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Fears are like dragons
Our deepest fears are like dragons guarding our deepest treasure. Rainer Maria Rilke I love this quote. One, because it involves dragons, and two, because it’s thought-provoking. It’s a quote that makes sense on the surface and simultaneously perplexes me on a deeper level. It’s perplexing because I wonder about those deep-seated, dragon-like fears. Have I correctly identified those fears? Do I dare name those dragons? It goes without saying that our fears change with the passage of time. Mine have, certainly. For 20+ years after leaving Africa, nightmares plagued me, and my greatest fear was returning to my troubled motherland. Before I completed my first novel, my greatest…
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The deliberate typo in PASSAGE unveiled. Is it worth taking a creative risk in web 2.0 era?
I recently watched a lecture on how the book review culture has dramatically shifted since Web 2.0. The general public have been granted access to write and publish book reviews, which, like anything in life, has both positive and negative ramifications. The positive being that readers can get closer to the Authors they love by giving them high praise via glowing reviews. The negative being that a Romance Reader can slate Literary Fiction for no other reason than she dislikes the genre. Not to mention my own experience with two people who didn’t like me/my stand on something and sought revenge by posting a 1-Star Review on my poetry books.…
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Personal Cycles
It is my belief and experience that humans, like nature, are subject to cycles. Cycles in nature include seasons, lunar cycles, and life cycles (to name a few). For individuals, our personal cycles may be less obvious, but they are present, and the ability to identify those cycles can assist us to navigate through and forward. What is a personal cycle? Personal cycles could include mini cycles like our 12 hour day and 12 hour night. We could also view our health, career, fitness, parenting, and personal development as a perpetual series of personal cycles. Plus, there are cycles that accompany our short and long-term goals. When you…
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Endings and Beginnings
ENDINGS I recently took a break from social media because I had lost my why. Whatever goal I started out with was no longer driving or exciting me. Even my #lobby4love, which began as a labour of love, felt like a meaningless obligation. After serious consideration I stepped away to gain perspective about the root of my restlessness. After a few days of introspection I concluded that I had reached the end of a personal cycle (several different cycles in fact, one of which I’ll discuss here and others in future posts). WRITING & SOCIAL MEDIA CYCLE 4 years ago I started a new cycle by stepping out of the…
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Belonging
I have wrestled with the concept of belonging for many years. Since leaving my South African home at age 23, I have been singled out as not belonging. In NZ, in the UK, and now Australia. And I guess it bothered me enough to write about it endlessly and withdraw into myself on enough occasions. Then, a few years ago, I met up with a journalist who was writing about her own explorations into belonging. We drank our herbal teas and shared experiences instead of chocolate cake, and it was enjoyable enough to say we’d stay in touch. But somewhere between saying goodbye and driving home, I had an unexpected…
