Daily thoughts

What’s Louder Than Words?

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the crack of a rifle firing
in the forest or field of war
wailing siren of a rushing
an approaching ambulance
cutting through the black night

continuous wailing of a house alarm
shattering the darkened silence
hard rain falling on a tin roof
interrupted by the crash of thunder

Thoughts, visions, images
screaming louder than words

wind whistling through the lush pine trees on a mountain slope
gentle sound of a purring cat
nuzzling against ones neck
grating sound of a key in lock
as a loved one comes home

thoughts, visions, images
whispering to ones soul

silence... the sound of silence
haunting, reassuring, affirming, alarming, hypnotic

thoughts, visions, images
evoking pictures of silence

be silent, listen to your heartbeat
and just be
SILENCE
sometimes the loudest words
are the ones never spoken

 

© 2015 Michael D Emmerich

The Ven of Life

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Over the past few days a good friend of mine passed away, and upon his passing, and it has dragged me along to think of death, the fragile state of our existence and how quickly and unexpectedly the candle can be snuffed out. It made me remember something my dad said before he died: that its a sad day when you get to the stage of your live when your friends start to die around you … having lost a few friends of late, all in their mid 50’s, I have had cause to gaze introspectively at my navel, and just contemplate life.. and all its joys, friends, family and time spent with them, recollections of past events/encounters, and all the pleasure that these interactions have brought.

For those who know me, they would say that it is an irony that I get so closely caught up in death, with all its pain and emotion, seeing as though I have seen so much of it in my career, in so many places and caused by so many different events. All that prevents me from getting dragged into the quagmire of death; is my ability to insulate myself, build a wall…although that has also been to my own detriment, and I have, of late become more immersed in the death and pain which I encounter in my daily walk.

All these thoughts, emotions and reflections have moved me to pen this poem:

The Ven of Life

all that we are and have is our emotions

interactions and experiences

all that we have is the ven of our lifes

as we journey through life we cross paths with strangers

friends, family and loved ones



it is these paths that cross

intersect which drag us into the ven

the bigger the interaction the greater the ven

the more we interact the more we ven

we cannot exist without interacting



the extent of our interactions increases our circle

the more we interact the more we overlap

seeking to be apart of the greater universal circle

the commonality of our existence increases our ven

the more walls we break down the more we interact

the more expose ourselves to risk and become more fragile



this fragility increases our ven

which then enriches our lives

only through the ven of life
can we fully enjoy and appreciate

all that life has to offer

so ven on!

© 2015 Michael D Emmerich

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS – A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH BURDEN

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My latest Blog post for This Week in Global Health:

http://www.twigh.org/twigh-blog

“Road Traffic Crashes do not just happen! They are caused by Fatal Moves (actions) by a driver. The message is simple – DON’T DO FATAL MOVES!” @FatalMoves

1990 to 2010: Deaths from road traffic injuries increased by almost half.

The largest category of fatal events are transport related. In 1990, according to Global Burden figures, these were the 10th leading global killer. By 2013, they were fifth! Ahead of malaria, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cirrhosis or any kind of cancer. In part, this is because of progress against these diseases. But it also because as incomes have risen worldwide, more people are buying, and crashing, motorbikes and cars.

Most global road traffic deaths occur in low and middle-income countries and are rapidly increasing because of the growth in motorisation. Mortality rates caused by traffic related injuries are increasing in low and middle-income countries and they account for 48 percent of the world’s vehicles but more than 90 percent of the world’s road traffic fatalities. Pedestrians are most often affected, followed by car occupants and motorcyclists. Alcohol plays a key factor in the drivers and pedestrians, notably in South Africa, where as many as 65% of all pedestrians have increased blood alcohol levels. Conversely, traffic deaths are decreasing in high-income countries, Sweden is an excellent case study that we will review further on in this article.

10 countries are responsible for 600,000 road traffic deaths annually (see the MikeBloomberg link in the references below, to see if your country is on the list). Each year, 1.3 million people die in car accidents, so these 10 countries are responsible for nearly half of all road deaths! India tops the list for the highest overall number of road deaths, followed by China and the U.S.

If public health leaders are to catch up on accident prevention, the Global Burden of Disease study (Lancet links below) findings can help them see where and how. “Now that somebody’s done the work and we recognize that there’s a difference we may not have seen before, we can go to work and ask why,” said Dr. Schauben

Besides the rapidly rising fatalities we must also take cognisance of the rising number of injured persons and their cost on the (Global) health burden. Road-traffic crashes were the number one killer of young people and accounted for nearly a third of the world injury burden, a total of 76 million DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) in 2010, up from 57 million in 1990. Most of the victims were young, and many had families that depended on them, who know have to rely on other sources of support, in most instances, the state.

What does the current research then tell us about this rapidly rising burden on global public health; transport injury prevention shows that collective action is as important as individual efforts. Motorcycle helmets, car seatbelts and sober drivers are important, but so are safe vehicles, consistent law enforcement and a reliable infrastructure. Thanks to a combination of insufficient, nonexistent or poorly enforced safety laws, poor infrastructure and a lack of enforcement and corrupt enforcers, the bulk of the countries globally keep aiding and abetting in the deaths of over 1.3 million persons annually! Only 28 countries, representing 449 million people (7% of the world’s population), have adequate laws that address all five risk factors (speed, drunk driving, helmets, seat-belts and child restraints). Over a third of road traffic deaths in low and middle-income countries are among pedestrians and cyclists. However, less than 35% of these countries have policies in place to protect their road users.

India has the dubious distinction of registering the highest number of road fatalities in the world (250,000), despite the fact that its population is much smaller than neighboring China and there are more vehicles on the roads in the USA than in India. “A large proportion of these deaths can be prevented by simple measures. The most important of these is strict enforcement of traffic rules, which is conspicuous by its absence in our cities as well as on highways,” says the Times of India, and this would be true of the top 10, and also of the country where I reside, South Africa, where 47 persons die each day!

Further compounding the cost of the traffic fatalities is the actual real cost impacting on the affected countries economies; many who cannot afford to have the extra burden on their already strained public health budgets. The economic cost of road collisions to low and middle income countries is at least $100 billion a year! The risk of dying as a result of a road traffic injury is highest in the African Region (24.1 per 100 000 population) It’s such a big problem, in fact, that the U.N. feels it needs an entire decade to fix it. In 2011, the U.N. launched a “Decade of Action” that aims to “stabilize and then reduce” global road traffic fatalities by 2020.

Is there any good news? Sweden is one success story, in 2013 only 264 people died in road crashes, a record low. How have they done this? Planning has played the biggest part in reducing accidents. Roads in Sweden are built with safety prioritised over speed or convenience. Low urban speed-limits, pedestrian zones and barriers that separate cars from bikes and oncoming traffic have helped. Globally we need to reduce human error, or eliminate the opportunity for drivers to make fatal moves; human error can even further be reduced, for instance through cars that warn against drunk drivers via built-in breathalysers and making the implementation of safety systems, such as warning alerts for speeding or unbuckled seatbelts/child-seats, compulsory on all new vehicles, built in any factories across the globe.

Individually we need to be aggressive in safe and sober driving habits and not allow our friends and family to place themselves, their passengers and fellow pedestrians at risk by not looking kindly on their unsafe driving practises. Bad and drunk driving should become as unpopular as using a cellphone while driving.

References:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2961682-2/fulltext

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2962037-6/fulltext

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A997

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A998

http://mikebloomberg.com/Bloomberg_Philanthropies_Leading_the_Worldwide_Movement_to_Improve_Road_Safety.pdf

Bob Dylan and His Many Muses

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In Paul Zollo’s book “Song Writers on Song Writing”, the expanded 4th edition, in teh interview he held with Bob Dylan; Dylan makes an interesting comment, in how often songs “come to him”. That’s how he could write “Blowing in the Wind” in 10 minutes, which he says came right out of that well spring of creativity.

Does Dylan think he can do it again today? No, says Dylan. “You can’t do something forever,” he says. “I did it once, and I can do other things now. But, I can’t do that.” when speaking to Ed Bradley on 60 minutes in 2004. he also goes onto to say: “I don’t know how I got to write those songs. Those early songs were almost magically written,”

Dylan seems to be saying that his muse, that wellspring of creativity he so magnificently tapped in that golden era of the early sixties, is gone and he is not able to access it anymore. Thom Hickey in his article You really should have been there says:

“Over the next 47 years he would never again attain the heights of inspiration achieved through to 1966 (neither would anyone else!)”

Before he even attained those great heights in the of the mid-60’s he was already writing lyrics that would never be matched. My favourite Dylan protest song “Masters of War” was written when he was just 22! Released in 1963 on his Freewheelin’ album, the message is timeless and still relevant to all the current ongoing conflicts across the globe.

Dragging the conversation back to its original question, has Dylan lost his muse and can one just lose your muse? Webster’s dictionary defines a “muse” as any of the nine sister goddesses presiding over song, poetry, the arts and sciences. Greek mythology aside, writers think of a muse as a source of inspiration, a guiding genius rife with ideas. Writing teachers say one way to not lose your muse is  “Just keep your hand moving and write!”- be your own muse.

Dylan has most certainly done that, he has published six books of drawings and paintings, released 36 albums (excluding live albums and bootlegs) and written well over 500 songs …and counting…

That wellspring of creativity, has sustained Dylan for more than 50 years, and it keeps on giving, and he keeps telling his tales in a different way, with each telling. People who attend his concerts say, that they do not even recognise some of his songs as being their favourite, until halfway through, he keeps experimenting, reinventing himself and his music. I think his muse has changed, if we track his career/life and all the transitions/phases he has gone through, he certainly does not have that 60’s muse anymore, but has proven he still has the craft and the gift. Although Dylan might disagree:

“I’m a ’60s troubadour, a folk-rock relic. A wordsmith from bygone days. I’m in the bottomless pit of cultural oblivion.” – 2004

His last album, Tempest, still proves he can tell a great story, despite his voice being a bit more gravelly. The title track still gives me goosebumps when I listen to it…all 15 minutes of it!

Tempest is fantastic, but being impressed by Dylan is old hat. That he still finds ways to surprise us is an achievement beyond all comprehension. -American Songwriter 2012

His angry protest song Pay in Blood, from the same album – Tempest – brings back memories of his 60’s anger. You can hear his anger, his sneering voice as he growls and rasps over cutting and biting lyrics.

“Another politician pumping out the piss,” he sings later, the microphone audibly struggling to cope with the ferocity of his delivery. “You bastard, I’m supposed to respect you? I’ll give you justice.”

Dylan does not soften the blow here, as he does on Like a Rolling Stone, he vents his anger fully, proving that he can still be angry and anti-establishment in his 70’s 🙂

Possibly one of Dylan’s muses is/was his first wife Sara. She is definitely a key player in Dylan’s history and worthy of remembrance as the inspiration for some of his most incredible songs. Notably Sara and Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. Sara is possibly Dylan’s most public display of his own personal life, and an ambitious tribute to his wife, Sara. The song also gives us a rare glimpse into the intensely personal and closed life Dylan leads. Rarely does he address a real person in his music, here he does and it is very autobiographical.

Bob Dylan – Sara from the album “Desire”

This was released in 1976 on the album Desire, Sara and Dylan were divorced the next year in 1977. They have apparently remained close (despite the acrimonious divorce) and they have still travel/holiday together. In fact his son Jakob said:

“My father said it himself in an interview many years ago: ‘Husband and wife failed, but mother and father didn’t.’ My ethics are high because my parents did a great job.” Jakob Dylan – 2005

Well we wish Dylan and his many Muse’s well, he has provided us with many thought provoking and entertaining albums through the years and I believe he still has songs left in his well, its not dry yet, or dark.

The Solace in the Silence

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I was driving listening to one of my favourite guitarists the other day, David Gilmour (have all my favourite Pink Floyd and all his solo albums on a play-list). Listening to his guitar work made me realise, what makes him of of the greatest guitarists (in my humble opinion), because of the chords he does not play… the silence inbetween his chords, when he plays a chord… strums/plucks the string/s … and then waits….. that waiting for the next chord to me is at times the best part of his music. That for me is what makes Gilmour such a magnificent guitarist, to me he is the master of the sublime and the understated. To make a statement or impression one does not need to make a noise, neither does one as a guitarist need to rip, shred or wail.

The pause resonates, this then took my mind off on one of its (many) tangents. 🙂

The importance of the unsaid versus the said, the importance of what is not said, in the moments of silence. Interestingly my favourite Pink Floyd album is Wish You Were Here, and it is ironic, that the album explores themes of absence (silence). The lyrics encompass Roger Waters’ feelings of alienation from other people, notably within the band and the tension that they were experiencing.

Well back to my musings of the silence between the chords and lets explore this dynamic in life; lets explore how the silent conversations can benefit our relationships and way of life. The comfort of being in someone’s presence and just being … silent …. the silent conversations we have with a loved one or close friend. This silence does not alienate, but brings us closer together, we find comfort, solace in the silence. The importance of silence in conversation can carry more weight than the spoken word.

The silence echoes around the enclosed walls of our minds, encouraging us to break down the alienation and find solace in the silence, and learn the importance of being silent, quiet … amongst those we feel close too, and then taking this silence out into the rushed and frenetic world in which we live. This can help us to slow down in the fast paced world we live in, for when speed is king, anyone or anything that gets in our way, that slows us down, becomes an enemy. Thanks to speed, we are living in the age of rage. That to is ironic, the fast pace of life alienates more than the comfort we can find in silence.

By opting out we do not have to drop out…

Why High-Income Countries Should Help Combat Ebola

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A slight change from my usual postings, but a subject close to my heart and my profession. Here then are my thoughts as to why, globally we should be involved in the West African Ebola outbreak.

As a passionate and committed African, having spent the past 20 years working in various countries on my continent, and having seen the effects of colonisation, globalization, war as a result of minerals and commerce (funded by big western businesses) and how Africa is marginalised via trade and commerce. Never mind the fact that all the ex-French colonies still pay tax to France, even years after independence!!
http://www.siliconafrica.com/france-colonial-tax/
It is also true that Africa’s problems are also created by many corrupt Africa politicians and greedy emerging markets in Africa.

With that as my introduction, then what should we do in the event of disasters, war, famine and in the case of Ebola (disease outbreaks).

As a human race we all live in a global village and we cannot and should not stand by when we see our fellow man/woman suffering; be it in Syria, Ukraine or in this case West Africa (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia). Every effort should be made to help when and how we can, be it with manpower, resources or financial aid.

The entire Southern West Africa region is still emerging from a decades long conflict (partly made infamous by Blood Diamonds) and their are trails ongoing in the Hague re this conflict. One could even argue that western powers (corporate and country) were complicit in this conflict, hence they should now have at least an ethical (if not moral) motivation to get involved. Far to often we stand on the sides and wring our hands at the mess Africa is in and that it never seems to get out of this mess (that in itself is another long missive for another day/thread).

For now the region needs beds (hospitals) and staff to man them, there is a huge shortage of beds. The one thing that this epidemic (as most of them do) has taught us that it is gloves not vaccines that will make the difference. Good basic hygiene, clean water, bleach/chlorine and excellent palliative care in a sterile environment will make a difference. Those who have survived have survived for these reasons.

All of the above needs to sustainable in the medium to long term and the affected countries must be encouraged through means of trade and commerce to make these changes real and lasting. I know this last paragraph sounds pie in the sky, but the rich western countries and corporates (Large Pharma) in this case must commit to push for it to happen not for their end gains and increase in share price (cynical comment re what is motivating large Pharma in this case), but for the good of the region.

People in West Africa will have to alter behaviours, we won’t stop this outbreak solely by building hospitals. There will have to be a change in the way the community deals with the disease. Changing behaviour which is so closely linked to culture, tribe and religion will not happen in the short term. which means that the worst case scenario could come to fruition, which is over 100,000 cases by the 1st of December. (as outlined in some disease modelling programmes!)

Government ministers in the region are also not focussing on the key ways to attempt to manage this outbreak. Shutting down Sierra Leone for 4 days will just push the outbreak underground. Infected persons will go into hiding or even worse; leave the area/region (as some of my sources on the ground have informed me, is already happening!)

We need beds, hospitals and basic supplies. (I must just say a big thank you to the USA for planning to build 170 100 bed hospitals in the region). Beds and hospitals is not being dealt with as urgently as it should be by local governments, they are waiting for outside funders to step in, they must drive the initiative on the ground and mobilise local leaders to work with their villages to manage this outbreak, otherwise the worst case scenarios that are being punted look scary. Both MSF and WHO are pushing for this, but they need local governmental support.

My closing comment is that gloves not drugs (vaccines) will save the day. Basic good clean sanitary medicine and palliative care, aligned with sound symptomatic treatment will save lives, for that we need beds, hospitals, staff and supplies.

Hip or Not?

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http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/09/will-self-awful-cult-talentless-hipster-has-taken-over

Funny, sad, and insightful… how we have trivialised art, culture and to a certain extent life.

For those of us who think retro has a place in society, albeit a small place, and at the right time. The hipster movement seems to thrive on taking it to extremes, and we only have ourselves to blame for their rise to “prominence”, as we have allowed them to trivialise what some of us hold dear.

I never did like extremists (still don’t) be they style, fashion, culture, religion, eco or political ones. Extremists miss out on so much in life with a blinkered approach and sadly the hipsters fall into that category. Life needs balance, one can argue that extremes to the left and right allow balance to hold the middle ground, but even the middle ground has become sullied and grey of late. (in some any areas of life on our planet – a longer topic for another day)

Its not cool to be retro just for the sake of saying look we have made an old shovel into a work of art! That’s not art, any idiot can stick a shovel against a wall… but then I suppose that is what we have lowered the bar too. I do have a penchant for things of a bygone era, but not at the expense of denying myself what technology and the world in all its glory and difference can afford us, we need to be realistic about change and progress and take from a trend, that which is both appropriate and relevant.

Hipsters at times make me think of Clockwork Orange, as the book is set in a future dystopian world and the “hip” language that Alex and his “droogs” (gangmates) speak, plus their love of bowler hats, canes, hark back to a bygone era. I know that is viewing hipsters in extreme, and some might take offence at the comparison, but that is really pushing the boundaries of extremism or being hip.

I think it is the (in my opinion) non balanced view that I find unsettling. The shift away from balance (ying/yang), finding harmony in a discordant world. For it is this which now trivialises the achievements of the great artists, designers, thinkers who have gone before. Yes art (and beauty) is in the eye of the beholder, but maybe the beholder in this case should aspire for art of a more challenging nature than just sticking a shovel against a wall and playing a certain style of music.

If not, then we might be losing the plot, although on the other hand, I think today I will be a shovel artist and tomorrow an avant garde fashion designer… not sure what I will do on the weekend.. maybe a combination of the two.. and shovel s#$t … now that’s hip!

The Beast of Reality

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Various incidents and happenings over the past few months have forced me to be very introspective; the last few weeks have being particularly “interesting” which has had me examining my navel fairly often … this contemplative phase, I am transitioning through, has had me musing on life and all its strange curve balls it manages to throw at one. Being an optimistic person, I have found myself battling to reconcile the rapidly changing circumstances of the past few months. One of the mental activities/mindsets that has kept me going (other than the support, encouragement and belief of my gorgeous wife), is that life is an adventure a never ending journey that we must immerse ourselves in, wallow in, and feast at the table of the banquet of life. Even when the table is set for a simple meal, I believe I must still taste and explore every morsel; even if their are only crumbs .

If we/I do not taste and explore all at my disposal then I run the risk of an unfinished/unfulfilled life, as I have not grasped what is in front of me and savoured it to its fullest. Love is beauty wrapped in the seconds of ones life, if you don’t stop for a minute you might just miss it, and then you might miss out on the next adventure/opportunity. So I am then faced with this dichotomy, of feasting on all that life has to offer and the ever present Beast of Reality. How do we deal with this beast or feed it, so that we can continue to feast at the table of life? This would be the proverbial “Million Dollar Question”?

I have no easy answer/s to that Question, of how to feed the beast and feed at the table of life, as the each of us have our own “Beast of Reality” and we all have to find out what diet it requires. I try to starve the beast and deprive it what it wants (at least what I think it wants from me, ie: to not be able to partake of all that is there to feast upon). I do not avoid the reality of life, in fact I immerse myself in the real world, and all its pain and pleasure, but I starve it by being fully aware of what it does in the world and being aware of how cruel and kind this world can be… I start each day by reading at least 3 newspapers and 2 news magazines (online of course). I think this helps prepare me for what awaits beyond the sanctity of my quiet space (it also stimulates my creativity). Once I have that behind me I can better face the day and then start to enjoy what life has set out on the table for the day. As the beast will not sleep, and has to be faced …eventually, but how we face it and on whose terms and turf, are what we can control. We cannot shut it out from the feast of life, it is always the unwelcome guest at the table, trying to eat more than it should and deprive us of what is ours to enjoy.

This in no way lessens the challenges that I have to face or have been facing, it just helps me to keep perspective on the real world and how I must strive to be drunk on life and long for my/our next adventure.

Things to Live For

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“Poetry, Beauty, Romance, Love – these are what we stay alive for.”

The words of Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society

My thoughts of late have wandered far and wide, but over the past few weeks they have shifted back to a few core questions; the above quote encapsulates some of the answers to the questions that have been spinning in my head. So please bear with me as I unpack this quote in a wider context of what goes in inside my head – be warned it can be a scary place at times, just ask my wife 🙂

Central to my thoughts of late has been inspiration, creativity, stability and harmony; as in how to achieve these aspirations and what path/s I will explore to best find my end goals. I do find inspiration and peace through reading and music, which then inspire me to explore areas of creativity. Strangely though the words (books and poetry) and music that I immerse myself in, do tend to be on the dark side, and through this darkness I find both solace and an opportunity to see light and a future.

I find myself gravitating back to reading the first world war British poets (Owen, Sassoon, Brooke and Rosenburg), why war poetry you might ask? I can relate to their fears, despair and bleakness from my own time in battle, but through this process one begins to understand that even in the depths of despair and the bleakness of the trenches, their is hope. In Wilfred Owen’s last letters to his mother from the front, in 1918, he said that there was no place he would rather be.

Of his work he said:

“My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.”

My work has taken me to black and bleak places on the African continent, so I am always driven to find hope in despair, light in dark and compassion in pain and suffering. I think that is what keeps me sane and focussed on the bigger picture/s in life. It helps me to gain perspective and see the forest and not just the single tree, blocking my path.

Music and poetry form a part of the way I relax and reflect (plus cigars, scotch and bourbon – but that is a tale for another day), that is why I am a huge fan of Bob Dylan.

The poetry of Keats, Milton and Blake (not war poets, they pre-date the first world war some what), also inspire me, and help me to push the boundaries, notably William Blake. He was a revolutionary romantic, he was iconoclastic in his views, notably to the established orders of the day; church and politics. A critical reading of Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” in which the figure represented by the “Devil” is virtually a hero rebelling against an imposter authoritarian deity, clearly highlights Blake’s idiosyncratic views of his feelings towards the established order of his day. (views that I can sympathise with)

“Blake’s theory of contraries was not a belief in opposites but rather a belief that each person reflects the contrary nature of God, and that progression in life is impossible without contraries.”

It also certainly formed part of the revolutionary culture of the period. It was composed between 1790 and 1793, in the period of radical foment and political conflict immediately after the French Revolution. It to then deals with turmoil and man’s search for meaning:

Blake explains that,

“Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion,

Reason and Energy, Love and Hate are necessary to Human existence.

From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil.

Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing

from Energy.”

For an excellent blending of music (Electronica Folk Black Metal) listen to Ulver’s Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven And Hell

http://www.amazon.com/Themes-William-Blakes-Marriage-Heaven/dp/B0000278IT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408094497&sr=8-1&keywords=ulver+-+Themes+from+William+Blake%27s+The+marriage+of+heaven+and+Hell

I am a huge fan of their music, and their most recent album: War of the Roses -(2011), is a mix of Pink Floyd and Radiohead, how is that for a neo progressive rock band with its roots in Norse Black Metal!

So where does all this lead; how does this bring me closer to Beauty, Romance and Love? and a means to finding my end goals?

I actually do not have an immediate quick answer to the above questions, but what I can say is that by exploring these paths, the mist often clears and I can get to the top of the ridge and see the forest that I thought had me surrounded was in fact just a small copse of 10 or 20 trees.

What is clear for me is where I want to be, the trick is how to get there :).

One of my end games is to actively pursue a path of being a more active writer, than I currently am, and to publish some of my works in the foreseeable future (I have placed time-lines for myself on 2 of my projects). These will bring more harmony to my life, which will in turn make me more balanced (only for awhile, I am a restless soul), this then will positively resonate in my life, bringing more love and peace to my soul and those that I love and hold dear.

Until next time my gentle readers, peace, love and hope to you all.

Learning from Creative People – Bob Dylan

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I have been making a concerted effort of late to spend at least an hour a day reading books on creativity and/or interviews with creative people (mainly writers, artists and musicians); to understand what inspires them, how they work, where they work, and how they tap into their creativity to access the ideas/inspiration which allows them to write with such beauty and intensity.

A hefty tome that sits on my desk at present is “Song Writers on Song Writing”, the expanded 4th edition by Paul Zollo.

http://www.amazon.com/Songwriters-On-Songwriting-Revised-Expanded/dp/0306812657

It covers every genre of music form blues to pop and rock, interviews with 62 musicians/song writers. What is so interesting and inspiring for me, when reading the interviews is to discover that not all the writers just grab the lyrics from the air, some of them really anguish over them. Leonard Cohen took 3 years to write Hallelujah!

I have spent the last week, reading the Bob Dylan interview over and over again; I am a huge Dylan fan, have almost his entire song collection on vinyl and mp3, plus all his song lyric sheets and numerous biographies. For me he is a musical genius and one of our greatest living poets. Van Morrison agrees with me re him being our greatest poet 🙂

His comments on the environment that one needs to be creative ties in with what I read in the War of Art; one needs a peaceful, invigorating and stimulating environment to write. Although he does go on to say:

“Some songs are better written in peace and quiet and delivered in turmoil. Others are best written in turmoil and delivered in a peaceful, quiet way.”

He also says that he does not consider himself a professional song writer, and he clarifies this by saying it has always been more con-fessional that pro-confessional. That got me thinking about my writing, and what aspect/perspective am I writing from, i.e. inward or outward looking, and just how naked does one want/need to be, how close to ones “soul” must we dig, when one is writing?

Dylan refers often to how songs “come to him”, which brings me full circle to the muse/genius train of thought. Even if that is the case though you need to be receptive to the “arrival” of the inspiration. This is an area of my creativity that intrigues me, especially as I am science, logic and process driven. Despite this I too am finding ideas coming to me at strange times of the day and night.

Well that’s enough of my musings today, but I will be back with more ramblings and thoughts on making the entrance hall welcome for the muse/genius to arrive, and spoil me with his/her thoughts/dreams/visions.

Eternity is in love with the creations of time – William Blake