Saturday 29 October 2011

Vulnerable



My  intention for Dreamchair Adventures has always been  to reach for the many positives in my life and to share these with other kindred spirits. However, I am slowly but surely coming to the realisation that in order to put my whole self, my truth, out there, there also have to be moments of vulnerability. Hopefully this is not going to develop into a moaning post, where I pass on my misery to the world, but I do want you to see the whole me, warts and all. Thus, I shall put my brave hat on and continue typing away, building up the courage to hit the publish button at the end.
It has been one of those weeks when I have been able to  physically feel how tense and anxious I am. I am full of knots and twisted edges, of forced, strained movements.  Whilst there are  current events making my week far from stunning, there are also those underlying factors that periodically rise to the surface, and which I must work through time and time again:

Autumn is my favourite time of year, it is when I am at my most creative, my most productive. The crisp air and glorious colours make me feel so alive, so connected to my world. However, it is also the season when my physical self begins to drop, to struggle, to have to face battle to begin each day. I am often so very tired that I feel fully depleted, with nothing left. Thus I am  full to the brim with frustration. Add to this mixture  those negative gremlins, whispering so persuasively into my ear as I contemplate putting my art out into the world as motivation cards and you have an uncertain and most self critical me.
My anxiety levels are also stupidly high. Anxiety about what others think of me mixed with a heavy dose of anxious responsibility for the people in my life. To me there seem to be many cutting remarks and words said in the heat of the moment. People don’t seem to consider other people’s feelings as much as they used to, it is a harsher world I live in. As well as this I have been reminded this week how precious life is, and how very quickly it can change. Just like that. What you imagine to last forever, or do not expect to happen, has a habit of changing the goal posts. Of course we all know this piece of wisdom but reminders leave me feeling frightened, questioning everything. I think too much. I am not good at change. And as part of this week’s events I realise that the momentum of my fear of death and loss is building;I know that there is much work to be done there. I’ve never admitted I have this fear but releasing the words feels right at this moment in time somehow.
Staying with the idea of this harsher world I find myself in, and attempting to end this post on a positive note,  I do like to think that I am a warrior in the battle for good. I fight for that magical element, for a world filled with beauty, a world  full of  kindness and heart and dare I say happiness. As you can imagine  I am not very good at watching the news! I do think the world needs people who believe in this better world,  to keep the balance in tact; stopping the negativity and inhumanity from possessing it completely.  


Sometimes life is hard and I feel vulnerable. What do you do when those vulnerable moments hit with force?

Friday 28 October 2011

Look up!


This week the theme to interpret is 'look up!' I lacked inspiration for this one, having already taken my fill of Autumn tree and cloud scenes this season, as well as feeling under the weather and therefore not particularly wishing to go wandering far. However, I woke up this morning and that light bulb pinged as I looked at my ceiling- up doesn't have to mean outside, I could have kicked myself for thinking too much inside the box. I love stars very much, they give such hope, such light, and so I try to collect as many as possible to keep me company inside when I cannot be outside to take in their timeless glory.

I am the symphony of stars.
Rumi


Friday 21 October 2011

Autumn colours


This week's theme is Autumn Colours; a perfect fit for an Autumn lover like me. It was most interesting searching for quotes and poems to connect with my pictures , as so many with an Autumn theme are down right miserable! Autumn as the time of loss, of loneliness and impending darkness- it had me shaking my head in sheer disbelief, as for me personally it is the season of much richness and  creativity. I look forward to this time with all my being. But in the end I found a good old Bronte sister to support my heart's conviction and I shall also repeat my favourite George Eliot quote for good measure.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the Autumn tree.
Emily Bronte


Delicious Autumn! My soul is wedded to it and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns.
George Eliot




Friday 14 October 2011

Handwriting


Handwriting is this week's theme over at Bella's 52 Photos Project and I have say, I really loved creating my entry as it is a most personal one. The writing is from my journal, one of the most precious things I possess. My journal is the very heart of me; a treasure trove of memories and possibilities, fears and dreams, lessons learned and still to learn, explorations of both complex emotions and the very simple. Most important of all is that it is full of my stories. Journal writing is a saviour and inspiration for this soul.







Friday 7 October 2011

Circles


This week's theme over at 52 Photos Project is circles. As I feel I am somewhat going round in them at the moment, searching for circles seemed deliciously ironic.

...But somewhere in a quiet place she packs her bags for outer space and now she is waiting...I would fly to the moon and back...and reaching out for human faith is a journey I don't have a map for...she's hanging all her hope on the stars, what a pleasant dream...
(My loved lines from To the Moon and Back by Savage Garden)