Fa – the Green Dragon

A Place for the Odd Musings of an Expat Bristolian

Category Archives: Life Events


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I had Time on my hands

In August of 2025 I fell down and fractured my spine. I spent about 2 weeks in hospital where I was treated and then transferred to a Transition care Unit for therapy. The unit I was sent to had two sections, one for Long Term care, LTC and the other for Transition Care TCU. All residents had private rooms. My room was situated adjoining the LTC. In between my physical and occupational therapy session I spent a lot of time on my back in bed. It was a difficult position for holding a book and reading. But I did come across a lightweight paperback of quotations. But let me digress for a moment. I had plenty of opportunities to observe the LTC residents coming and going to therapy as they passed by my room. Strangely, although there were at least 40 LTC residents, it was the same 4 or 5 who went to therapy each day. I asked why that was. The response I got was surprising: “Oh most of them have given up”. Which brings me back to the book of quotations. One by John Henry Thoreau jumped out at me. It goes as follows: There are none so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. I for one was anxious to get discharged as soon as possible. For those who had given up I thought how sad.

I do realize that some people had conditions far worse than mine, but I have always lived with another quotation in mind, that the Lord helps those who help themselves. And here I am just five months after my injury walking (albeit with a cane) again.


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Staying in the present … Continued.

In 1985 -86, technology had developed to the point where we could program our wrist watches to emit a beeping sound, on the hour every hour. This turned out to be one of Mr. gibbons’ pet peeves. During his lecture one day, he questioned the necessity for this audible interruption.

From that time forward, we never heard this  sound again.

As I wrote earlier, removing distractions allowed for awareness. Mr. Gibbons explained at about this time that one of his mantras for living in the present was to consider the next two minutes as the most important moments of your life.

Staying in the present, being aware increases one’s ability to anticipate. Anticipation is simply a matter of being prepared. This can be most important when executing daily tasks. Driving your car for example is one of the most important places to be focused, aware and in an anticipatory mode. Paying bills on time is another which can save you money by avoiding late fees. And what about places of potential danger.

Taking notice of your surroundings when you enter a business or your bank can help  to keep you safe. Noting fire exits is something very few people do. Complacency rears it’s head with the thinking that it won’t happen to me.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts for the time being. I will write more in due course.


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Staying in the Present

Some years ago, when my work took me to return to the U.K., I was fortunate to have attended a series of lectures delivered by James Gibbons at the London School of Economic Science. I did this over a period two years. His course of lectures involved being and staying in the present. His lectures were well prepared and delivered. They required active participation by all attendees, There were about 30 of us.

There were many parts to being and staying in the present. The first part being the elimination of all distractions. This required actively disregarding anything, taking one away from active listening. Such things as traffic noise coming from outside on the street, or doors opening and closing in adjacent rooms etc.

Have you ever noticed yourself during a conversation, drifting away from fully listening to thinking about what you are going to say next? I think it happens to all of us. Sadly, we have become a nation of people waiting  to speak instead of listeners.

What I found and my take-away from these lectures, was that I had a better understanding of what had been said. And this led to a better long-term memory of the event.

We can all train ourselves to be and remain in the present. However, it is up to the individual to make a conscious decision to be be more aware of events as they happen.

Personally, I found that this practice left me better prepared with fewer surprises. This has reduced what I call catastrophic events in my day-to-day life. Of course, there is a lot to write about this, but I don’t want to be long winded. Perhaps more to follow at a time in the near future


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Is it a question of Time?

Yesterday I was having a discussion with a friend about the situation Fotus Trump has created not only in the US but also around the world. My friend remarked, “yes I wish he would go away or just pass away”. I responded that passing away while still in office would not solve our problem. I went on to offer this opinion: It would be far better to wait for the mid-term elections and the next general election. If we do that, I believe that Trump, Musk and others of the GOP will have caused enough damage and disruptions to our country, that finally we will be able to vote them out of office, the congress and senate to reclaim a path of honesty, competence and sanity. On the other hand, if Trump should pass away while still in office the frightening reality will be the elevation of the rabid doglike JD Vance, who has already displayed his loathing for our friends and allies. Let us continue the fight with this in mind.


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I have been missing in action

Due to health reasons, I have been away from blogging for quite some time. In fact, I cannot remember the last time that I posted, I have undergone some heart surgery, and it has taken me a while to fully recuperate, I feel quite a bit better now. I have been doing some physical therapy. This has consisted of walking and chair yoga. I chose chair yoga because I still have some balance issues.

Anyway, here I am, ready and able to pick up the pieces. I hope that I will be able to show up more often to write. I think I have to learn how WordPress works again.