Author Archives: C.J. Birch

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About C.J. Birch

I was born on Thursday 13th July 1972 in Harare, Zimbabwe, to an English father and a South African mother. I was christened Catherine Jane Birch and - from the outset - I've been inquisitive about most of life's elemental questions; its myriad paradoxes and unpredictable anomalies, their sources, solutions and their propensity for unmitigated change. From a very young age I was captured by the enigmatic life process, the challenge of living and what it 'means' to be alive. I spent countless invaluable hours in nature, watching the world at its work. I had a fascination for everything around me, curious about what things were, how and why they worked, what they represented in relation to one another. I began writing at the age of 5. Journals, stories and poetry, illustrations, have been a constantly evolving source of quiet self-reflection, expansive expression throughout my life. I'm fortunate to have travelled many miles, to have visited a variety of differing destinations and though I've learned a lot about life in the last 50 years, my questions about its complexities are neverending. I currently live in the south-east of England, having returned to the United Kingdom after a particularly harrowing period of 7 allegedly 'invisible' or 'non-existent' years of absolute hell in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. I've decided to erase those memories, altogether. My 15-year-old son lives in Switzerland, with his father.

Viva la Vista – Blog No. 38

Viva la Vista

21.11.15

It is not always easy to find the right words for what you want to say.  Unless you make sure that when you spoke the first time there were no misunderstandings.  That, too, is not easy.  But then *yawn* ‘nothing worth having was ever easy to get’.  Like I said once upon a time:  Of course doors open in the ‘adjusted’ state.  They are just not doors that I would choose to go through.  :).  Have a nice day.

I am wondering these days about empowerment.  How best to empower.  I think we all want to be empowered.  We’d also all like our own home and nice food to eat.  That is our common ground.  As is that place across the line.  Those of us that crossed it are in a good place.  Why?  Because we were brave enough to draw it in the first place.  That is empowering.  All choices are empowering.  Even – I suspect – the shit ones, for a short space of time.  Like a psychopath chooses to end another’s life.  Therein lies their power, their pleasure.  But it is fleeting, that kind of power.  That warped sort of pleasure.  Real empowerment cannot be taken away – ever.  And the pleasure it brings is ever-lasting.

There was a race of dragons to the edge of the precipice.  The cliff came sooner than expected for many.  That is because the cold kept coming and cleaving it – leaving shards of rock falling into the abyss.  Its lifespan got shorter and shorter.  That happens to mountains that are not adaptable.  That is also because they have the predominant aspect of lemmings.  You remember what happened to the rats that followed the Pied Piper?  They started the plague.

A-tishoo A-tishoo – they all fall down.  Confiscate their winged horses.  They do not deserve to ride.  Nor do they know the little piggy who built the brick house.  They built their bullshit castle from cards.

There is a Boys’ and Girls’ Town down the road from me.  I think I should like to work there.  :).  Unless, of course, they abuse children.  Then I want to save all the children.  :).

 

 

 

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As it is – Blog No. 37

The Sea

20.11.15

I have had better years, it has to be said.  But perhaps that is as well.  It is when one least expects it that one is visited by a surprise that quite literally takes one’s breath away.  And that is the measure of life.  Not the time wasted not living it to its full potential.  Finding one’s full potential involves an extortionate amount of dedication and care to the salvation of self and preservation of sense of self.  That in itself, is no easy task – it is what of you is most valuable.  It is as well in those situations – on those occasions – that you have a hard task master.  A hand to hold.  And someone that has your very best interests at heart.  Usually, it takes some time to find all three of those vital components and get them to combine at the right time.  Incidentally, none of us is our best at birth.  That would make life entirely pointless.  Life is a learning experience.  Not a picnic.

I have had occasion to think myriad things.  To dream countless dreams.  To find true love and study it.  In searching and salvaging I tend to get more pleasure than I do in destroying and discarding.  Call me a hoarder of wonders.  :).  Since the time I had my eyes opened by kindness I have had occasion to watch Love – in all its facets and manifestations thus far along its perilous journey.  That has been a gift.  A test of integrity.  The work is at times more challenging than my capacity, but it is a labour, if you like, of Love itself.  In that – there is a balance.  Managing the balance can be tricky.

I am not surprised.  I am shocked.  That is all.  The proof is in the pudding.  You will have to eat it.  I prefer starters.

The winds of change are blowing.  They carry good news.  That is what I was hoping.  For good news.  The reason being, I tend always to hear our bad news first.  Like I learned to save the best for last.  I chose to believe that our bad news had a sell-by date.  It did.  I choose to believe that our futures will be better than our present tense is.  That is what I focus on.  It is like passing backwards from the eye of a storm right through the tail of it.  Like being ripped through a barbed-wire fence face-first.  If you are Janus-faced you are in an unprecedented position.  If you are a cat you can jump the fence.  If you are on the fence you are sitting in shit – and without temperance you are up shit-creek without a paddle.

I do not believe that the children who are due to inherit this earth wish to take ownership of a dream, destroyed.  So I dreamt them a new one.  :).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Way it Is – Blog No. 36

The phoenix rises, carrying her in his talons.

Monday 27 July 2015

It will not be the first time I have been in this predicament. It seems to be an occupational hazard. Luckily for me, the last time this shit hit my fan I had some wingmen to help me deflect the fallout. I cannot tell you how many I had – I did not take the time to count. I took the time to turn and take note of everything in this planet’s trash can. That was not a particularly delightful process but it needed doing and it is done. In part. The other bits are yet in the mix, we will see what comes out of that wash.

A love is a love is a love. That will never change. Unconditional can do that. So can pure Love. That makes 2 out of 3 that can. The rest – well, they will find out where they are when they get there. I won’t be there, so I don’t know. And that is not me being shitty, that is me saying it as I see it. I cannot do much more than that. If I say nothing, I am complicit in the shit that ravages this planet and I cannot be complicit in that since my objective is to save this place. Therefore – it would be counterproductive for me to sabotage my own projects. I mean that would just be stupid. I know this probably doesn’t sound much like a love letter, but it is. There are more than 5. :). But 5 for starters is good enough, after that I would suggest a 3 skip 2 and take 1. Like I add up a pie chart in colour. How is our business. Why is theirs’. The thing about Sparta is that it is for Spartans. Like other clubs are for other things. I do not think there is much point in finding out right now who exactly has done what, where. The fact that it is done is to me more mind-blowing than any stupid public opinion bullshit. This is unparalleled and I – for one – am not going to miss it. You can explain it any way you like. I really don’t mind. I am documenting my actuality – our reality – and I simply do not feel – or think – that small-minded bigots and narcissistic bitches (small b because they are SO common) with ‘CRITIC’ for a middle name have any say in this business whatsoever. They are an unnecessary distraction from what is actually of consequence and it is vital to get rid of the unnecessary so that the necessary can speak. Someone said that sometime.

Nice try. :). Batman. I will allow you to try on my bat catsuit. It is fluffy and pink. Ask him – he knows what is fluffy and pink with poles and bubbles. I think he is my business associate. :D. He is a very honourable man. That is what men are supposed to be. The Flying Knights were the Norse Gods II. Which came first is of consequence. If the Gods turned into shitty Knights then that is bad luck for them. If it is the other way around, then that can be considered a good outcome. Yes. And I said the next person that says ONE word about my life-work that I consider rude will get a slap. A fat one. My work may be different to what you are conditioned to understand about ‘working’ but that does not make it less taxing, or less demanding. I think we sometimes forget that as individuals with a tap into the collective unconscious we are all liable to suffer the residuals that accompany that tapping. That does not mean that your suffering is necessarily comparable to mine, or that mine is remotely comparable to yours – but it does mean that we have something in common. Common ground is always a good place to begin.

There are so many things that I wonder about. There are so many things I can understand. I am Alice. I am the Cat. Those are absolutely essential in this scheme of things. Not quite alter-egos, but aspects of quite a curious personality. Alice can think out of the box. That is necessary in Wonderland. I mean in Wonderland you can drown in a pool of your own tears if you cannot swim. Wonderland is necessary as an alternative reality to the one we currently find ourselves a part of. I think that is easy to understand. Our reality – although it IS improving – is hardly ideal. But I am not an idealist. Alice is. That is her prerogative. It takes an extraordinary level of concentration to keep a pure vision on track. Well – personally – I prefer pure to impure. Call me old-fashioned. I write what I want. I love what I love. I say what I like. That is karma. The wonderful thing about this world is that you get what you give. When you give is not of consequence in the immediacy – it depends on what you did last time around. That affects your future past. If you can adapt your now to amend your future past then you are in the pound-seats.

 

We can both see beyond. That is both a blessing and a curse. I choose to see more blessing in it. That is just me. I tend towards the positives. They give your wings, wings. Negatives get you nowhere. That is why I am a proton. Occasionally an electron gets in the way and neutrons are just that – neutrons. They sit on fences. Fences are fine until they are bulldozed down. Then if you are on one, you have a problem. You will see your arse.

 

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Love letters

Africa

Love Letters To My Soul

13.

Love is a word that suggests unity. Definitely.

It also suggests an immaculate togetherness.

And … that makes me happy.

xxx

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Family – Blog No. 35

africanmoon

I used to believe that I had a few family values. Now I am sure. That comes as some relief to me, otherwise I might have had to declare myself inhuman. Family values, I have come to realise, are something you learn with time. A child is not born with family values. A child is shown what a value is, why it is held dear, and why it should be cherished. You cannot teach children values. They must see them in action, experience them firsthand. That is what parents are for – to show them.

If you choose family, be sure you understand the true meaning of the word. A family is not a fair-weather friend. That is the first thing a family is not. A family is not a score of judges ticking boxes with their children. A family wants the best for each of its members – no matter how many members it may have, and no matter what that best for each member is. Most importantly, if you choose family be sure you can trust them. That makes all the difference in the world.

Family is a social concept. It works. However – like many other words bandied about without full appreciation for their true meaning these days – a lot of people do not come from families and they do not know what the word actually means. It is sad for those people. It is not that they are mean-spirited or deliberately unkind – it just means they shouldn’t have children until they are certain they have learned the true value of family.

 

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Transparency – Blog No. 34

Check

Transparent means see-through.  I do not say that because I am being facetious – or provocative, for that matter, I say that because it is increasingly clear to me that the word ‘transparency’ has been as misinterpreted, falsely bandied about and used frequently as a cheap smokescreen in the very same way that the word ‘truth’ has.  So it is time to set that misunderstanding – and I am being extremely polite – straight.  Transparent does not mean selective sharing.  It does not mean that only the most appropriate aspects – or answers – are offered up for assessment.  It means everything – absolutely everything- about whatever seems questionable is opened to public scrutiny and then it is analysed, processed and dispensed with.  Transparency is essential if one wishes to exhume the truth.

If you cannot be transparent at least once in your lifetime, you are going to have problems when you end your days.  That is a given.  Those who will hide from themselves and those that will keep vitally important secrets from those who need to know why things are like they are, are not only causing for themselves grave circumstance, they are in fact preventing this entire world from facing its past agonies in order that it can heal and move on.  Without knowing the truth of any pain source, healing cannot begin.  Anyone who will prevent another – or ALL others – from healing is a cruel and merciless person indeed.  Perhaps to them, their reasons are good enough.  For the majority, though, those who will attempt to thwart the success of our collective future by refusing to reveal the real reasons oppression – and every other social evil or human malady – exists are ultimately held accountable for everything.  An innocent will never be held accountable for atrocities committed in their names and then hidden.  Those who are complicit in the hiding, are as guilty as those who perpetuate the dishonesty.  They will suffer the same fate.

Transparency is one of the hardest skills to master in this bent world that is built on a bed of lies.  That is the first problem.  If I tell you how many other problems this world is currently facing, you might not get up tomorrow morning.  So I won’t.  I will tell you what you need to know, exactly when you need to know it – the very same way I tell myself.  There is not time to waste on knowing more than you need to when you don’t need to know it.  If you get my drift.  It is your choice.  You can listen, or you can choose to continue burying your heads in the sand.  Either way makes no difference to my personal outcome.  My outcome, is already out.  Instead of burying my head like the rest of the populace, I drew a line in the sand.  And then, I moved on.

 

 

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Scapegoats – Blog No. 33

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16 Nov 2015 · 11:59

Scapegoats

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16 Nov 2015 · 11:59

Blog No. 32 – Your happiness

happynaked

You learn very young what makes you happy, and what does not.  That distinction lays the groundwork for the kind of human being each child is going to turn out to be.  It is important that children learn to assert themselves whenever they find themselves in a situation that makes them uncomfortable.  That discomfort could be the pain visited upon those who are close to them, it could be an older person trying to teach them something other than the truth.  Children are intuitive.  All of them.  They understand the truth.

Your happiness should be a thing that you nurture.  It is precious.  It is also important – once you have discovered what makes you feel happy – that you understand whether your kind of happy is a healthy happy or not.  There are many unhealthy happies out there and they can be destructive, but they each have their reason for being.  When we can see their cause(s) then we can decide whether or not we wish to keep them, whether or not they are necessary to carry as baggage.  Sometimes the unhealthy happies are simply happy happies trying to explain an inexplicable pain.  For some things there are no words.

When you love truly, unconditionally, the happiness of the other is as important as your own.  When you understand that happiness feeds off itself, then you will understand that putting the other’s happiness ahead of your own is not only the supreme act of self-sacrifice, it is the natural thing to do when you find yourself at cross-purposes.  It’s like finally getting for yourself something you have dreamed of your entire life and then giving it away for no good reason.  Who on this planet would do that?

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Love Letters

hematite_pendant400

10.

MIND OVER MATTER

Stone for the Mind, Blood Stone (uncommon), Blood Ore.

When it is said that finding the truth can be like trying to get blood from a stone, it is true.

The truth does not come easy.  Ever.

When it comes, you know it is a sign of respect.  Deep respect, aeons old.

It means you are ready to hear it.

The truth does not turn up for a dress-rehearsal.

The wonder of Love and truth and Trust and Hope is no miracle.

It is a constant.  It cannot, therefore, get lost.

Like it cannot be delusional.  Wonder is independent of illusion.

And of Love.

That is by far its greatest strength.

( … and as for weaknesses, don’t underestimate them. They point out your strengths.)

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