Who wrote this poem?

Who wrote this poem?
I'd like to know.
Lawrence, Longfellow, Lovelace or Poe?
Which Dylan the villain, Thomas or Bob?
The one sings off key, the other's a slob.
Richard or Robert, which one of the Graves?
You never can tell with some of these knaves.
Writing a poem and adding no name, is like shaking your spear without any shame!

- Pieter Lückhoff

Celebrity exits

It's been an interesting two weeks. After going to the Cederberg for a long weekend in an attempt to regain some perspective on life in general, I returned with a nasty cold and an innate dislike for how I have allowed myself to get caught up in the maelstrom.

As opposed to looking from the inside out - catching only sidelong glances of blurred images depicting what is really important - I have attempted to view my cosmos from the other direction. The epiphany came when I realised I only have to be where I want to be when I want to be there, and that by being somewhere where you don't want to be, or where you are not adding value, is being untruthful.

This holds true on many levels.

Based on a poignant comment Martin made on this blog a while back, I've decided that it's about spending less time trying to be everything to everyone and more about enjoying quality time and creating meaningful experiences.

That said, I have already failed. Just last night I spent time at Asoka with some incredible people, only to leave when the going got good because I had committed to being somewhere else at the last minute. Despite the fact the the next engagement was fun and I'm truly glad I went, I realise that I inadvertently cheated myself out of a meaningful experience because I still have not learnt the art of saying 'no' and knowing that it's OK to do so. As a result I try to squeeze in 140 characters here and another 140 there and never really touch on the fundamentals - the things that matter.

Lesson learnt. (And I am sure I will learn it a few times more.)

Brain dump:

• I absolutely love spring. Always have, always will. Blossoms, bright green leaves, longer days, clean crisp air, a general feeling of well being and excitement all round...I love it.
• Getting to know the ropes has been an interesting experience.
  
• Realisation: if you play with fire, expect to get burnt (and always have a fire extinguisher handy)
• Art class has been fun and I look forward to completing my first oil painting next week. I have a couple of projects on the go, but this one will be the first to see a wall other than that of the studio.
• Mia, Joe's kid, is adorable. I hope my kids are half as cool one day.
• Never underestimate the self-centeredness of others and don't let it get to you. Rather, treat it as a reality check.
• I suck at remembering names. I really, really need to work on that.
• The RTD Red Bull RADAR Project has launched better than even I could have imagined and I am so excited I can pop. A million thank you's to Speakerbox and to the guys at Blueworld for making it happen. Over 25 bands have entered in less than a week and there are over 6000 votes!
  
• It was really good to meet Bradley Voges this week and to connect with Foxinni (sorry it took me so long to connect the dots), Allan Kent, Justin Hartman and Mike Stopforth albeit brief. (Yes Justin, I will attempt to blog more.)
• Celebrity exists - leaving without saying good bye in an attempt to avoid having to say that you don't really want to be there for whatever reason - will become more common and if they are viewed as selfish, so-be-it.
  

I'm off to Robynn's bday party and tomorrow it's Sowing the Seeds (for Rocking the Daisies). I hope to see some of you there.

PS: Never tell a bunch of bloggers that they are pathetic. Not even when they are sitting outside in the biting cold, separate from the rest of the group, perpetuating the notion that they are elitist :)

XXX

Must blog must blog

I know, I know - This thing is way outdated and I need to do something about it if only for my own sanity.

Note to self:
You are here. You are alive, semi-healthy, happy and blessed. In the words of 'Skype': Take a deep breath...

See you later alligator.

Silence!

I once saw a T-shirt which read: "You're only jealous cause the little voices are talking to me." (The T-shirt was in a shop called Tiny P*nis - spelt exactly like this on their sign - situated in a town called Newquay on the north west coast of Cornwall in the UK. (Who knew the British had a sense of humour?)

Now at the risk of sounding schizophrenic, all I want is for the voices in my head to shut the f*ck up! Lately I have been in constant dialogue with either myself, friends, family, business acquaintances, God/the Universe...you name it, I'm talking to them. This would be perfectly normal, if I was able to switch off from time to time, but this 'noise' coupled with the everyday noises like traffic, phones, people, the world at large, is making me feel somewhat claustrophobic.

Here I must stop to add that I am incredibly grateful that the voices have as yet, not responded and that the only person talking is me. In order to keep it this way, I have resorted to waking up at 5:30 each morning to attend either a yoga or pilates class in the hope that being present, calm and in tune with every muscle in my body will help to calm the din down. It's only been two mornings, but is seems to be doing the trick.

My next step, is to spend four days in the Cederberg where reception is non existent, 'Internet' is not a commonly spoken word and there is in fact no electricity for miles around. It's so quiet there, you can hear the silence.

And just to make sure the voices don't decide to respond - ever - I am going to spend an entire day (maybe two) in silence.

"Vat so katvis."

Who is the Time 'Being'?

I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and the book, for want of a better description, is changing my life. Not only would I love the ability to write like her, I also admire her honesty, her spirit and her willingness to seek love in its purest form no matter what 'stuff' she has to work through to get there.

Like Liz (as she refers to herself), I have control issues and as a result struggle to let go and just 'be'. I can be high strung, anal - a real pain in the proverbial ass - I like things my way and I've been known to have a thing about sticky fingers and dirty hands. (Not OCD, but close.) Wow, I sound fun...

I am however, incredibly hard on myself (as most people are) and hence plan to ease up.

First things first: Learn to be present. I have often wondered about global time differences and have tried to work out ways of living the same day twice. I love the idea of flying to China and then flying back to SA only to gain back the time you you have already lived. (For the record I know it's not possible, but it would be cool.)

While in the shower this morning, the penny dropped (for the how many-eth time) that you never actually gain or lose time. The Chinese, like us, are living now. The sun might rise and set at different times and our dates may differ as a result - giving the illusion that they are living in the future - but all it really is, is now. And all we have control over is now. And if we let go, like Liz says, the birds won't drop from the sky and the earth won't stop turning on its axis.

Now all that's left, is to give it a try and to kick the Time Being under its proverbial ass.

* O, and read the book.