The Mechanics

Good morning one and all, it's mechanics day.

I have a meeting this morning so I won't be able to write today.

I wish you all a creatively inspiring day!

Cheers.

A demain.

The Writer's Weekly

Good morning everyone!

I doubt any of you have missed the headline this morning about the Austrian man that held his daughter, and three of their seven children, imprisoned for twenty-four years.

My father made a comment to me this morning that is very true, he said: If someone wrote this story in a book no one would believe it.

The critics would say that the author had created a fantastical, larger-than-life story.

Well, I think life is already large enough and I think any author would be hard-pressed to 'make-up' a scenario that hasn't occurred somewhere at some time in history.

Where do these stories come from but the human psyche (which is linked to the consciousness of all humanity after all)?

It is for this exact reason that I am not comfortable critiquing books.

In the short story class I was taking (and one of the reasons why I stopped going) the teacher kept commenting that events in people's stories would never happen in real life. I bit my tongue more than once when he said that because he was implying that life is slow-moving and rather boring. Well, maybe his life is, but not everyone's.

I bet that a lot of the events in people's stories were based on their real experiences or things that they'd witnessed. I found this assumption, that he knew what would happen and not happen in this world, very pompous (as well as closed-minded).

I find the events that happened in Austria tragic and horrific, but do they surprise me? No. I would never have come up with such a twisted story even for a book, but life has a way of shocking you.

I think it was Woody Allen (and likely many other people) that said: Art reflects life.

That's what I think too and it's a wild world out there!

The Voice

Good morning one and all.

It's voice day.

Today I am going to talk about the conscious and unconscious part of my voice.

My voice can be very conscious especially if the material is technical in nature, but my voice can be very unconscious too.

I think some people would argue that no one can ever be completely aware of their voice. I think this is likely true.

I have found with my own writing that the more emotional the material is the less conscious I am of my voice. It is easier for me to be very objective with my writing when it is technical--the grammar and tone and style then become my paramount concerns.

But when I am writing poetry, for example, I am somewhere else in my head. Of course I still think about grammar, tone and style, but I am also trying to convey emotions, feelings and an essence that does not have to sound like anything else I have ever written. That is likely why I love writing poetry so much.

Technical writing is a corset and poetry is flip-flops, for me.

This does not mean that because I am not bound by dictates that my poetry is not serious for me. It is.

In fact, I doubt I could maintain my sanity without it. Needless to say I take it very seriously for that reason alone, but there is something to be said for feeling completely free to express yourself any way you choose. How often do we feel that free in life? I would say not often enough! (This is likely the reason why I often dream of speeding in fast cars. Pure freedom.)

Society puts lots of constraints on what we can do, but what we can think is our own.

Poetry rids my body of the taboo, scary, intense, violent, turbulent emotions that I was raised to suppress. Allowing me to then feel and express all my other emotions as well.

I am thrilled that I found poetry as a budding adolescent girl. It has kept me on an even keel with myself since then and has added a dimension to my life that I haven't always had outside of myself: Freedom.

Open Forum

Happy Friday one and all!

Today is a PD day at my son's school so we are off to walk the doggie at the park soon.

It's been so beautiful for so many days now that my face is tanned and I feel spoiled walking my dog twice a day in this gorgeous weather.

I bought a hammock and I am going to hang that up this weekend. I have two trees that are the perfect distance apart in my backyard and I've been wanting to get one for years now. Well, the hammock's sitting on my table and all I need is the rope. I am closer than I've ever been before!

I wish you all a wonderfully creative weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Enjoy and have one on me!

The Journey

I aptly named Thursdays journey day because they are often a day of reflection for me. And this Thursday is no exception.

I have been finding a lot of serendipity in my world these days and I believe coincidences do not occur by chance (despite the definition).

I went out for a couple of brew at my local bar last evening feeling kinda down for no particular reason. Maybe there were a number of little reasons that added up to a small sadness.

I ended up talking with a former NHL player that is American/French Canadian and he was the serendipity that I am speaking of. At first he appeared like any other guy wanting to chat at the bar. Over time I realized that he was not regular and he slowly got more and more of my attention.

He told me that he has written a book on some of his experiences while playing in the NHL. He said it will shake up the League, of that I have no doubt. (I will not divulge the crux of it here as it has not yet been released by the publisher.)

As we talked he noticed some things about me that could not have been guess work. He actually had me in tears at one point though I kept a brave face (I didn't want to seem like a lush about to ball, anyway I didn't have that much to drink.) And maybe you're thinking he was trying to pick me up, but, though he may have thought of it, I really don't think that was his agenda.

No, he simply wanted to talk with someone that could actually understand what he was saying. That is something I absolutely understand. We had a great conversation and I realized that maybe some people can see things about me that I didn't think were that perceptible (well at least not on the first meeting anyway). He proceeded to say 'Remember Jackie, there are no coincidences. You needed to hear these things tonight.' I wholeheartedly agreed. It was true.

Oddly enough I hadn't consciously gone out looking for anything. I often hang out there and just chat with the staff and head home. I do meet some great people there too, but that wasn't on my mind last night.

I really did need to hear what he had to say. I have always found it a challenge to find people that I can really talk with: People that can really understand what I mean when I say things. They don't have to agree, in fact we spent a lot of time arguing too last evening (I can be very stubborn, but never closed), but just the fact that I can talk about ideas close to my heart and be heard is a big deal for me.

One thing he did say to me is something I have heard before in a very different context, but I have never forgotten it. He said 'You are different, you think and live outside the box therefore you must make a difference in this world.'

I guess I have known that for a while, I'm just trying to figure out exactly how. I think I'm already on the path to that difference, it's just still a little unclear.

He gave me the look in the mirror I needed to realize others are seeing in me things I am also seeing in myself. Sometimes I just am not quite sure where to go or how to proceed. I am at a down point that always requires a lot of reflection and peace. It is at these times that I spend more time with my animals and my son, they are centering and healing for me. It is no accident that I got my dog last week and that I have some time to think before I start a new work project next week. Life looks after what I need when I need it.

Serendipity indeed!