As a life-long Genesis fan I’ll
freely admit I wasn’t too endeared with some of their later material and I only
bought their 2007 album ‘We Can’t Dance’ earlier this week. On closer listening
however, I think I’ve been missing out. Maybe I was thrown by the bands ‘Spitting
Image’ portrayal and by their more romantic pop offerings and heavily led
keyboard songs but ‘Fading Lights’ is actually a stand out classic. It’s a
track I’ve had in my library on their live album ‘The Way We Walk Vol 2 - The
Longs’ for a long time but sadly overlooked. It’s well worth a look or a listen
I believe and if you do you’ll see perhaps what I’m getting at.
Anyway, it’s perfect accompaniment
for today’s blog. A blog where I want to come across sounding upbeat rather than
a sapping ‘Energy Vampire’. You see, the aforementioned album really got me
thinking about ‘Life’s Progression’ and how Chapters open and close, years go
by and people sadly come and go.
Another
time it might have been so different
If only we could do it all again…
Right now, death seems to surround me
- see I told you it was dark - but it does. I shouldn’t really be surprised
though now I’m getting on a bit at 56. Apparently, it’s a time when you start
going to more funerals than weddings. That’s true enough as only recently, one
of my close friends collapsed and died, right out of the blue - which I will
admit really shook me. Another of my friends is ‘living’ with terminal prostate
cancer and another is fighting a stage 3 breast cancer nightmare. It’s all a
bit much, especially after being so ill myself a couple of years’ back. In fact
it’s worse than that, it’s frightening.
Maybe I’m just coming to terms with how
close to the edge I really was with GBS in a PTSD kinda way. I know it made me
consider that in another time, whether I do it all again.
But now
it's just another fading memory
Out of focus, though the outline still remains…
Thinking about it, most of us would,
as we wouldn’t have found love, had children, accomplished feats and created
life-long memories. Maybe that’s what the very old ‘Genesis’ songs and albums
represent. Memories - and that’s why I overlooked the later lighter songs, so
in a way I wouldn’t blemish the adolescent landmarks of my youth. Hmm, that
sounds a bit slushy and sentimental for me but I do cherish those years in a
spotty faced pre-digital ‘World of Change’.
Far away,
away, fading distant lights
Leaving us all behind, lost in a changing world…
Ah, the ‘Changing World’. Well, I’m as
aware as the next man that our modern world is changing at an alarming rate and
I’m doing everything I can to keep up with it. The 4K Ultra-High-Definition,
digital world offers an amazing visual notebook of the world around us. The
distant lights of myself in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s are literally just that - limited
to a few snapshots and school photographs that document thirty years of life’s
progression. Not that it matters that much I suppose as I can remember the
highlights package and have edited out the bits I care to forget. Luckily for
the current generation, Facebook will deliver the instant image capture of
everyday life and will catalogue our children’s lives and adventures. It will
also provide a legacy for those whom are currently living all their future years
on a much shorter time scale.
And you know that these are the days of our lives so remember
Like the story that we wish was never ending…
Gosh, this is sounding really dark
now, but I’m just wanted to highlight that ‘these are the days of our lives’ –
the BEST ones actually. It’s something I was reminded of during the ‘Flora
1000-Mile Challenge’ in 2003 by London Marathon Race-Director, David Bedford. I
didn’t know what he meant at the time but get it now. I remember that I wasn’t
too happy about one thing or another and he told me in a very direct ‘David Bedford
Way’ to ‘consider the bigger picture and enjoy one of the best days of my life’.
He was SO right and I’ve quoted the story many times over.
We know some time we must reach the final
page
Still we carry on just pretending…
Do we pretend it’s never going to end
for us or just ignore it? Is the last page something you consider? I’m not sure
if I do or I don’t. Maybe I’d consider it more if I knew my days were numbered
like my friends. The thing is most of us don’t know just how many ‘pages’ we’re
going to make and for most they don’t want to either. In writing my own book I managed
to cram 53 years into a mere 164pp and 16 pictures. There were some passages of
time, some of them of many years long that didn’t feature. In an ever-changing
world, living through some of the most formative years of the developing human
race, I had nothing to say – What a waste.
That there'll always be another day
to go
Far away, away, fading distant lights…
Making the days count, that’s what really
matters. As another of my ‘Life-Chapters’ is coming to a close, I feel it’s
time to take in a few last breaths before moving into new territory, start breaking
ground and making fresh footprints. Like most people of my age I’m now
realising that nothing lasts forever. I’m sure that the Genesis band members
would agree with me on that one. To me it’s a shame that they’ll probably never
play together again and that their early back-catalogue and video footage isn’t
of the quality it so deserves.
Another
chance hello, another goodbye
And so many things we'll never see again…
I feel like that about my early years
of running marathons. Then again, on seeing a photo of me in my running gear back
1995, the high-waister shorts with my vest tucked in wasn’t a good look. I did
have a good head of hair though. Anyway, it’s the marathon dates and times matter
the most. Things would have been different too as if I were running from
London2Lisbon now instead of 2004, I’d be broadcasting from the run live,
sharing the experience. Even since 2013 things have really progressed in terms
of accessibility and social media since my ‘Stoptober’.
Days of life that seemed so unimportant
Seem to matter and to count much later on…
And there’s the rub. You don’t know
what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. It’s the same old song, playing that same old
tune - but how true it is. I wonder what value you’d put on life itself. Ask
the people facing death in the face and they’ll probably have a much higher
asking price than yours. They’re making sure that every day from now on counts,
double, without regrets and without missed opportunities.
I’m writing this on the 0515hrs
Cardiff to London Express wondering what the 1,000 or so other people crammed on
here wondering what they will achieve today. I wouldn’t imagine that there will
be too many ‘World Records’ set but no doubt there will be a vast amount of
energy expended writing emails, pacifying clients, fighting colleagues and worrying
about things that simply don’t matter.
Unlike them, I’m running 10 miles
around the City’s Landmarks to test out a route for our Average2Awesome Challenge
on a day that I’m sure I’ll never forget. Luckily for me with my iPhone I’m
able to document it in in Hi-Res and enjoy it again whenever I want to in the
future as it’s bound to be one of the most enjoyable days of 2018.
1,013 Marathons - 245 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records
