Holiday

I came on holiday optimistic that I would write reams. In reality I have written very little. Well on paper anyway. My husband took us for a six mile yomp and in between concentrating where I was putting my feet and trying to get enough energy for the next step, I did write two poems. I could only vaguely remember one when we returned to the holiday barn. My excuse for not writing is that I am having a head cleanse. I’m enjoying the slightly spaced out relaxed feeling I have in the Lake District. This was enhanced greatly yesterday evening by half a bottle of red wine. I’m getting ideas a plenty, particularly from reading Cumbria Life, the local monthly magazine. There seems to be a theme in their real person stories. That is that human beings are incredibly adaptable and from adversity or life change they produce new lives with positive purpose. I am just hoping that when I return home the rest and relaxation will result in increased writing productivity.

Writing Quotations

I felt the need to blog some quotations from April’s Writing Magazine. These really resonated with me.

Alison Chisholm – “The beauty of interpreting poetry is that it does not matter if the vision conjured in the reader’s mind is different from the one released by the poet’s pen.”

Russell T. Davies in his book ‘The Writer’s Tale’ – “There’s not the writer and then me, there’s just me. All of my life connects with writing.”

Tony Rossiter – “The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”

Douglas McPherson – “The only way to keep technical ability up is to do it all day every day so while you can dabble in lots of things, if you want to be really good at something you have to choose one thing and stick to it.”

Some good advice I think!

Crafty Thoughts

I’d forgotten how much my soul needs to be creative. Feeling energised and inspired this morning and not just about the polymer beads I learned to make yesterday. Somehow the experience of being out of my usual routine, meeting new people and learning a new skill has rewired my brain which previously was becoming dull and lifeless. The day just flew by yesterday and my back aches today from concentration. It is always a pleasure to attend courses at the beautiful Farncombe Estate in Broadway – it is worth going just for the panoramic view.

I left home rather stressed, as I’d had to get ready early whilst trying to extract myself from usual morning duties at home. I hadn’t driven more than a mile before I found huge hot air balloons drifting low across the sky before me – magical! Then I listened to the news on Radio 4 and learned that a UK resident had won £54m on the lottery. Had a few moments of deciding how I would spend the money and then I discovered a lovely Celtic CD in the car. There were hardly any cars on the road and I spent the rest of the journey speeding along in a relaxed trance.

The course tutor was lovely, just as I had imagined her, crafty and a little scruffy, so willing to take ideas on board and accommodate the needs of the group. As always I was struck by the links between the group members in terms of occupation, homes, study and interests. It would be interesting to have a helicopter view on how people select a course and what brings these groups together. The spiritual part of me thinks that we gather on purpose to perform healing and past life linkages on some level.

Regardless of any of this, I left at 4.30pm with a bag of beads made by little me. These will inspire jewellery projects made from the precious products of my imagination and possible a whole new foray into this craft. I also had an intense desire to pass on the skills I have learned to Mum, sister, friends and my little boy. Money well spent I think.

Seasons

Springtime.
Gained parental praise
with academic accolades.

Summertime.
Explored careers,
love and spiritual crusades.

Autumn time.
Skills harvest, but
procrastination invades.

Is wintertime
a barren place,
legacy of blank charades?

My husband believes in me!

One great big kick up the back side I think. We were discussing future plans and I suggested that I go back to work to contribute to that future, but my darling wants me to give myself one more year to pursue my writing dreams. Help, that feels scary but maybe the push I need to stop dithering in the shadows and get out there.

At least with decisions made, even if we change them over time, I can stop this frozen feeling and get stuck in.

I had a weird dream last night, my office was in a cafe and people from my past kept discovering me there and giving me, verbally, pieces of a jig-saw. I don’t remember if I finally solved the puzzle, but it felt almost as if I was given absolution from many different aspects of my life. Maybe the release I need to finally move forward and be who I am meant to be?

The Value of Good Friends

I had a girlie lunch today with five friends. We laughed, we talked, we sang and we combined energy and I believe all felt better as a result. I am grateful to have friends with whom I can let my hair down, be silly, be sad, say naughty things and cry if I need to. The value of this is not to be underestimated.

Yet how do we come to meet these friends? Chance encounters? Energetic resonance? Past life recognition? I firmly believe that the friends I have at the moment are part of my soul group.

Gratitude is something which is lightening my heart at the moment, I am grateful for so many things in my life. This has an added benefit, because when I am grateful for so much, little niggles do not seem to have quite so much impact. The maxim “what you focus on expands” comes to mind or my favourite “red car theory”, so if I focus on gratitude I will find even more to be grateful for. This may sound sugary sweet but it seems to work so don’t knock it and maybe join in!

Back to School

The Christmas decorations are down and suddenly the house looks bigger and cleaner. I miss their sparkle, but I'm enjoying the space created by their absence. In fact, it reminds me of a book on my son’s bookshelf “A Squash and a Squeeze”. It’s the one where the old lady complains her house is too small and is told to invite a variety of farm animals to live with her. When they all leave, her house seems massive. There must be a moral in there somewhere.

It is the time of year for New Year’s resolutions but I didn’t specifically make any this year. I am trying to improve things all the time these days and my 1-20 monthly wish list is fine for me. ‘Doing more of the same’ could summarise my desire for the year. I think I’ll add to this ‘doing more things outside of my comfort zone’ as I have become a bit of a scardy cat when it comes to travelling and adventurous holidays.

My perspectives are changing. I would have loved deep snow during the holiday period, as it would have meant lots of play with my son. However, I now find myself dreading it on the weather forecast, as it would complicate the school run. Back to routines tomorrow. Setting the alarm, ironing school uniform and cleaning always muddy school shoes. Still it will mean more time for me and writing. 2010 feels like it could be a good year.