It all floats to the bottom

Basically, when you are down at The Bottom, 

Marine Snow is the shit which rains down on you. 

The amount, and the size of the shit depends on the season.

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately, mainly from my 'Mentalhealthish' list on twitter. Those on my mentalhealthish' list, sit either side of the couch, around it, on it or even behind it (hat tip to @wondedgenius for that phrase). Meaning they are clients, therapists or those that work in some capacity within the mental health field. Hopefully nobody on the list minds being tagged as 'mentalhealthish', it was just an easier way to keep tabs on why I was following certain folk over on twitter. They are a mixed bunch of folks, that amuse, educate and entertain constantly, not that that is their job, just a happy coincidence for me.

Not sure how to write this without sounding too gushing, sappy or just ridonkulous, but some of the posts I have read, have been far more inspiring and insightful than any book I have read of late. I think it is important to constantly keep your toes in the water, whatever stage of learning/studying you are at. You can never stop learning, if you think you know enough, then you are quite simply daft. Also the perspective you gain from hearing/reading about mental health issues from all parties is invaluable.

The doodle is inspired by a poem, a blog and well some more blogs. Some people have the rare talent of being able to write so well, that you feel almost part of their world, not in their world, but teetering around the edges. You get a glimpse of the highs and the lows in their life. It is impossible to be unaffected by the emotions so beautifully written, even if they are painful, you are grateful that they have been shared. So from that mixture of emotions, the above doodle was born. Click it to see it 'biggified' if you like.

Don't worry I am not getting anyone's face tattooed on my body yet! I am no mentalist! (Alan Partridge reference). I just hope people keep on writing, so that I can keep on learning (without anyone feeling like a guinea pig).

Some poetry follows...(Don't worry not mine!)



This is a poem that I found particularly poignant and went well with my theme, it is by Thomas Lux.

Marine Snow At Mid-Depths And Down by Thomas Lux

As you descend, slowly, falling faster past
you this snow,
ghostly, some flakes bio-
luminescent (you plunge,
and this lit snow doesn't land
at your feet but keeps falling below
you): single-cell-plant chains, shreds
of zooplankton's mucus food traps,
fish fecal pellets, radioactive fallouts,
sand grains, pollen....And inside
these jagged falling islands
live more microlives,
which feed creatures
on the way down
and all the way down. And you,
in your sinking isolation
booth, you go down, too,
through this food-snow, these shards,
bits of planet, its flora
and flesh, you
slip straight down, unreeled,
until the bottom's oozy silt, the sucking
baby-soft muck,
welcomes you
to the deep sea's bed,
a million anvils per square inch
pressing on your skull.
How silent here, how much life,
few places deeper on earth,
none with more width.

Thanks for reading, as always.