Go Placidly ...

is probably one of the only texts with a religious reference that doesn't annoy me,
and that's only because you can't tell until the line Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be; 

the whole text from the very first letter to the last full stop pretty much resonates with me... It's the guideline I follow for living my life

I grew up with a framed version of it hanging on the landing outside my bedroom and when I moved from my Home down to Greenock for college it was the first thing that I packed to take with me. I decided a long time ago that where ever I end up in life whether its on the other side of the world from my family or back home in Shetland that piece of framed text will always come with me no matter what, it holds my childhood in a few simple lines of text. Every word is loaded with meaning for me and whenever I read it it's like coming home at the end of a long day, its the smell of baking, salt spray in the air, of sheep and haymaking in the summer, its all the hugs from my dad, my mum's hands running through my hair, it's nights curled up in my armchair by the fire with a good book on a cold winter evening, its rock climbing barefooted and not caring about scraped shins, its my brother and I spending all our time together and speaking in our own made up language, it's the sound of a grandfather clock ticking and the soft murmur of voices as I sleep, its the call of a seagull and the swish and suck of an ocean tide on shingle, its being five years old again and falling asleep on my dad's lap to the feel of his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing, its being taught how to cook and burnt fingers on sticky jam, using beetroot juice as war paint, building mini bonfires and playing Cowboys and Indians. It's my brother and I setting fire to our bunk bed cause we wanted to practice making campfires, its long summer days and walking down to the village myself at the age of 7. The first time I got drunk and the first time I smoked a spliff.

To put it as simply as possible it is My Home in text form and the fact that it mentions God once in the whole thing honestly doesn't matter to me.