Mythos & Marginalia

life notes; flaws and all

j.g. lewis

original content and images ©j.g. lewis

a daily breath...

A thought du jour, my daily breath includes collected and conceived observations, questions of life, fortune cookie philosophies, reminders, messages of peace and simplicity, unsolicited advice, inspirations, quotes and words that got me thinking. They may get you thinking too . . .

Mondays are just young Fridays

What happens when you step away 

from the everyday, for a while 

(or longer)?

A new locale, an unfamiliar bed, an 

alternative view overhead 

there is always another way instead;

at least there will be this week.

Even a wristwatch looks different today 

for deadlines have no purpose or place 

this week. 

A well-deserved break, to say the least.

 

11/04/2024                                                                                                                  j.g.l.

cloud songs

What of today, tomorrow

or next week?

   What about the weary,

the impoverished, and the meek?

   What becomes the answer or

the validation that you seek?

11/01/2024                                                                                                  j.g.l.

conscious reflection

Politics is far more than image and identity.

It should be a conscious reflection of values,

morals, and meaning. It is a choice of both

the candidate and the constituent.

Look closely at what a politician represents

to you. Morals and values are crucial to the

meaning of it all. Choose wisely.

 

11/03/2024                                                                                                          j.g.l.

faithfully

Clocks set back, days ahead altered
as if time can be held, still
we cannot fool ourselves in believing.

The sun will still set.

We seldom lose hours as much as
we change our trajectory.
It will get darker, before you know.

The sun will still rise.

Between where and then, light will
strike any object in its path
as long as it is able. Faithfully, we watch.

The sun sets.

This autumn, this November,
carries a tone of melancholy.
Steadfast, I can only stare back.

The sun rises.

I know about fear, or fear what I know.
Remnants of the day,
routinely, have so much less to offer.

The sun will still set.

When all that you know becomes
all that you have, you are
unable to consider possibility.

The sun will still rise

We live and breathe, twenty-four hours
daily. Memory will serve us;
those uncertain, those unbroken.

© 2019   j.g. lewis

I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.

j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.

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a country that needs help

Posted on November 6, 2024 Leave a comment

11/06/2024

speculation

Posted on October 23, 2024 Leave a comment

This reality will surely change overnight, 

or later. Vibrant colours, as if a miracle,

will appear. Overnight, or later in the day.

Speculation becomes a greater force, as we

wait, counting on seasons to mark years.

Temperature has as much to do with it as 

our want or need for something more. We

wait for the visuals to just happen. Naturally. 

When it does, and as it does, we cannot help 

notice. Any day now, or any night. Or longer.

 

© 2024 j.g. lewis

 

understanding

Posted on October 16, 2024 Leave a comment

Our view of love changes as 

we age. What we feel, all we know

to be true, is provided a fresh point of view. 

We forget, from time to time, what it was 

when it was something else.

Perspective.

All the mental aspects of affection and 

emotions will overwhelm if given a chance, 

but for the longest time 

we did not allow ourselves to know 

the certain realm, or definite destination 

of love and all it is capable of. 

It is more than physical,

stronger than it has ever been, and 

strengthened

over the years and beyond.

Empathy finds its place amidst

individual passions. Understanding becomes

the strongest sense of a relationship.

As we age, we are capable 

of something greater, or have we just 

realized, now, what love can truly be?

 

 

© 2024 j.g. lewis

 

experienced

Posted on October 9, 2024 Leave a comment

           If it is now, then

too long I have waited. Shadows of moments past

 blur

           one into the next

              and I remained confounded 

             by all that has happened since.

This time I take for granted 

can no longer be shared. I have already experienced 

the ripeness of the moment, the cool breeze 

that arrives with autumn, knowing 

           there is still so much ahead of me.

 

© 2024 j.g. lewis

this age and stage

Posted on October 2, 2024 Leave a comment

About a month ago I signed up for a program looking into mobility and healthy aging, anchored by weekly two-hour sessions at a local community center focusing on exercise, nutrition and information with a physiotherapist, dietitian and public nurse. 

   The group-based sessions are “focused on increasing knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to activity, healthy eating and available community supports for older adults.”

   I am, after all, an older adult. I knew that when I signed up for the program — administered by McMaster University — that were looking for study participants aged 55+.

   It was only after I arrived at the first session and was waiting for the program to begin that the term “older adult” had an impact on me.

   As I browed through the information brochures in front of me, I read, over and over, references to this age group: “Physical activity for older adults”, “24-hour movement guidelines for older adults”, “Active Aging Canada”, and “Canada Food Guide Tips for Seniors” with a thorough collection of tasty recipes enhanced with key ingredients for “older adults”

   Then there was the newsletter with a headline that really affected me: “Looking to make the most of your Golden Years”

   Really?

   Is this the “stage of life” that I have entered?

   Now, I have not officially retired, I do not yet receive my pensions (government or career-related). I am almost hallway through my 63rd year and less than a few years away from receiving those lifetime benefits so, in my government’s eyes, I am close to being a true “senior citizen”.

   But I am not sure I feel like it.

   I am indeed at the lower end of the “baby boomer” classification, a demographic I have belonged to my entire life (and totally dislike the recent negative connotations of the term “boomer”). This group has aged, grown up with me, and is commonly accepted now as “seniors”. It is a sliding scale that begins at age 55 or 60 is, in fact, the age group I am now in.

   The decades have blurred one into another.

   But “Golden Years”?

   How can that be?

   I admitted, long ago, to being middle-aged. I think that started half a lifetime ago when my father retired and joined the ranks of a senior.

   But am I now what he was then?

   You are what you admit.

   I’m older. I have never really been accused of being mature, and since I was a kid was told, many times, to act my age. 

   How can I be nostalgic about my youth when, most of the time, I still feel youthful?

   Is it time to accept the obvious?

   I guess, if I am going to accept the seniors rate at the cinema, gladly take advantage of the discounts and special “seniors” offers from many retailers, and reduced rate on public transportation, then I must start admitting I am in fact a senior . . . or an “older adult”.

   I am.

   This week, perhaps at this “seniors” session, I started to believe it.

   It’s a lot to think about.

   This week’s session included a cooking demonstration, exercise class and a lot of discussion about living and aging. Each of the program participants are at different stages of “adulthood”. Outside of a couple of the presenters, I was, I think, the youngest person in this group of older adults (I still have difficulty writing that phrase).

   That itself is thought provoking.

   I am truly looking forward to retirement and have been mentally preparing myself for a couple of years. I’ve got plans and so many things I want to do at this age and stage of life. Most of my plans revolve around the sort of things that a regular work week gets in the way of.

   Whether or not these are, in fact, the golden years, or that I am entering the “Autumn of my life” hasn’t really been something I’ve though a lot about.

   But I am now. 

   When did that happen?

   How long will it keep happening.?

© 2024 j.g. lewis

 

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