Monday 9 July 2012

Inspiration!

It's funny the things that can inspire us. Sometimes its the simplest thing that can provoke such a strong reaction that we just feel compelled to jump or run or dance or sing or do something other than the nothing that we usually do.

Admit it.

How many times have you been walking down the street with your headphones blaring and a song comes on and you have to mentally command your feet not start to do the 'one-two shuffle' (For me it's Footloose by Kenny Loggins, I actually feel myself speed up as it reaches the chorus! And more recently "Sexy and you know it" I actually have to skip the song for fear I might start to strut!).

Ever danced in front of the mirror with a hairbrush? Taken a risk? Acted without thinking? Spontaneuity is the spice of life but we all seem so well trained now a days that we dont let it take control nearly as much as we should.

For whatever reason (which is to say no reason at all) I have not written or edited anything in a month, I feel like I should go say some 'hail Mary's' or an 'our father' or something to atone for the lack of writing I have done, but it just didn't feel right (the writing, not the prayer's - although they would feel equally strange after ten years of putting my faith in humanity not God).

Tonight was set to be the same. I got home from work and the most exciting thing that I could think of doing was sleeping (which I did for two hours). Even though I knew I had umpteen things to do, the enthusiasm was just not to be found. I sat and played Canon in D on the piano (the only classical piece I know) with a 'softly spoken ASMR' video playing on YouTube (these are rapidly becoming my new guilty pleasure, I have never experienced ASMR but man do they chill me out, if you've got time check out Amalzd or GentleWhispering such relaxing voices.) And I thought to myself, I could do that!

My rough Glasweigan accent and colloquial manner of speaking could definitely help put troubled minds to rest (yeah right!). 'I could even tell them a story...'

Then it hit me!

I could tell one of my stories! Now this may sound strange, especially to those who have never written anything meant to be read but! Reading aloud is one of the most important tools in the editor's arsenal. It is the best way to ensure that the story flows, if it doesnt sound right, then it needs a re-write! Alright? That being said I have always felt somewhat self-conscious when doing so (which is odd because I'll get up and sing on top of a table to a room of people I've never spoken to, but cant read quietly aloud in my room :S, go figure?!?)

It also allows me to 'side-step' an issue that has prevented me from publishing much of my real writing on this blog. A lot of publishers/agencies will not accept a submission that has previously been published, believe it or not this applies to an amatuer blog site anywhere on the internet. So if I posted a competition piece here, there is a good chance it would be rejected for the above reason, which I could see the sense in If I had 100k hits a month but with barely a thousand I dont think it makes much sense. However, recording an audio excerpt and uploading it to the site provides me a convenient loophole to get round this barmy rule!

So without further ado, softly spoken(ish), here is an excerpt from "The Fight for Freedom - A Mercenaries Tale", a competition piece for the Albedo One magazine later this year:





Now in other non-writing news what has been going on?

Well not a lot of next to nothing to be honest.

I did however go to a good friend's wedding and once again found myself inspired. Not by softly spoken voices this time but by that elusive thing we call love.

Now personally I have never experienced this feeling. Like, yes. Lust, certainly. Desire, most definitely but love...not so much. But that night I saw it in that couple's eyes as they danced to 'Then' and then 'Im yours' and I knew in that moment they were completely and utterly happy. Magic!

"Ces't la vie say the old folks..." (thats the old time rock and roller coming out in me!)

Spontaneous moments of inspiration, dreams, desires, lust and longing at the end of the day it all comes down to love. And love is all about happiness. I forgot at somepoint in recent months how happy, seeing other people happy can make you and I think the loss of that knowledge brought me dangerously close to accepting my lot in life.

Life isn't about a destination, it's about a journey, and regardless of what you might think or how old you might feel, it's not over while there's breath in your lungs. Take chances, live for the risks, and for God's sake follow your heart until it finds release! And know your dreams know no boundaries...they only lack belief!

I have no intention ten years from now sitting behind the desk of a dead end nine to five to find myself looking back and thinking of the life I could have had, life is happening folks, embrace it!


Dont stop believing folks,

Dare to Dream!

SBP

2 comments:

  1. too low dude i couldnt make out half of wat u were saying

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, don't think im cut out for the 'soft spoken ASMR' style videos, I'll record some more over the weekend!

      SBP

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