Peer Group Chat // Conquering Our Goals // Thursday 23rd February 2023, 7-8:30PM AEDT

[tonys]

hi there tide is turning  @TideisTurning  Sorry I missed this post and thanks for sending it to me.

Its a good one.  R E  Goals.

I think the first think is to recognise, not all are created equal.   In a fair society,  those with an abundance of gifts help those blessed with few to also reach a goal.

Realistic goals.  If I wanted to be a fighter piolet,  at 6 ft 5 in socks, put through a mincer I still wouldnt fit.  My disabilities put a ruler through a lot of choices.   No problem.

There is a wormhole from goals to dreams and back again, and I have dreams in abundance. I have half finished boats camper and little projects all over the place and always go to bed with a plan for the next day. We age and change,  we adjust and compromise.

I wrote a poem that I wanted to send to you but could not remember your tag.  I think It portrays my attitude to life,  and I think you will get the message within.   Its in the Motion land sea air thread .  .  . . I think.

Thankyou for thinking of me and already know you will realize your goals.

[Owlunar]

Hi @TideisTurning 

I missed this post until now - I seem to have a technical issue with my connection - this is something to have a goal for this week - getting it fixed - that is within my capabilities and something I am motivated to deal with.

What does capable look like for me? Well - I would love to go and see the hippos in the zoo to the west of Melbourne - that's a long trip and even going to the zoo in Melbourne would not be easy. So - for an older person with a painful chronic injury and without a licence to get to either isn't really easy. If it wasn't such a long train trip I could get to the Melbourne Zoo - I think that could aggravate my pain considerably and the price is too high to pay.

There could be a high price for a goal - and it depends on whether it is worth that price - I guess it as a high financial and emotional cost to go to university part time for 12 years. Time wise too - but it was worth that price - I believe every day of my life now in enhanced by my experiences - those particularly. I was capable then - this would not be the case now.

My really strong goal is to manage my chronic pain - it's really severe and it means resting my shoulder a lot so - that's my important goal - to manage the pain - and personally I am prepared to pay the price for that - which means no trips to the zoo though taking a flight interstate for a holiday where I would be able to take life at my own pace is not. Right now though - with so much trouble at airports I am not prepared - I went through Melbourne airport twice in May and it was chaos - I can wait until the post-COVID rush to get away is under control. This all falls under pain management and my specialist is impressed with how I managed it - this is a really great goal to achieve.

Um yes - getting to my uncle's funeral in Hobart in May was a goal with a high price I was okay about paying. Capable? Okay...

A person needs the funds, independence/support, ability and drive to fulfil their goals - this is not an easy choice. Fear is something else - overcoming fear - lack of self-esteem - sometimes really needing to be assertive about having and working out and then achieving goals - none of this is easy and it's harder for some than others.

It is a real pity to the issues that can be overcome stop us from achieving a better quality of life - that's for sure

Owlunar

[TideisTurning]

@tonys  you make a really good point here in terms of equality not necessarily being across the board or universal for whatever reason. this is one reason I'm really passionate about equity. I'm curious if you thought about what more it might take (i.e. what extra things such as support) you might need to make such dreams/goals more realistically attainable for you? that poem also sounds excellent and I'd love to see it. Just in case/ full future reference, you can either tag me in the thread itself (using the @ in front of my username) or you may also be able to get a link by clicking the down arrow of ‘post options’- somewhere in that drop down maybe something along the lines of ’get link’ 😊

@Owlunar, another valuable point in terms of the cost- everything comes with a price after all, even if it’s not money. Also other important things for consideration that you've listed, in terms of the benefits you're likely to gain versus the price you need to pay for example. I can tell you've thought very carefully about what is and isn't worth trying to do or work toward for you. Though I'm sorry to hear about the challenges and associated barrier you face around your chronic pain. There was a Topic Tuesday discussion around this a while back (more here)- just thought I’d share in case you hadn’t come across it and there might be anything valuable in it for you 😊

[tonys]

@TideisTurning    now you've done it.   Given me a home work assignment.   After  work tomorrow I will be scratching my smoking head to produce.    It will be on your desk with a big shiny red apple before the week is done.  Bet you did it to take my mind off things

I hope you have a wonderful evening and thankyou so much for your letter and If I can remember the poem  I will be sure to send it too.   Now on my way to the river for a fish,  and they always bite best when the. . . .  tide is  turning.   Kind wishes    tonys    mb  1

[tonys]

@TideisTurning     Hello tide is turning.   I do hope you are well.  I did promise to hand in homework assignment and keep my promises.

 The poem you asked for,  I found It.  In context,  its about getting through the dark by remembering to be grateful for the small things.

poor mans daily prayer.

Thanks that I woke one more day in a bed

    That I'm happy with water and unbuttered bread

When fire and flood take my home and my bed

      I'll give thanks to hard ground and a log for my head.

Thanks to all the rocks people throw

      They forged me a fortress in a wasteland of snow.

To the cowards who paint hurtful words on our walls 

        The wisdom to not succumb to their calls

To the man who cant walk I give thanks to each leg.

         To the man who cant see  may I never renege

I give thanks to the yolks of resilient eggs

          For the man who now fights,    now no longer begs.

I guess its part of the  building resilience.

I have some impairments that slow me down typing so I will send my homework straight after I send this.     thankyou.              tonys     Moon base 1

[tonys]

@TideisTurning    Hello again.   I'm afraid its another poem for my home work.   Its my go too when my head is changing lanes.    A world devoid of ego,   competition.   alpha dominant hands on the the reins of power.   What would make my goals attainable would mean others would have to surrender the inherent traits of what it is to be human.

In the real race to the bottom world, If it happened,  it would be for a fleeting moment in time.

Evolution is cruel.   But I better add That I am  pragmatic and tough enough to endure regardless .

Too belong and be accepted in this world.   That is the wish for those  who live in my world.

To be sketched as a person for just one day.

   The motions of maidens in moons incandescence

         I'd  slice you my eye  for your souls iridescence

            You bleed me your tears   

             to quell my worst fears

                 If just for one day I could bathe in your presence

    Cherished and  nurtured and freed from the thorns

          Leisurely  picnics on manicured lawns  

               Miles of smiles

                    Through shopping mall aisles

         Warm in your homes     its my rain on your tiles.

     So one becomes  two   becomes    skin flayed from tree

           Years of pain bartered  for  i n s a n i t y

    I cant feel your face  with no sight and no hand

          the glass is to crazed   and I can't understand.

     Songs left unsung  from silk hearts wrapped in slate

            I yearn  just to burn in an unaltered state

     Worlds made of hammers and minds made of glass

             The lives that were lost on that cold mountain  pass . . . .

Hope that you can see the vast distance between the this world and those that were born into  moon base one...        Please share if you think It will give someone an insight into autism 

I hope you are well too @Owlunar  .  I havnt heard from you for a while.

@Sophia1     Hope you are well.  I  was thinking of you and your son  as I wrote.

 Tonys    moon base one.

[tonys]

@TideisTurning   Sorry .   spelling error in poem.    Bath is meant to be " bathe"  Is there anyway that could be given  A   "touch up"     I'm sorry,  spelling and school should have been on my bucket list.   Take care and very best wishes,   tonys   mb   1

[Sophia1]

Hello @tonys 

I found you over here with your homework

I hope that you are given high marks for such creativity...

Personally I do not believe that your spelling should be corrected.

I think it is part of your poetry and needs to be untouched by another.

I am not a successful poet though......

I think that you conquered this quest.

Hello all

Sophia1

[tonys]

@Sophia1    hello mate.   I can tell you are tired again.   I hope you find a little recovery in a restful night.  I forgot to say too that I did see your huge road runner picture.  It was just perfect.

Reminded me to mail order from acme. How was your day and any news on your family situation.   

The poem definatley needs the spelling mistakes fixed,  otherwise its a brook running backwards.   usually I'm yelling out to the book keeper every second word,  how do i spell. . . .

I did get that earlier skipping rope one but thats o k ,  I like skipping ropes. every 2 seconds its a gravity free environment.  and then we come down to earth. The playgrounds lesson for what  is to come.  .  .  .

Mate Ive been digging a trench for a new room so I will go but check now and then if you want to chat.    Big hug from me true friend.          Bring me a glass of water from the deep upon your return please.                                       tonys       mb  1

[Owlunar]

Hi @tonys 

I have been around the site a bit - not as much as I would like because of my shoulder pain - that's my challenge and I live with it - my specialist is impressed by the way I manage it - that is a great compliment.

I read your poem - it is very thought provoking. It does help me to see into the mind of a person with autism - a very articulate person I must say.

I would not be using my degree in English Literature if I didn't comment on a few things you have written - so here goes.

                          Songs left unsung  from silk hearts wrapped in slate

That is really powerful - there are people who are sweet and gentle but locked inside themselves and never let their songs - there deep thoughts - be said - sung. I can really see that. What sorrow that these people never share the wonderful thoughts they have. It would make the world more beautiful if they did.

I wrote this for a friend of mine years ago - it's just a few lines from a sonnet that was never published.

                    Australia's child whose patriotism shares great love for just one man -

                      And deeper sorrow bears - blessed by her heritage -

                        Her country's mountains, cities, seas and land.

Time passes and people come and go in our lives - I am glad I shared a few years with this man and then we passed on - taking different paths. However - I am glad I wrote the sonnet and have included a few lines here - so my silk heart has a song that was sung. This is a good thing.

                        Worlds made of hammers and minds made of glass -

I really like this - I could say a lot - it does indeed show me a lot of what you see and feel - how the world sometimes crashes and even crushes people and can shatter their thoughts. I know it tries - I find the world has made my life more interesting - challenged in different ways - yes - maybe the glass is stained-glass - I like this idea

Keep writing Tony - on your moon base. I really like the moon - all my life I have watched its phases - whenever the sky is clear I go outside to look at it - one morning I woke up early and went outside to look and it was in a crescent lying on its back.

My little picture - my avatar - is a little owl in the middle of a total solar eclipse. Another member here created it for me - and my name - Owlunar - is for the little owl in the moon - it's very special for me.

I love your writing - I read the site a great deal - I can't always write but when I do - I write from my heart. 

You are special.

Owlunar