A LIFE OF CHANGE
Posted by anthonynorth on February 8, 2008
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What’s on today: A look back on the changes in my life … PLUS … Brit Police bug an MP as totalitarianism strikes again. What’s the best form of knowledge?
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY
A LIFE OF CHANGE
When I read this week’s Writers’ Island prompt I immediately thought about my own life. Changed. Well, yes, it certainly has, many times. If we could look at an image of ourselves over the years, those changes would be evident as we age.
Yet change in life is more than biological. It is social, cultural, professional, psychological. As a kid I was a very different person to what I am now. Yet maybe that kid is still with me, inside, rising up in my mad moments.
I do hope so. We should take that child with us into adulthood.
As childhood gave way to teenage years, I changed a great deal. Girlfriends helped, but the main change was becoming lead guitarist in a local rock band. Things certainly changed – and I can even remember some of it.
But teenage hormones don’t last forever. Hence, the band went and I changed into the young man, entering my father’s business. But this was most likely a period of transit, because I was never happy in this life I’d changed into.
The transition ended when I changed and went off to London.
The big city was a change indeed, especially as I’d lived in the countryside. The next couple of years I spent drifting from one change to another, until finally my life seemed mapped out.
This change led me into the Royal Air Force, and I was no longer the drifter, but doing a useful job. But I guess I’d just got used to changing, and eventually I changed when I came down with chronic fatigue syndrome.
That was one very big change. I turned from action man to barely being able to do anything. It was a change that was hard to cope with until I changed – realized this was the new me so get on with it.
That was over twenty five years ago now, and cfs is still with me. And I suppose one of the most fundamental changes that came along with it was a thirst for knowledge and writing.
It was then I realized I’d had the perfect life to become a writer. All those changes, you see, led to experience – the stuff of the writer itself. And maybe a certain wisdom. After all, is a life truly lived if it doesn’t change?
© Anthony North, February 2008
Milk white skin, it is no more,
peppered by zits, so full of gore;
Pure of mind, I used to be,
happy to play by climbing a tree;
thoughts invade of a different kind,
not wanting to leave life behind;
hairs do sprout upon my jowl,
all night long I seem to howl;
Hormones are pumping throughout my veins,
Hey! I’m a teenager,with growing pains!
This is post inspired by a Writers’ Island prompt. Have you had a go yet?
WHO ARE THEY BUGGING TODAY?
It has been announced that two sixth-formers from every school in England are to visit Auschwitz, keeping memories of the Holocaust alive, so as we will never go there again. Such a noble gesture, but what should we really think about this …
…read more…
WHAT CAN WE KNOW
There are many opinionated people in the world, and they all think they know about this or that. But do they really know? Indeed, does our knowledge allow us to really ‘know’ anything …
…read more…
You can comment on any linked post below if you wish
Brian said
Indeed, a river of change. Not much I can say, although, your poetry makes me laugh. (in a good way)
Have a great weekend and don’t work too hard.
Shirley said
I guess it’s something we all have to go through but some changes are indeed better than others! Although it’s a hard thing to live with I think “Chronic Fatigue” would be a great name for a band! (Cute poem btw)
anthonynorth said
Hi Brian,
I promise I’ll be trying some more serious poetry, but as a final flourish to other posts, I’m afraid the kid in me is winning
I’ll try not to work too hard, but I can’t promise. The body usually tells me when it is time.
Hi Shirley,
Chronic fatigue is something you come to accept. Life changes are involved, yes, but you adapt to them or go under. I’m not the sort to go under.
Not sure the rockers would come flocking to a band called it though
ratanaong said
Being still and able to reflect on the changes within and surrounding us is a gift of the human mind and you’ve used it well. I like your thoughts on “changes that led to experiences”. A positive way of looking at life as it changed. Excellent reflection!
anthonynorth said
Hi Ratanaong,
Thanks for that. I believe strongly that a writer must first be an observer – and what better person is there to observe than yourself?
gautami said
Our life changes, our perceptions change with time. That is inevitable. I started teaching 16 years back. I was fresh out of college. Filled with enthusiasm. Somewhere down the line, I found myself again via poetry.
anthonynorth said
Hi Gautami,
Yes, I don’t think I ever understood myself until I began writing. I think we are too busy living life to notice what is really going on with us – until we put ourselves in the mood to reflect.
Writing – poetry – does that.
Just Jen said
I’m reading that poem to my teen, he’ll get a kick out of that.
You are so right on the cf….I know others with it and often wonder if I have it, and life does bring a perfect writing career! Just starting out in the writing here and looking professionally. It’s not like with this exhaustion there’s a hidden tap of energy waiting to get out…I wish!
SweetTalkingGuy said
Hi Anthony,
Great little autobiography, a very true question you pose at the end.
I love the little werewolf thingy and hey, another good poem – love the line ‘peppered by zits so full of gore!’
anthonynorth said
Hi Just Jen,
I’ve seen five sons through the ‘werewolf’ stage – it’s a strange time of life change
The secret of coping with cfs – apart from diet, graded exercise, etc – is life management; wrapping up the day into ‘parcels’; pushing yourself far enough, but not too far; resting regularly. It’s surprising just how much CAN be done this way.
anthonynorth said
Hi SweetTalkingGuy,
Now I’ve started, I’m quite getting into this poetry thing. I think I should have done it years ago, but I obviously needed a push – a touch of inspiration – which I’ve certainly found since being steered in the direction of these prompt sites.
I’m loving ‘em!
Susan Helene Gottfried said
Between the poem and the picture, I’m revisiting the old Teen Wolf movie. Both movie and your poem are SO apt. Very telling about teenager-dom.
anthonynorth said
Hi Susan,
Thanks for that. I’m an expert. Infact, I used to be one myself
Gemma Wiseman said
Loved your comment ” a certain wisdom”, as a result of your experiences. It is amazing how writing is inspired by changes, once we realise how they bristle with purpose; a means of moulding us into what we really should be. And yes! We rarely understand that at the time!
A lovely, thoughtful write!
Smiles and Light
anthonynorth said
Hi Gemma,
Many thanks. And, of course, the answer is to learn from those changes, experiences. If we don’t, then it becomes pointless.
Selma said
Without change we wouldn’t grow, I completely agree. It’s all part of life’s rich pageant.
Redness said
Lovely glimpse at what must have been a marvellous changing time! Thank YOU!
anthonynorth said
Hi Selma,
Indeed, and it becomes a bit of a habit. I get itchy for change still, every now and then.
Hi Redness,
You’re welcome. Strangely enough, though, whilst I’ve had a life of extreme changes, looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Even the writing wouldn’t have happened without cfs.
Robin said
Looking back, it sometimes does feel like life goes from change to change, but to me those are just the signposts. Real life is what’s lived in between the big changes, day to day, in each little moment.
Very thoughtful post.
anthonynorth said
Hi Robin,
Yes, you are, of course, right. But I might have betrayed the spirit of the prompt if I’d written about that
But the changes do introduce that all important spice – knocks ‘routine’ on the head, as it were.
watermaid said
May your inner child continue to flourish. Some things we can’t change, like your cfs, but you have made the best of it by being positive.
anthonynorth said
Hi Watermaid,
Yes, I don’t think we can properly be the adult without rataining the inner child. The secret, of course, is to know when to put him away for a while.
I think I get it right most of the time.
chicklegirl said
Very introspective post. I liked reading your thought process as you came to terms with the changes you could not control by changing what was in your power: your attitude.
AnthonyNorth said
Hi Chicklegirl,
Yes, life can often throw the dice in ways you wish were different, but to me this is only compounded if you then fail yourself by not remaining positive.
Rambler said
I really liked the authority with which you say “I changed”, it gives such a strong vibe about the individual
anthonynorth said
Hi Rambler,
Thanks for that. I think it comes from an inevitability that the writer will analyse and eventually know oneself.
Of course, then you’ve got to learn to ACCEPT oneself – usually a much harder thing to do.
UL said
I loved the poem, your message come through so clearly “change is inevitable in this life, why fight it? Be stronger by facing and accepting it”Wow! Lots to catch up, let me do that.
anthonynorth said
Hi UL,
So very true. Only thing is, I love change too much, I think. I must have got used to it.
Constance said
It’d be a pretty dull life without some changes… love the poem, I can picture my teen doing the rap thing with it.
anthonynorth said
Hi Constance,
It would indeed. By the way, never mind your teen, I try a rap occasionally myself
paisley said
both the narrative and the poem were delightful.. i am glad you decided to write,, and even happier you chose to do so in a public forum… i am really enjoying your blog.
anthonynorth said
Hi Paisley,
Many thanks for that delightful comment. I hope to be around for a long time – and words such as these spur me on.
marja said
Oh what an interesting read again. How great how you changed your life for the good. You are a great writer.Maybe things happen for a reason.
I know what it is to be tired although probably not as bad as you.I suffer easily from sensory overload and can than sleep for ages.
anthonynorth said
Hi Marja,
Many thanks for your kind comment. I’m a great believer that, no matter what changes occur, we can always grasp some good from it.
Maybe that is why us humans have advanced as we have – the ability to make something out of any situation. Infact, it is when we are on the ‘edge’ that we thrive.
Jadey said
Hey there this a great post. I am glad that you realize what a wonderful writer you are. Even though you may have CFS and it still is present our lives can change to work around such obstacles. Congrats on not giving up.
anthonynorth said
Hi Jadey,
Thanks for that. I suppose I see it like this – wouldn’t life be boring if there were no obstacles to get over, work out, or knock down?
Irony said
there are many things in life that try to stop us in our tracks but never give up
anthonynorth said
Hi Irony,
That’s the spirit. We never should give up.
Irony said
yes i just recently lost my brother but i keep going
rebecca said
how very true anthony…it is from the experiences and wisdom gathered through life that we are able to write our own stories, and give it its own unique spin through the filter in which we see the world.
a good post.
anthonynorth said
Hi Rebecca,
So very true. We are our experiences and our appreciations of them. It is up to us how we appreciate that.
jeques said
Anthony,
As we travel on with the courses of life, we collect stuff and things that may look worthless the first time we kept them in our memory bank. But as we progress and we look at what we have collected, we find out that they are indeed treasures and as writers, we could create gems of stories from them like you did, and I do.
Great post, Anthony!
Check out my series poem: Changes
Happy Valentines!
I wish you well.
~ Jeques
anthonynorth said
Hi Jeques,
This is, indeed, true. Infact, I’ve even looked back on some experiences and thought: I wish I’d taken more notice at the time.
Carol_Noble said
Life is all about change. But it should be relating our responses to changes in nature, not our forcing change when it is not required!
anthonynorth said
Hi Carol,
Certainly we should be more in tune with nature. Many of our problems, in all spheres, stem from this failure.