"You are what you repeatedly do", says one of the motivational quotations up on my wall at home.
One of my frustrations is that I call
myself a singer-songwriter, but I haven't written a whole song (I've got
unfinished bits here and there) in quite a while. Fortunately, I have a
stubborn streak, so even if I haven't produced a song in a while, I fiercely
believe that I'm still a songwriter. I also believe that every writer hits a
dry patch, and that a patch is, by its very nature, temporary.
Our grapevine, slowly revealing its potential, after its dry patch. Sun 30/09/18
Bringing it back to the present: life
has shown me, once again, that it sometimes takes an external stimulus to get
my creativity kick-started.
A few days ago, I was invited to make
a speech at a graduation ceremony in October, AND to sing a song at the end of
my speech! You may be surprised that my first reaction (thought, not said) was,
"'Oh no - I hate wearing more than one hat at a time!" But I've
learnt to overrule that reaction, because it has no place in the life I've
chosen to live - a life of, despite being scared, some of the time, saying YES
to more requests than before, because those Yesses often turn out to be not
only interesting experiences, but doors to new
possibilities/opportunities.
(I need to write a song about how
opening one door leads to a second door, etc. I also feel that when we leave
situations, some doors need to be firmly shut and others left ajar.)
It dawned on me that the most
authentic response I could have, when given the privilege of addressing a
gathering like this, was to write a song for them. So, last night, after my gig, I started.
It's going to capture the essence of my speech, and it will be something that has the potential to move my audience. I've thought of an interesting way to perform the song, and something else..... but I don't want to reveal too much!
Yup! I'm back!
As any creative person would know, ALL I
want to do now is finish the song!!! So far this morning, I've done laundry and
some other things around the house, but all the time I've had the part I wrote last night buzzing in my head. I feel like a Nutty Professor, when I'm like this. I'm skipping the shops today, to create
space to continue writing, but that household list (and that list of unavoidable office
work) is long!
Let's see what else I can say No to, today,
to open up some space for a Yes.
A breathtakingly beautiful September day in Cape Town. 30/09/18
