Life has a funny way of rushing by

I just realised that I have not posted on Behind Dreaming since July. Life does have a funny way of seeming to drag while you are in the moment but then you realise months have gone past. With this year coming towards its conclusion it is time for a little bit of reflection.

Since July I have found so many things that inspire me. I am starting to pay attention to other poets more than I have before. This has made me realise that being a poet is not simply something that would be nice, it is who I am.

This week I spent some time putting together a Haiku for a unique challenge. I needed to write a Haiku which explores the Spirit of Open Access. For many poets out there the fact that they listed the structure as 17 syllables (5,7,5) would mean it was not a Haiku. However, this was not the point and it was an interesting challenge. This is another example of where I find inspiration for my poetry from my job. I ended up writing 4 Haiku and I have just realised I probably should have applied Creative Commons to them. Oh well, I am sure I can sort that out if any of them get selected.

Between my job, the paper I have been doing recently and also trying to put together a body of work that I can submit for publication - Behind Dreaming has been neglected. I constantly think about what I should post here, but get caught up with trying to find the perfect, informative thing to post. I think it is time to get over it ;-).

So as this year comes to an end I can not help ask - where to from here? I do not really know and in some ways that is both scary and exciting.

For me I think this year can be explained by both A Bottle of Happiness and Reconnecting :)

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

Finding time

I finally found some time tonight to delve into the blogs I am currently following. I have family staying right now so I go through the guilt of ignoring them so I can instead spend time getting lost online. I will try to post while they are here and I guess this will be a test of how much of blogger I have become.

I have set up a couple of things within my blogs like my twitter @ally_cat feed. I have also set up a basic Flickr account and from this I have added a poetry slideshow feed into my blog of writing that contains images I created with poems contained within. I loved creating those images and I think it is time I create some new ones, as I have found they make a great screen saver at work: they are my personal signature.

I loved changing the template to this blog and everytime I look at it I feel the warmth of the colours. Thank you again Graeme for letting me use one of your images which fit perfectly to the colours I had already picked out :)

Finding inspiration

All around us there is beauty. The trick is to both stop and take it all in while also capturing what you are witnessing. I am starting to finally realise that writing, even with very few words, is how I express the quietness from within. I like to watch the world and I need a way to speak up.

Another reality I face is that my job requires a lot of creative thinking. Where I am often mapping out plans for what needs to happen now and years into the future and I love the challenge and freedom I have been given. Yet because my job requires so much creative thinking I arrive home at the end of the day and do not want to think anything of great depth. So I waste hours doing nothing, letting myself escape from the world.

How do I find time to write? I have learnt that during the day to allow myself treats. When a line, an impression, or something else comes to my mind like a dripping tap: I need to stop and listen. It does not take a perfect moment, simply a moment in order to capture and let it wash over me. This means the tapping stops while not letting the moment be lost.

I have also tried to find tools that allow me to capture those thoughts. I have scattered Word documents that I may never open again and I also scribble notes on paper. In the last few months I have grown to love the small white board at my desk as it allows me to place tiny pieces into a corner of the world. In small ways Twitter has allowed me to peck at thoughts - to bounce between the ideas of creating systems for work and bewilderment at so much that happens in life.

I do not neglect my work to write, however I do find time to treat myself and allow myself to write ideas down. I am most importantly honest with my colleagues that some times I get captured by my writing, even while I am at work.

Treat your self and do not feel guilty for who you are :-).