Ravel's Bolero and other classics

Tonight we're going to a classical music dinner party, invited to bring our favourite piece of classical music. This is my partners..... Should be a great night.

Seasons of Stories

With thanks to Dolce Bellezza who recommended this opportunity, I'm enjoying short stories again...

Short stories are delivered to my inbox during the week. If I cant finish one, I get a catch up link too.. check it out here.

Have fun reading with us...

Yesterday I treated myself to a lazy morning, coffee and breakfast out, reading, podcasting and blogging.... no uni study  in sight. So today's thoughts have come together because....
I read

• Karen's post on favourite podcasts
• A chapter of the book "walking towards ourselves: Indian Women tell their stories
• Other exciting blogs with many good book reviews

I listened to

• Lee Sales and Annabel Crab, chat10looks3
• Elizabeth Gilbert's, Big Magic, interviews with Amy Purdy, and Penelope (episode 206)

So, here's what has come of all that thinking. I am a creative being, and I love to create. One of my favorite things to create is food from the garden, and I like to cook,  and at different times of my life I've played music, crocheted, made mosaics, re purposed furniture, made paper & candles. All of these things have been part of me expressing myself. I recently heard some thing powerful. It was  from a writer, who's mission in life was to speak the truth. She said at the root of her work was a very strong desire and motivation to be seen. This resonated with me. The reason to create things is in some part motivated by contributing to the world around me, and being seen. 

I think we are all creative but some of us struggle to let it out.  We all have some thing to contribute and some purpose to be seen, noticed for.

In reading the stories from Indian women, I loved the story "square peg in a round hole". The author spoke about her choice not to live as was expected of her in India. She's a single woman who smokes, drinks, parties, writes, and appears to have sorted out who she wants to be in a  place where there are rules about who you can be. She's confident in her self, despite the threats of violence, rejection and condemnation. They way she lives her life is true to herself, but it cant be easy. It must be hard most days.

The interview with Penelope and Amy on Big Magic captured my attention because Penelope, a dancer by profession and at heart, has the desire to create a dance for herself to celebrate her 60th birthday. Its a beautiful ambition. But she she struggles with capturing her life moments and experiences. To help her work through the Elizabeth, the interviewer,  connects her to Amy who has a powerful dancing story too. Amy lost both her legs due to a virus, yet went on to compete in snowboarding and on dancing with the stars. Through Amy's story, Penelope was encouraged to think not only of the hard things in life as markers of her story, but of the fun and lighter side.

I'm loving the way podcasts can encourage and inspire me. Lee and Anabel have this lovely chat about all things read, listened to, watched & baked.. as I listen to them I am reminded of the lighter side of life. They laugh at themselves and others in a respectful way. I envy that.. but then again, on reflection, I see elements of that in my life.

Do the hard things in life define you or your story, or can you see how the lighter things in life are part of your story? Can you laugh at yourself? How do you manage to create a life that's genuine and honouring of your true being? Could you benefit from hearing other peoples stories?

It's timely for me to think about how I define myself and how I feel about my last year. I am hoping to introduce a new storyline - one that doesn't focus so much on the hard and annoying (and the pain) - to one that see's the light and soft as valuable moments of definition and meaning. 

Buying Hope

 

Celebrating hope.... 

I had great hopes this morning of visiting our local artisans markets. I like the atmosphere, the sense of being part of a community, and I love looking at the beautiful creations of our local artists. I had hopes this morning to start the Christmas shopping, and to find that perfect item to add to my new office. My hopes were dashed when I arrived at the park to find no markets... a quick look at my Instagram and I discovered the markets were postponed due to weather...   changed plans - now sitting in cafe. 

And reflecting on a great little poscast I listened to while I was on my trainer earlier. Buying Hope... it was about the things we buy with hope of transformative change. It started by talking about how book sales were on the decline, and the whole world on books was experiencing massive change. However, apparently we are still buying cookbooks! Why? The presenter posses the theory that we buy cookbooks out of hope. One day I'll bake the best cake, surprise my family with an amazing life changing meal, concur that best curry ... its all hope. 

 We all do this, we buy things that we hope will change our lives or the lives of others around us. The podcast went on... cookbooks, stationary, exercise machines, diet books, fishing gear, gardening tools or books, craft supplies, magazines, .... the list is endless... I laughed at the callers who collected de-cluttering books or muffin trays in the hope that one day......

But I have had my own hopes dash just this morning. I was hoping to start my Christmas shopping early this year... I was hoping to have a transformative change just by buying things at the markets this morning... I was hoping to transform my office into the most professional.....

What are the things you buy that are attached to hope? 

One of my things - Teapots! One of the things of my past was the hope that the right teapot would offer me a sense of identity as a woman, a host, an artist, refined and warm, patient, constant, elegant and beautiful. I collected many teapots.... all having a different characteristics ... what did I learn from this period of my life? I'm more complex than one teapot... I am many.