Usually, I am not a big fan of the audition stages of reality shows. I love X-Factor when they’ve picked the final 12 and are doing live performances every week but I can’t bear the cringe level and the delusions of some of those who audition. So it has come as quite a surprise that I have found myself watching and enjoying Britain’s Got Talent which is still in the audition stage.
Although the acts are varied in contents, the common thread among those that impress the judges are where the participants not only have talent but have worked diligently to ensure the professionalism, polish and perfection of their offering. I’ve been particularly impressed by people who have failed in auditions or last years competitions but managed to secure themselves a second chance.
A couple of weeks ago there was young man of fourteen who was ousted prior to the semi-finals of last years show. He is a street dancer and has continued to work hard at his skills. His family has limited financial means so he has been performing as a busker in Manchester as practice and to raise money for further tuition and pay for his Mum’s petrol to take him to lessons. I was very struck by his mature dedication and was pleased that he sailed through this years audition with a bigger and better act than previously.
There was also another boy of eight who was a supremely confident young man who auditioned as a singer. Although he had ‘more front than Brighton’ he wasn’t the best singer and unfortunately the judges told him this. They also told him that he had amazing stage presence, that he was very funny and that he should re-audition as a comedian. So this young boy took all of this on board, worked out a new comedy act, travelled all the way from Blackpool to London and had another go – and he was brilliant. In the time between auditions he must have worked so hard to come up with comedic material and practise it. What amazing dedication and confidence from one so young!
I hope that I too can employ this level of dedication to polish and perfect my creative offerings.
In today’s Metro newspaper, given out free in London and other cities, in the celebrity gossip column there is an interesting snippet about writing:
Jordan has said JK Rowling was ‘stunned’ when told the model hadn’t written her own books. ‘She was like gobsmacked, you know, so I said “why do you write yours?”’
Both are successful businesswomen and are at the top of their respective games. However, one is truly creative and the other is truly commercial.
It seems that most of the books that get published easily these days are ‘written’ by a celeb.
Rant over!
Yesterday my area suffered a seven hour power cut from just after 3pm to 10pm.
Initially the electricity company expected to get things sorted out by 6pm but that didn’t happen. Thankfully I have a gas hob so I was able, by fading light and candle light, to prepare chicken cooked in a saucepan with rice rather than oven-baked as I had planned. With no electricity there was no listening to the radio (as I do not have a battery powered one anymore) or watching television.
If I am alone I usually eat in front of the TV. However, last night I had what turned out to be a lovely meal at my kitchen table with just the light of two candles for company, and a glass of champagne which was still cool in the fridge. As I ate I was struck by how wonderfully silent the world is when there is no power. No whir of the fridge. No hum and rumble of the boiler and central heating system. And no distraction from the goggle box. Just the most profound stillness. I was moved to write in my journal about the experience and felt like I was Emily Bronte scratching away in the near darkness with my fountain pen.
Earlier in the day I had felt very tired and had promised myself and early night. Usually, come the end of the day, I do not keep such promises but last night, at around 9.30pm there really was nothing else to do but go to bed. I suppose in days gone by people did go to bed earlier, and consequently rise earlier, because there was no light. I’m guessing that their days must have been structured to make the most of daylight and also to get more rest and relaxation after dark.
After positioning my candles on my kitchen window sill so I could see to wash up the dishes, off I trotted to bed clutching a single candle. Still feeling so quiet and calm I got under the covers, blew out the candle and snuggled down for an early night of sleep.
Whether I had dosed off and awoken or not, I’m not sure – but a few minutes later I was aware of the glow of a light from downstairs. Ah-hah, the power must have returned. I got up to investigate and sure enough my living room light was now on. I checked my watch and it was 10pm. Perfect, I thought – now I can set the video and record Desperate Housewives. There are some things from the twenty-first century that I just cannot live without!
A couple of months ago I was interviewed on Passion For The Planet radio. This interview is now available as a podcast on Passion’s website. So if you want to hear more about how to move from your day job to your dream job then go to http://www.passionfortheplanet.com/12003club-passionselect.htm, and click the Free To Register button. After registering you will find a list of interesting podcasts, including mine.
If you’re a fan of the Artist’s Way or The Right To Write by Julia Cameron then you’re going to love one of her latest books Letters To A Young Artist.
Letters To A Young Artist comprises of Julia Cameron’s responses to an imaginary young artist that she is mentoring. It is written in easy to read bite-sized pieces so that you can read a few small sections a day as inspiration. Whilst it doesn’t present any new creative ‘methodology’ it is a wonderful reminder of Cameron’s techniques that are laid out in her other books and are certainly responsible for my development as a writer.
One of the things I have found most useful is her view that you don’t need oodles of time to get on and make your art. Even a few minutes a day keeps your momentum up, and in her words, ensures that you continue to “lay track” with your writing or artistic practice. In fact much of the book is about her drumming this into the young artist (and hence drumming it into me!).
The other benefit I have gained from reading the book is that I have returned to writing morning pages. This is something I have not done that regularly in the last couple of months and it is so wonderful to return to it. There is something about morning pages that helps you connect with your intuition. I find that morning pages helps me to make difficult decisions and be at peace with those decisions. Having worked very hard over the last few months on my Countess book I have recently felt quite ‘dried up’ on the creative thinking front. Somehow I think that a few days and weeks of morning pages is going to fix this!
Thankfully I am recovering from the flu now and am gradually getting my energy back. My other health worry at this time of year is hayfever as I am particularly susceptible to tree pollen and to a lesser extent, grass pollen.
Having been hit so badly by the flu I was thinking at the weekend how I can protect myself against hayfever. One way is to eat locally produced honey. However, I live in Central London, not far from the Elephant and Castle on the south side of the Thames, just a few minutes walk from the Houses of Parliament. In this urban jungle, how the hell does one find locally produced honey?!
Thankfully one of my friends me yesterday that just down the road from me is a local gardening community project called Roots and Shoots. This site is also the home of The London Beekeepers Association and they have hives on site and sell honey in their shop. On my morning walk today I decided to investigate. Luckily the shop, which is staffed by volunteers and is only open three days per week, was open. Unluckily there had been a problem with the bees last year, thus reducing supplies, and the honey is already sold out. However, the lady checked under the counter for me and found one remaining pot. It was obviously destined to be mine!
A quick google of the term ‘london honey’ revealed that there are many hives on rooftops and in gardens around London and the number is growing. Apparently city dwelling bees are healthier than their country cousins because they ingest less pesticides. This article proves very interesting reading.
I’ve had a taste of my London honey and it is very light and sweet. It has much more flavour than the supermarket bought honey that I usually eat. Now all I have to do is find out where I can buy more.
Hi Everybody. If you’re wondering why the blog has been a little quiet lately it is because I have had one nasty flu bug. I first started feeling ill at the beginning of February and I’m still tired and very low on energy. I’ve managed to keep writing my novel but haven’t had the impetus to write much else.
I’m hoping salvation is at hand. Someone told me today that you can buy specially formulated tonics from the chemist that help to restore vitality and wellbeing after suffering cold or flu. This sounded like just what I needed so I went to the chemist and purchased said tonic. I’ve already had one dose and will have another before dinner tonight.
The other tonic I’ve been indulging in is Guinness. Over the weekend I felt so tired and depleted and I couldn’t put my finger on what my body feels is lacking. My mother, who’s father was Irish, suggested Guinness as it contains quite a few nutrients and was once recommended to her by the doctor when she needed to gain some strength. Desperation makes you try anything so it was off to the pub. I love drinking Guinness in Ireland as it’s so creamy there but I don’t usually drink it at home. However, apparently the Guinness brewery in the UK has been closed and all the Guinness here now comes straight from Dublin. Result! As a Buddhist I don’t ‘do’ God, but with a pint of Ireland’s finest silky smooth dark stuff in my hand even I might admit that it can only come from the divine!
Wish me luck with the stuff from the chemist. I’m popping next door now to my local pub for my alternative medicine.
I’ve been bogged down with the flu this week. On Thursday I was lounging on my sofa feeling sorry for myself, whilst rotting my brain watching daytime TV, when the phone rang. It was a journalist from the Yorkshire Post who was writing an article about whether money brings happiness and wanted my point of view. Despite feeling awful I was able to chat with him and share my thoughts. The resulting artice was published the following day and makes interesting reading. You can read it, and my comments, by clicking here.
When you work from home it can be very easy to spend the day attached to your computer and not get enough fresh air nor exercise.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been experimenting with going for a walk before I start my work and I have been thoroughly enjoying it. I go out for anything between forty minutes and an hour and I leave my mobile phone and handbag at home. It is really pleasurable to stride along unencumbered by any bags and general clap-trap. This also leaves you free to swing your arms as you walk which increases your heart rate and thus gives you a fitness benefit too.
When I get back home I have the same buzz as if I had just worked out at the gym. Even though the walk makes my start time a little later, I feel that I work more productively.
I’m doing a lot of writing at the moment so my day at the computer is quite an intense activity. However, it definitely helps to know that I have had sufficient exercise before I get lost in the creative process.
Happy New Year!
Here we are – the beginning of January, that hangover time of year where all the fun relaxing time has gone and another year of hard work beckons! It is also a time when we are bombarded with messages of get fit, lose weight, stop smoking, start detoxing and get success in 2008 beginning right now. It is no wonder that most people in the northern hemisphere hate January!
I am one of those people who find January (and February) difficult. It is winter, daylight is in short supply and our bodies naturally want to curl up and hibernate for a few weeks. So this puts us in conflict with the messages I’ve described above where society wants us to work hard, be dynamic and solve every personal flaw overnight!
For many years I coerced myself into this January bandwagon and just found myself even more worn out and depressed than when I started. Why do we force ourselves against our natural flow? When it is summer time, the weather is warm and the days are long we don’t make ourselves sit inside, curled up with a movie and stuff ourselves with mashed potato. So why do we expect and demand an unnatural level of activity in this cosier time of year?
Last year I started to experiment with following my natural rhythms and honouring the fact that at this time of year our bodies want to be slower. I learned that it was harder to promote myself and my business in these few weeks and so changed the rhythm of events and activities that I was undertaking. I also let myself off the hook in my personal life and allowed myself to enjoy spending time alone at home pottering about doing nothing much, rather than being the social queen that I sometimes am. I found that I was happy doing quiet activities at home and as soon as spring started to make an appearance with the longer days in March then I naturally came out of my shell again.
This year I am doing the same. My most important activity at the moment is completing the draft of my novel – this is perfect ‘at home’ cosy work. Of course I am still seeing my clients, doing a bit of marketing and anything else that must be done but I won’t gear up and do anything powerfully dynamic until March or April.
In the last two years of being a life coach I have also found that my also business takes on this same rhythm. My busiest time of year when new people come to me for coaching is not January but April and May. Whilst we are bombarded at this time of year with what we should be doing, it is often easier to act on these goals in spring.
So here comes some radical words from a life coach – don’t flog yourself too hard at the moment to achieve your goals. Honour whatever your natural rhythms are and enjoy the quietness of winter if that feels right to you. It might be a perfect time of reflection to formulate what you want from your life but don’t thrash yourself to achieve it immediately. Take small steps and leave some time for relaxation. Make sure you do get outside and get some daylight everyday and then enjoy spending time with yourself at home.
Happy winter!
