Unfollow the Yellow Brick Road
There was another one there this very morning,
why can’t we have at least some warning!
Background: two sprightly elves with weird hats hugging each other in a delectably Disney glade.
Words: “Did you know that a twenty second hug releases the bonding hormone and neurotransmitter oxytocin, which is also a natural anti-depressant?”
I’ve had enough of homely wisdom, syrupy Buddha-lite,
it’s nothing more than pseudo-spiritual gobtrite.
Background: glowing lotus flower, all psychedelic purples and bright yellows, with some kind of inner lighting.
Words: “The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love they will blossom like flowers”.
Enough already with these clip-art, designer label yelps,
psychic equivalent to ‘you don’t have to be mad to work here but it helps’.
Background: gauzy, misty pool with vibrant tree shapes behind it and ripples spreading outwards over the smooth surface of the water.
Words: “Until we have seen someone’s darkness we don’t really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone’s darkness, we don’t really know what love is”.
We check our homepage, scan our timeline, peruse our status,
but find only further ersatz enlightenment advice there to bait us.
Background: high definition photograph of a giant, sumptuously gnarled baobab tree.
Words: “It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not”.
We know about Blake’s heaven in a wild flower and worlds in a grain of sand,
but on-line postcard lectures? Grab your thesaurus and look up ‘bland’.
Background: ultra-golden paradise beach at glorious sunset, with a butterfly image drawn in the sand at the mercy of the incoming waves.
Words: “Our children are only ever lent to us. We never know just how long we will be able to keep them for. So kiss them, cuddle them, praise them and hold them tightly. But most of all, tell them you LOVE them EVERYDAY”.
Who sits in front of a screen and declares “I’d never thought of that”?
More likely is the heaved refrain “Oh dear, I’ve gone and shot the cat”?
Background: close-up of a magnificently effulgent magnolia in strident bloom.
Words: “Maybe you don’t have to push yourself forward. Maybe you just have to STOP HOLDING YOURSELF BACK”.
Now there’s a motto I can live by, let your cursor be your guide,
just do a zen-like scroll around, open the box and click on ‘hide’.