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Having strong views, it is easy for me to write about politics because that is “projecting outwards” from me. By observing the on-going game in the Westminster Village and as we know, the watcher sees more of the game than those taking part in it but on a personal level, I know nothing about the people I write about whether Cameron or Brown. In that sense and to puncture my own vanity, my views are no more valid concerning the protagonists than an avid reader of “Celebrity” magazines holding firm views on the personalities of Kate Moss or Paris Hilton !

So this entry is not about that and is really the start of a process and a theme that I want to write about and may well return to frequently. I will call it, “Exploring Inner Space” by which I mean, working within the limitations that we have which often, are imposed upon us by circumstances but still, reaching out beyond them in a positive and creative way. This is not a “philosophy” because the very word implies something which is far grander than my scribblings in electronic space no, it is just about practical things and how we approach them so I’ll start with a basic proposition:

Do we succeed ‘because’ of circumstances or ‘in spite’ of them ?

The answer may not be that simple because on the one hand you could have a bit of a stubborn fellow that confronted with any obstacles, grits his teeth and pushes on regardless and succeeds, where he does because of his determination. Equally we often hear people say things like “Well if I had been born into a wealthy family, I too…” which is using a perceived ‘deficit’ as an excuse for not achieving or even attempting something.

However, there is also another strand to all of this which I will label ‘desirable’ and ‘possible’ and both of these impinge on our intellect and judgement.

Desirable concerns what it is we want to do and our motivations in wanting to do it. If we want to look, act and dress like a particular “celebrity” because that is who we want to be, is that such a good idea, shouldn’t we be working on building our own ‘real life’ rather than a fantasy one ? In comparison, Possible is if we happen to be grossly overweight, unhealthy and in our 40′s, we might want to be Premiership football star but frankly, is it even remotely possible and therefore, should we even bother giving such an ‘ambition’ any mental space ? We may be able to get a lot fitter if we put the effort in but, we will never be younger.

Inner Space

When I write about ‘inner space’ what I’m really aiming at is a balance between setting ourselves a realistic goal in what we want to do but at the same time, not short changing ourselves by aiming too low or limiting what we can achieve in life and regardless of our current age and stage. Going beyond this, the question is how do we strike that balance ? My answer would be by getting to know ourselves, exploring our inner spaces and in doing so, not being too hard on ourselves nor, being conceited and over full of our supposed abilities.

The basic challenge is that if we ignore any concept of a “public face or posture” that seems so important in our daily lives, defining ourselves through what we wear or do, can we come to rest, be at peace and be honest with ourselves ? Can we truly see ourselves honestly, clearly and without artifice of any kind ? If we can, perhaps we can build or rebuild our lives and create a new tomorrow for both us and those around us.

Next time I will write from the perspective of how I started to try and find my own path through all this and making an effort to answer these questions. Even at the age of 62 my life is not limited in it’s potential but in order to make positive progress I have had to discard many apparent choices for now and perhaps forever, to concentrate on a “main purpose” and put all of my energies into that. In many ways this is an inevitability of getting older, you have less physical energy but also and overriding that, you certainly have less TIME – “Always at my back I hear, time’s winged chariot drawing near..”

If you feel so inclined, join me on this journey though where we end up, I don’t know and perhaps that is best for most likely, all the fun and the good stuff is gathered on the journey and as we travel.