Week 7 so far

The week so far

I wondered what impact it would have on my Artist Way process to have a visitor - my sister has been with me for four days, and just left this morning. Well, apart from the fact that I haven't had a solo artist date (and there is time, and there are plans for one before Saturday rolls around), I feel my artist has been well-fed, and hers too! Like a lot of people, I'm more likely to plan an outing when I have company, so there has been a lot of wonderful stuff in these few days. On Sunday evening, we were at a concert of wonderful Middle-Eastern/ Andalusian music, with powerful musicians and singers. - Stirring, touching, music, and instruments with sounds that seem to reach the heart with their vibrations. We had two outings in beautiful bright sunshine (even if we had to wrap up really warm against the wind) to lakes nearby, finding parts of the landscape nearby I'd forgotten about, and never seen in its winter beauty. I've been experimenting (see below) with my digital camera, and will probably bore you all silly with my "holiday snaps" now that I've discovered how to upload images. Well, I'm very proud of myself for mastering this, because I'm not really technologically bright, and if my son was at home, I'd have been relying on him to set it all up for me, so it was a new boundary for me, too.
We got to see Brokeback Mountain on Tuesday night. Wonderful. My sis had read the story, I hadn't, but she didn't tell me the way it works out, and I won't say here, for people who haven't seen it yet and want to. Well worth the outing. I thought it was powerful and moving. - And the setting! - Beautiful country!

We watched some junk TV too, and ate, and chatted, and socialised, and went to one of my writers' groups (where occasional visitors are very welcome - Sis is a regular occasional!). It was a wonderful visit. We manage to give one another some space, too, whereby I was up early enough to write my pages without interruption, she got some time to herself, and I spent time with my journal on a few of the exercises. I know that the exercise with the most powerful, tangible and amazing results from my last time around was the Jealousy Map. Over the six years, every one of the things I felt I wanted has come about. I didn't realise it was happening at first, and then, idly looking back over my journal a couple of years ago, I spotted it. Wow! I'm now doing work I envied other people doing, have published, been invited to read at festivals... quite a few other things. So this time around, knowing what a powerful tool it is, maybe I'm not thinking outside the box on it, but I tried to write without too much thinking on it, and I'm taking a superstitious approach about it, and keeping it off the blog.

One thing about it, though, is people's negative response to the word Jealousy. I interpreted it not as the sin of jealousy, but about seeing, admiring and wanting to emulate some aspect of another person's life. It's not about wishing they didn't have it. In all the cases I listed then (and now) I like, even love the person involved, and really wish them well with their work, art, life... whatever, but I would like to have a similar situation, or to be in a position to create something like what they have done. I think the word Envy covers it a little easier for me. - Just a comment!

And so... from here, an Artist Date yet to do, and some tasks to complete, but this week, the sense of low-grade stuckness has shifted, there is rising excitement again, and I'm writing. All good. I haven't managed to keep up with all the blogs I was habitually reading and maybe commenting on up to this week, but even that is maybe not a bad thing. Too much time at the computer isn't good for my back, my eyes, my brain! Still, please excuse my neglecting you all in favour of "The Sister". Normal service will probably be resumed very soon!

Oh..... and next time I have a wonderful story for anyone who feels bad about getting to week 3 or week 4, and falling off the wagon! - I knew the Artist's Way keeps on working! It really does!