A reflection on an existential meditation on human vulnerability, effort, and mortality.
(A lone voice whispers)
In the middle of it all
All we can do is try
Before we are recalled
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Existentialism is a 20th-century philosophical movement centred on the idea that humans are entirely free and responsible for creating their own meaning and purpose in a chaotic world.
I created:
"Turn the Lights Down Low" as a romantic, soul-inspired old-school track.
The lyrics focus on a couple creating an intimate atmosphere for a slow dance, encouraging each other to live in the moment and embrace their love.
Do this current generation even know what slow dancing is?
If you know, you know.
Salute.
I created:
The Wedding Vows" as a romantic musical composition that serves as an artistic expression of commitment and deep partnership.
The lyrics emphasise moving beyond superficial symbols of marriage, such as a "ring of gold," to instead focus on a profound, soulful, and spiritual connection between two people.
When you got married, when you reflect.
Are your wedding vows still intact?
Salute.
I created:
"What's Going On" as a soulful, reflective song that addresses themes of social unrest, human suffering, and the need for unity and truth.
The song concludes with a hopeful plea for strength and peace, encouraging a collective effort to "make a way" for change starting today.
As the world seems to fall, maybe it's time we all stood tall.
Salute.
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
Today's transmission.
A deeply emotional exploration of empathy, human connection, and the profound impact one person can have on another's life.
At its core, the passage is a call to action for unconditional love, compassion, and presence.
Shall we begin?
(A lone voice whispers)
Just be like a silent, hushed lullaby against the encroaching shadows of night.
Just be like the glorious morning sunshine, eroding the darkness within others.
Just be Faith and Hope entwined as one.
Just be strength that lifts a weary heart.
Just be the one who helps to break the prison of an icy soul.
Just be a form of peace and tranquillity for those that need you – to begin again.
Just be the morning light, a silent voice of rebirth and empathy.
Just be a trusting sentinel, a guardian against the darkness calling their name.
Just be a silent, hushed lullaby against the shadows of night.
Just be a friend.
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
An evocative transmission on the intoxicating, transcendent, yet tragic power of language and intimacy as a refuge from external chaos.
(A lone voice whispers)
Do the right words have a strange, hypnotic way of making the mind's hips
Slowly sway
Opening hearts to beat in unison
As spiritual arms embrace one another
While the waking world burns
As each word is received
To relight a new red candle
Lit but forever cursed to yearn
For more
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
Is Language an Aphrodisiac?
Let us begin.
(A lone voice whispers)
I can always remember my first and only muse.
Whom I seduced with words and verbs.
To calm her fragile nerves.
As we made such music on spiritual paper
That the old Gods would later revisit
To taste its vapours
We serenaded curves
In every love letter
Shared
Of such tranquil unreachable things
We felt we deserved
Which sent climatic vibrations up and down our wet spines
In absorbed hot sentences and soft prose
Where innocence wandered away without a spoken word
As new kings and queens down in between the lines
Rose and pined
As our minds screamed and whined
And all it took
Was a way to find
The golden sensuous key
To the hidden doorways
Of her mind
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
I've heard them all my life but never put pen to paper.
That was the post-traumatic catalyst.
After gathering 4+ million views on Google+, and now gathering over a 100 thousand views on Blogger.
On reflection, I must be doing something right for the light.
Let's hit a million!
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
A haunting, atmospheric transmission of eternal longing, grief, and the purgatorial nature of memory
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
(A lone voice whispers)
Waiting in this dark, swirling abyss
I miss the soft touch of your hand, your voice and that unforgettable first kiss
Inside, although it hides
Is my old heart that once cried
Now silent and still
As I prowl through old streets
As I once did
Dawn no longer interrupts me
So all night all I search for you in here
For I know we are cursed to forget names and faces when we enter
But only remember
The past, for that is what always lasts
But as I hunger for the thing I love the most
You, my familiar old ghost
I can only pray through this swirling grey smoke that chokes
As I trail around like a bull wearing a harvest yoke
You'll find me
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Here's a hauntingly beautiful transmission of a recent journey.
Capturing the vivid, liminal space.
The "Great In-Between".
Where themes of mortality, memory, and the transition from life to death blend.
From Fire to Ice.
The burning, volcanic sensation through the nerves represents the pain, intensity, or raw energy of life (or perhaps the process of dying).
This quickly gives way to a creeping numbness.
"All I am now is ice".
Signalling the loss of vitality, warmth, and the earthly "touch of fire."
Where The Great In-Between feels like a cosmic waiting room or purgatory.
The undulating air, whispering darkness, and suspended motion create an atmosphere of profound isolation, yet it holds a heavy, expectant stillness.
The Silver Scrying Mirror & Spotlight:
The spotlight acts as a stage for judgment or final confession, casting a "narrow beacon of low resistance."
The silver scrying mirror represents reflection, memory, and perhaps an audience of the past or other souls (the frozen shadows), waiting to witness the truth of a soul's existence.
The Human Condition ("Notoriety"):
The soul that steps into the light represents all its humanity.
Sent down by God to experience society with all its "ensuing notoriety."
It highlights how noisy and chaotic life on Earth is compared to the stark, silent truth of the aftermath.
The Final Evaluation and the climax of the transmission are deeply introspective.
Watching another soul prepare to speak forces the narrator to confront their own inevitable end.
The transmission leaves one hanging on a universal, profound question:
What will your final thoughts be when you stand before the void after being struck by "Death's golden cosh"?
Shall we begin?
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
(A lone voice whispers)
This thing burns like a volcano surging through my nerves
This air around me moves, undulating like the Pacific, and every night
I slowly come to realise
As I enter this old realm
All I am now is ice.
For ice now crawls all over my skin
For that old touch of fire has retired
And as I look around.
Velumbound.
I can only hear a whispering darkness and see a lone spotlight in the near distance.
A lone bright white light that burns a straight line and casts a narrow beacon of low resistance
To the surrounding darkness.
And as I approach.
The bright beam illuminating the Great In-Between
I see a great silver scrying mirror, hanging suspended in the stillness
And as always, the once whispering darkness goes silent
As shadows in the Great mirror suddenly freeze
Motionless
And then into the white light steps a beautiful soul
With a tale to be told
Of long-lost days
Before they grew old
When God sent them down to be born
To experience society with all its ensuing notoriety
In whatever form
And in that rare moment
In a nanosecond before they speak
I always wonder what I would say
When my time too comes, and into the white light I stand
For the shadows in the Great silver Scrying mirror to watch
As I too reveal my final thoughts
After being struck down by Death's golden cosh
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
