NiallOK’s Blog

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Recently I got back in contact with someone who reminded me of some stuff I used to write (poems, short stories and the like) and I’ve been looking back at some of it with a mixture of both warm and sad feelings.

So… anyway… six years and four days ago (when I was twenty-five), I wrote this poem called “The Clare Way”. It was influenced by a time when me and this young American lady who I was utterly in love with and had a strong spiritual connection with, stumbled upon a quiet secluded little corner of County Clare with a mansion next to a lake which was found via a mossy tunnel of trees, well off the beaten track, and it was written in - oh  about 10 minutes. Make of it what you will:-

The Clare Way The leafy glades some gods had made And put aside as beauty, The mossy treet of make-believe All overgrown and rooty. The ruined house in freedom dowsed And full of lifes loud glory, Where every stick or crumbled brick Could tell an endless story. The slanted flights of golden light Strike down on a moss-made carpet The hiding creatures of the night Their ne’er-discovered target The wind dies down, cold circles round, The woods are dead alive. - An idyllic spot - amidst the rot Where life and love now thrive. And in the verdant vibrant green Two tangled souls now tread, This dusk-walk won, trapped from the sun To dreams and hopes ahead.

A new blog from an anonymous Dubliner has been causing quite a stir as the author, known only as “me”, goes into detail about his sexual encounters and reveals his innermost thoughts about his girlfriend, who he simply refers to as “lover”, the Evening Herald reports today.

Psychotherapist, couples counsellor and relationship expert David Kavanagh (also known as the Date Doctor from dating site MaybeFriends.com) says that “this is not a healthy thing to do”, “it’s like writing a diary and having it read by everybody in the country.”

I’m not really sure if this is an echo of the awful bile that John Waters recently spouted, when he essentially said that there was no journalistic merit or value in blogs and that writing a blog was basically a waste of time - or if Mr. Kavanagh simply has a problem with the amount of intimate detail that the blogger goes into, but I’d have to disagree either way, because I wouldn’t call it “unhealthy”. I’d imagine it could be the very opposite, in fact - quite therapeutic. It’s not quite getting up on a soapbox and yelling the secret thoughts to the world - it’s a step down from that as there is the safety net of anonymity… but hell, what do I know, I’m no psychotherapist, myself…

There is certainly a case to be said for the therapeutic value of anonymously getting something off your chest in a very public way - take RTÉ 2fm DJ Rick O’Shea’s Text Secrets blog for example - plenty of people send in their secret and most innermost thoughts anonymously for all to see because, in some way, it helps them mentally, knowing that other people get to see them without knowing who they are. Sometimes, as well, it helps knowing that there’s other people in the same boat as you. Always, it provides interesting reading and good fodder for a radio show.

As regards the Dear Lover blog itself, while it makes for interesting reading, it’s just another outlet - another place to anonymously let out those feelings of yours that may otherwise be too embarrassing, revealing or possibly hurtful - a half-way step between the unhealthiness of bottling it up and the often terrifying step of telling the whole world… so yes, it serves a purpose, - a possibly therapeutic purpose - but, as blogs go - a very honed in and specific purpose too;- so while I’m impressed by it and think it’s a good idea, I’m skeptical about its potential lasting ability.

There’s a few good tips in here… some ladies should take note!

This might be told in a tongue-in-cheek way, but they’re still REAL tips.

There’s one for boyfriends too…

Together nearly four years. Engaged for nearly two.

Sharing a home, a dog, walks, talks, fun holidays - life. Loads of happy memories.

All over now. She just doesn’t feel it any more. I’ve moved out of Dundalk. Back to my family in Dublin.

It’s true what Neil Young sings - only love can break your heart. My world’s turned upside-down and inside-out. I’m utterly shattered - heart-broken. Feeling lost, numb and sick.

Really wish this wasn’t happening.

Get it now! It’s… New Improved Love!!!:

Tim Joyce thinks he knows what love means. Man, this guy has been burned before…

Gooey in two ways… It’s the Happy Tree Friends Valentines special, “Smoochies”! (Not for kids)

If you liked that, you might also like this - more from the Happy Tree Friends - “Sucker for love”.

Have a great Valentine’s Day, everyone!