A sea of faces,
eyes not seeing
my fears arise

A chorus of voices,
sharing thoughts
that once were mine

A circle of hearts,
open yet closed
to the cries outside

A circular sea in chorus,
so full of joyous life
and all without me

Well, we have done it again! Panfest 2007 was a huge success. After all the stress and exhaustion, we managed to pull it together and put on an amazing show. At least, so I am told by those who saw it.

The combination of the production with the music and the vibe saw us playing to an almost full house at the last show. I’m sure some of that was from word-of-mouth from the previous shows.

No reviews in the papers yet, but fingers crossed that someone will write something. On my part, this was not my favourite concert that we have done but I had fun nonetheless. I am glad that it is over finally and life can resume some level of normalcy. For all those of you that have been waiting to hear from me, I will now be catching up on email.

The rotations of the earth cause certain reactions
Particles flying inward, others flung far apart.
Invisible forces exist, no less real than man;
Pulling and pushing in an eternal balance
As some are drawn in, others give up space
Returning to positions held so long before
An equilibrium in time, the constant change,
things become as they were, to begin again.

A too familiar face on a stranger,
with a voice I know too well
speaking words that make it hard
to separate the facts

The form of memories
brought back once again,
through the casual air
that I remember so well

But this is a stranger,
though familiar he seems,
who reminds me of a friend
that I no longer know

It was … a normal night

You were … in the wrong place

He was … there at the wrong time

 

It is … all different now

You are … just part of society

He is … more than I knew

 

It will be … part of our life

You will be … the monster in our dreams

He will be … my hero forever

 

You had … no right to enter

He had … the presence of mind

We had … peace before

 

You have … transferred your fear

He has … learnt his lesson

We have … a tighter bond

 

You will have … your judgement day

He will have … his victory

We will have … strength together

Sometimes,

you’re running as hard

and as fast

as you can

but

still

going nowhere

Steve Pavlina often proposes some interesting ways of navigating life. Recently he put forward a way to make smart decisions in less than 60 seconds. Sometimes in life we face decisions that involve one or more unknowns. We have to decide without knowing what the consequences of each alternative will be.  This is especially true of major decisions like quitting a job, or entering or exiting a relationship. His suggestion for these decisions, rather than just making a guess as to the “right” choice or freezing, is to consider each alternative and ask yourself, “Is this really me?”

It sounds almost simplistic but is a reasonably effective way of making a decision that you can live with.You may not end up choosing the easier path but it would be the right one for you. By constantly making your life decisions in the direction of the ideal you that you want to be, your true self, you are in fact moving yourself towards that vision, becoming more you. This is not to say you must act on every decision - you may not be ready to move forward but even admitting that that particular alternative is the one that’s right for you is a step in the right direction.

As I have said before, in Bianca’s choice theory, essentially every decision involves a choice between maintaining the status quo and making a change.  So take this opportunity to look around you, examine your life and identify what parts you can say are really you and what parts aren’t.

My whole life I have had hobbies. When I was younger they were called after-school activities, then by UWI days they were extra-curricular activities. Now I’m not in school but the hobbiness of my personality persists.

From time to time I meet people who don’t have hobbies and I feel a little sorry for them. Or those that don’t even see why anyone would want hobbies. Those people worry me. I find myself having to explain why I see hobbies as important in my life. Well in my far-ranging blog reading I came upon this article, 5 Reasons Why Hobbies are Important, that serves to answer the questions.

1. They give your life meaning - Obviously I do support finding meaning in all of your life including the work you do. But a hobby is a good way to search for what it is you are passionate about.
2. They energize your life - No matter how exhausting your hobby is, if you enjoy it enough you will find it in yourself to push through and do it anyway.
3. A chance to switch off - This is a powerful one for me. No need to think about work or family or any other stresses while doing what you love. Of course if your hobby comes with stresses then maybe you need another hobby to keep your mind off the first.
4. A way to express your talent - Especially if you don’t see yourself making a living from your particular talent, keeping it up as a hobby is a good way to maintain and develop that side of yourself.
5. A way to have fun - If you’re not having fun doing your hobby then something has gone terribly wrong.

Now there are probably several other reasons but I think this list is a good start. I think having hobbies makes me a fuller, more-rounded person. I just wish I had time for all the hobbies I would like to have.