And I begin to realise that the smiling doesn’t mean there is no judgement The smiling doesn’t mean there is no assessment The smiling doesn’t mean she doesn’t hold an opinion Yet she smiles and holds her peace long enough to be measured and respectful in her response She smiles—Always—And I want to learn from that Always. Smiling. Always.
The table And around the table they sat Looking, hoping, waiting No one knew what to say The words had been exhausted long ago All that was left was each other And in the quiet they could hear the silence The more they listened The louder it became Until the silence was louder than they could bear For within the silence Was the answer Shouting back at them
The horizon Somewhere on the horizon I can see the rays of the sun Shining down It’s not shining where I am Just at the moment nd it feels very dim But I can see the horizon from here And I know I’m going to get there There is no doubt
Little baby Little baby So demanding
Little baby Full of promise
Little baby So responsive
Little baby Desperately wanted
Little baby Always absorbing Little baby Gives so much Little baby Oh so vulnerable
Little baby Is only here for a while Little baby Can’t stay little Little baby Make us realize how special you are Before we’ve helped you to grow
No action Well I tried I really tried
And I know it is too soon to ask So I sit here wondering
But it wouldn’t happen today Maybe it was my fault What do you think? Did I do something different ? Was I rude? Did I miss something? Whatever it was you weren’t yourself You didn’t respond as I expected You made me question if I had got it all wrong – again
Waiting Pondering Worrying Hoping Asking Fill me with understanding Fill me with perceptiveness Fill me with peace
The journey This is a journey This is a journey A journey of a lifetime Although sometimes there are stops This is a journey A journey of excitement Although sometimes we can’t find any
This is a journey A journey of insight Although sometimes our vision is blurred
This is a journey A journey of hope Although sometimes it seems to evaporate
This is a journey A journey of love Although sometimes it’s hard to find it
This is a journey A journey together Although sometimes you feel alone
This is a journey….......This is a journey
Missed I missed it again ried hard But didn’t manage to do it Again I need to try harder I know It seems like I’m always saying this I know So let me have another go I’m sure it will be different Next time Or maybe I won’t Perhaps it is time to reconsider And stop beating myself up so Where does this take me? Constant regrets. Going nowhere.
Time for a change.
The hurting Disguised in many but quietly occupying space deep down Sometimes waiting years before daring to get involved Whereas for others it is always part of the conversation and experience. Funny thing is that it is part of everyone Even the most sorted, the funniest, the privileged Even the happy, the even-tempered, those that haven’t a care in the world It is there somewhere, affecting and controlling if you let it. This is the pain, the disappointment, the hurt that we carry with us. Maybe something that happened as we were growing up or perhaps a disappointment as an adult or maybe being left alone in later life. It can amount to the same – a knowing pain that won’t shift, won’t be silent and colours all that comes after. Its …. There to be dealt with, if we dare, there to be challenged, there to be looked at and explored, there to be covered in a love that knows no bounds, A love that is bigger than any of us yet smaller than the tiniest baby. Just take with water twice a day and trust.
It’s gonna happen! It’s waiting for you It’s calling to you It’s coming for you Now! Wake up – believe in the possibilities It’s there for the taking Are you ready?
Riddles Can’t see the wood for the trees? The grass in the other field always looks greener? Can’t get there from here? Riddles – riddles – riddles My life sometimes feels like a continual riddle Never clear about where I am Always looking at something else which looks better
But I believe tomorrow will be different
And I don’t know how to change my situation
As soon as I can quieten my mind
Just at the moment
And open my heart to those around me Whilst the riddles see to themselves
Just looking Look up Look down Look around Look in Look out Look about Look at her Look at him
Look in the mirror Look at the reflection Look at yourself And what do you see No What do you really see?
Shouting into the void Sometimes it feels like you are shouting into the open So wide open that your voice just disappears Away from you, out of you And nothing comes back
So you’re left standing alone Today
But you know tomorrow will be better
The balance Like a magpie searching the landscape…………………………………Or the guy in a shabby coat looking in the bins Children who notice things that adults no longer see……………We spend our loves collecting objects and experiences We are attracted to the sparkling and the unusual………………….We discard things that we have become bored with And continue to accumulate Throw away—Accumulate Throw away—Accumulate And all the time we are seeking a balance The balance
The Clock Each day the hands move around the face Each hour takes the same time to pass Each tick is unaffected by what is going on nearby The clock watches and never comments The clock marks the passage of time But is impartial, annoyingly impartial It has no opinion It makes no response It doesn’t get involved So I’m going to stop those hands moving now And take control of my time
Too young To understand To worry To think about the future To get a mortgage To drive a car To take responsibility To join the fitness club To need a holiday To keep an appointment diary To lose enthusiasm For love, life and being me
In the gallery Looking at the paintings The sculptures The models Standing Staring Wondering And asking: What can I see? What can I feel? What can I hear? This image can change my thinking And this thinking will change my life Slightly Maybe Yes!
Wanting to love you The sound in the trees The noise of the wind rushing past the buildings The squawking of the birds overhead But the quietness of my head The brain never sleeping The complexity of what goes on up there The ineptitude of understanding each other Trying to pick up the clues
Often failing Asking for wisdom Looking to gain insight Desperately wanting to love you
The passage of life Under and over Up and beyond Out and about High and then low So goes the passage of life my son Get with the flow - your flow And make sure you enjoy each turning Because it is all there for you
Being Safe Am I safe here? Is it OK to talk? Are there things I shouldn’t really say? How deep can I let this go? How much do you know about me? Dare I open up those hidden areas? You see I can’t even find the words right now I’m not even sure what is going on And these things are just buzzing around in my head. Help me to stop, to listen, to be calm Help me to trust that you do understand Hold my hand, Promise you won’t go away – ever.
Something new Well sometimes you just want to float And not be tied down to definites To explore and imagine And love and hope and laugh Moving outside of your set ways of seeing
Trying on some new ways of thinking And wondering How you might be if This was you?
And on each day they had a choice And on each day They had a choice A choice to engage And embrace each opportunity The goodness and the promise The wonder and potential surprise Of each encounter To know that whatever was to occur They wouldn’t be the same by nightfall
Or they would choose To do none of this To close down the openings Miss the learning And not hear the whole universe Talking back at them Through the small happenings Of daily interactions And so On each day They had a choice
In Pieces Today I can’t hold it together I can’t change my perceptions I can’t move my thinking on So I sit here in pieces. Not physically, not literally but in my emotions and my direction Pieces that no longer fit together Bits of me all over the place It’s an uncomfortable place to be and I know it will pass But today I’m in pieces and I can’t do it. Help me to breathe deeply and slowly And draw in the truth that you provide.
Unity Its in the news, political and economic unity, community relations Can we achieve it? Its complicated, its confusing We don’t know all the facts so how can we make a decision? We don’t want to loose what we’ve got now, there is a limit to what we can share isn’t there? Think about our own identity, our specialness, who we are at the end of the day we know best Don’t we? But what if we didn’t ? The human family, all brothers and sisters across the globe Born where we are by accident, luck, coincidence maybe Under the skin, the same blood, all dependent on food, water and self worth Unity, brotherhood and sisterhood Humanity Now that’s what I call Unity
Like a child Laughing Running Questioning Worrying Loving Crying Simple Transparent Expectant Immediate. But what happened as we grew up?
Froze to the bone in my igloo home It is so cold in here Cutting to the bone and freezing my fingers Stunting my thinking and killing my growth. I can’t even move my body to get out of this position. It feels like I have been here for days, weeks even – months. I don’t remember when it wasn’t like this but there’s a dim and distant memory that things were better – once. Once upon a time I felt warm, I felt agile, I could move, I was free And I looked forward to the future. So what has happened? Take me, Challenge me, Change me NOW!
What a cheek! What a liberty! What a cheek! What a liberty! How could he say that about me? Why did she do that? Don’t they know how hurt I now feel? It’s all completely unjustified... I wouldn’t do that and I don’t say those sort of things—ever I’m just not that sort of person am I? You’d never catch me complaining about other people And I don’t gossip either. And another thing whilst you’re listening... Avoid and brash people for they are vexations to the spirit
Enter the new day And so I enter this day With new energy With sustenance and rest With quiet expectation And anticipation. What lies in wait and who am I going to come across? What is going to be said and what will I hear? What will I say and what effect am I going to have? Fill me with life, love and hope Help me to expect good things to happen Make me a creative force That I may end the day a better, more informed and wiser person than when I started.
The pain and the presence The pain has become too much now Physical pain yes, the headaches, the sickness, The exhaustion, the loss of appetite and energy. But that’s not what has become too much. It is the will—the will to continue a belief that the situation will improve—can improve. Maintaining a conviction, a perspective, a hope. It’s too late, it’s gone now and I can do no more. Be still and know the presence of the Lord So I am still now I am ready to be taken I can do no more but be still And fall into the arms of the oe who understands and will hold me tight.