Poetry Lovers by B.Demaere

No need to apologize to a dead person that was overcome by addictions or someone who just committed suicide. Maybe people apologize to loved ones who have passed away to deal with their own grief or to appease their own guilt.  Nevertheless, what's the point? Help was just not there when that person deserved it. Many people with addiction and mental illness feel that way.  Where is all the help that, "they 'promised' me?" Is your life so important that someone else's doesn't matter? How can you help someone in need? 1) Listen without judging (important).  They won't come back if you judge 2) Just be a friend (you might be the only one)' 3) Keep it confidential 4) Take 'concrete' steps to help  (Actually do something for that person) 5) It's just too easy to give up on someone who has 'problems') (I am just writing this post in response to a tweet I just read, it troubled me. Many people are just 'there for you', but not ...

The other day my wife and I had a discussion about culture and my upbringing and hers. I grew up in in a Belgian family that was very open to each other, maybe a little too much. No filtering in what we say can be very volatile and harmful.  Our first years of marriage were just like that. Then I realized what every man should find out early in his married life. I found out about the importance of filtering out my words in conversation.  That helped a lot and I was changed and so did my whole family. It was much easier to heal as an individual and as a family. As for your anger and rage?  Pause before you open your mouth and think on a scale of 1-10.  How important is the issue compare to the value of your marriage, relationship or family?  Then calm down and think of a way to fix that issue with whoever is of interest.  Even just your health depends on that as your blood pressure rises every time you get violently angry.  Anger can be controlled. You ...

We each fight our own battles, I guess.  They just come with different intensity.  Most of us though don't fight the battle almost to the point of death when you have to decide between life and death. I believe my mental illness did not start when it was detected and identified as a mental illness.  Mental illness was unheard of in my days.  In the 1960's I didn't hear a word about it.  Just my mother repeating the words of the teachers to her, "Your child is very slow in school" or "Your child is so quiet", which is probably abnormal to a teacher, I understand.  I went to countless EEG, that were a lot more painful and longer than they are now let me tell you.  A lot more torturous, imagine having little blocks of metal (it felt like metal) press against your cranium with a rubber helmet for 40 min.  As a child it is painful!  I had those supposedly imaginary epilepsy and convulsion.  The real one happened at birth and according to my m...

Some of you may not be aware of this, but some medications for blood pressure and depression may make you more sensitive to the hot weather we have and make it almost intolerable.  Don't do what I do and run around in the sun unprotected because you might get very dizzy.  Drink lots of water on a daily basis. Check the information of all your medications and take it easy in hot weather. Here is a couple links that might help you to Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the United States. http://cdc.gov https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrUimRwUB9fthMAqRoPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--/RV=2/RE=1595916528/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.cdc.gov%2fclimateandhealth%2feffects%2fmental_health_disorders.htm%23%3a~%3atext%3dMental%2520Health%2520and%2520Stress-Related%2520Disorders.%2520Dementia%2520is%2520a%2cwith%2520temperature%2520regulation%2520or%2520even%2520directly%2520cause%2520hyperthermia./RK=2/RS=4umC3NNZipKu1BtrW5uwuxy8k_Y- Thank you...

I don't know if my mental illness has anything to do with it or just the fact that I am human,  I have always struggled with changes in my life.  I also have a tendency to get fixated on a certain pattern of doing things and I am not so willing to give it up. I have found over the years with the events of life that life is to be expected to be filled with changes.  With lots of changes. I do have a lot of concerns for a lot of things and my environment affects me a lot.  Lately, I have really been concerned with the rise of violence and rage in our countries, Canada and USA and other countries as well which could be linked to mental illness unchecked and undiagnosed.  It's alarming too.  Plus the drop in sales of deodorants really bothers me.  Who wants to be in a stinky house with a bunch of adults...and teenagers sweating.  I am sorry I didn't want to include teenagers because they get picked on all the time. I feel sorry for them.  Also th...

A Fly Bernard Demaere   A fly, Coming through the open window, Uninvited, winged monster, Darkly clothed, And landing on my paper. Its legs, thin and crossed, Become linked And, inked, To the page. As I write a story About elements, Seemingly, Unnecessary, In all creation, Like the fly, And the mosquito, Touching, The dead, And the living, And leaving, In the end, A bloody mess, Of scraps and bones. A Scene at Sunset Bernard Demaere   The Sun, I couldn’t see, Was behind the mountains. The dark silhouettes were cutting. The sky was still blue like the sea. But over yonder were clouds of rain.   The shining Sun was confounding, Left a glance on clouds already pink. Floating high above, they overlooked, That scene and that’s all it took, And that was the miracle, just like a painting. This was the ending. A Simple Act Put on by a Cat Bernard Demaere (Ziggy)   A friend of mine had a cat that I sa...

You know! There is a silent rule in our home. I must be the one assigned to wash windows around here. I like to do it for the simple reason that after doing them I can just sit back and enjoy the satisfaction of having them done. What an improvement it does to the house you live in.  Having clean windows!  We need all to do that in our life. To sit back after we have done a good job and rejoice. God did it at creation and he does it with you. He sits back and says what a good job I did. I put all these qualities in and gifts and he checks each one of us to see what will be our reaction to him. Will we be thankful or ungrateful for what he has given us? Amazed, but not Surprised Bernard Demaere   I am amazed, But not surprised, Because you can use one, Such as me.   Joy unspeakable, And full of glory, Grips my soul, With deep yearnings,   I am amazed, But not surprised, By your glory so full, And free for sinners such as me. ...