Author: Mark Hastings
The Pathfinder: Flow State
The Pathfinder: From One to Another
The Pathfinder: Someone To Talk To
My Poem “Biting Your Tongue”
Knowing what to say
and when to something,
or if you should even
say anything at all,
can be "tricky" -
because sometimes what people believe
can directly contradict
the beliefs of those closest to them...
keeping your your thoughts to yourself -
especially those that you know
will not be popular or be shared
with those around you
and those who you like and interact with -
can be frustrating,
because everybody should be able
to say what they think and feel about something,
especially when you want to talk
and discuss what matters to you
with those whose opinion
you have value and trust.
Trying to keep the peace
by staying quiet,
because you worry that
if the way that you see
some aspects of the world and people
were to become known
you might become isolated
from a particular group,
can cause people to choose
to express their views
in ways that to some
might seem unconventional
and perhaps incomprehensible;
however, when you know that you
have a valid reason to disagree
with what someone says or thinks
then each of us should have the right
to be speak and be heard.
People are always going
to have differences of opinion
about certain things,
because each of us is always
arriving from a different time
and from a different starting position...
the gift and the opportunity
to be able to truly debate a subject -
so that opposing sides can put across
their own individual version
of what they believe, why, and how -
are few and far between these days,
because the fear of opening your mouth
and accidentally insulting someone
seems to constantly linger in the air.
When you give someone a live microphone
to a large proportion of people,
some people will use the means
and the moments at their disposal
to say things that they know will
be hurtful to a large group of people,
and may only say anything
for the sake of saying something,
and do not really care who
their words effect -
which is why fake and faceless
monsters need to be exposed
and brought out of the shadows
with the brightest of lights
and stopped in their tracks
before they can cause any further harm.
It would be nice if we could
all talk to one another
without judgement and without prejudice,
as well as without there being
this constant feeling of tension
underlying every layer
of almost every conversation -
and while some people will never
be able to help themselves
from saying what is on their mind,
whenever they want,
without a care in the world -
most people have to try and bite their tongue,
for as long as they can,
until they know the time is right,
because sometimes words are like weapons
and that can do more harm than good.
The Pathfinder: Pilgrimage
The Pathfinder: What Comes Naturally
My Poem “The Lock of Our Lost Love”
A long time ago,
I put a padlock with our names on it
onto a bridge next to countless others,
and after I attached our lock -
the lock that, to me, at the time,
signified our unending love for one another -
I threw the key to our lock
into the water of the river below;
and I never foresaw that I would
ever regret doing what I did -
however, now, I have to say, I do,
because what we once had is no more,
and whenever I think of that lock
it makes me feel sad,
because our love, as it turns out,
was a lie from beginning to end -
because we were once lovers,
but now we are not even friends.
I wish I could find that lock -
the one that I put on that bridge
all those years ago -
and break it, just as my heart was broken,
because it now symbolises
how foolish I was to have allowed
myself to fall for you
and to believe your lies...
I wish I still remembered what
the key to that lock looked like -
because, maybe if I did, I would
choose to dive to the bottom
of that river and retrieve it
so that I could use it
to unlock that which now feels meaningless;
however, there are most likely
many other keys to be found
in the water underneath the bridge -
so my chances of finding the right key
for the right lock are slim, at best,
but I think it would be worth a shot.
Maybe I should just try
and forget about what once was - us -
and that which once meant so much;
but the truth is that moving on
is harder than it sounds,
especially when you still have
a head full of memories
and shared experiences,
and somewhere in the world
there still remains things
that were placed somewhere in particular
with the intention that they stay
where they are forever,
even though you wish you could
remove them and throw them away -
things like carved initials in an oak tree,
graffiti on a wall,
dedications within books,
or names written upon a lock
that will continue to be
a source of pain whenever
you think of them, or see them,
because they make you remember
what you once had with someone
and that one day when
all that used to mean everything
suddenly came to a stop
and then became lost.
The Doorman (2024) – The Audiobook
Simon Starling is a young man who just has no luck when it comes to relationships - and no matter what he does he always finds himself heartbroken. You would think that one day Simon's luck would change. Right? You would think that one day Simon would find "The One" for him? Well, one day, after breaking up with his girlfriend, something happens to Simon which leads him to visiting a magical place called "Reader's World" and be introduced to its enigmatic and mysterious custodian, "The Doorman", and from that moment Simon's life would never be the same again.
Chapter One – “Introduction”:
Chapter Two – “Mrs. Robinson”:
Chapter Three – “Reader’s World”:
Chapter Four – “Shrödinger”:
Chapter Five – “Raven”:
Chapter Six – “The Green Door”:
Chapter Seven – “The Cardinal”:
Chapter Eight – “The Dream”:
Chapter Nine – “Open”:
Chapter Ten – “The Break-through”:
Chapter Eleven – “The Red Queen”:
Chapter Twelve: “Deadlock”:
Chapter Thirteen: “Phoenix”:
Chapter Fourteen: “The Shadow Man”:
Chapter Fifteen: “The Dark Room”:
The Doorman (2024) – Chapter Sixteen: “Ouroboros”:
Get your copy of the hardcover version of The Doorman on Amazon now!
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