Singing as the Darkness Lifts

POET, COACH. COACH, POET.     Listening Link  This morning a swirling wind makes an incense of its own as it mixes the soft dry scent of wood smoke with the damper smell of fallen leaves.   Alt Text says this week’s photo is a picture of two women smiling. I say it is me having a post-gig photo with Wendy James, and feeling glad to have the opportunity to express my gratitude for the music which has been in my heart for a long time now.   This week while tuning in to POETs Day live with Kate Jenkinson (Fridays at 12:30 via LinkedIn) I found myself drawn to the Venn diagram image in the Poetry In Business Logo. It resonated with my recent thinking around how two of my favourite things (poetry and coaching) intersect. Whilst wondering about this I had also been toying with the thought that people might find it strange that my social media presence often flits between poetry and coaching. My answer to myself was that I am a poet and a ...

A CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH SPRINKLES   Listening Link Today rain and mist hold the scent of damp fallen leaves in the air.    Alt text says this week’s photo is a chocolate cake with sprinkles on the top. It is indeed. And to add to this description I would also say it is a birthday cake for my lovely wife. For this bake, I fine-tuned the recipe after making a cake for my debut poetry collection Magnifying Glass which had its fifth birthday last week. The book cake was delicious, but a little rustic looking after I piled on the buttercream and forked the number five on the top because I hadn’t really considered how I was going to finish it off! It was a good reason to enjoy cake, and it also gave me the perfect opportunity to enjoy the feelings of gratitude to have worked with Black Eyes Publishing UK to enable the book to have its place in the world.   I am also taking forward the lesson that it is useful to have an image of the end product ...

  FOCUSING Listening Link  This morning the air brings the smell of old carboard boxes, and I do not set off the alarm call of a blackbird.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a close up of a person’s face. It is. And it is mine, and I have enjoyed reviewing some photos this week.   I always feel in slight danger of getting the answers wrong when I visit the optician for an eye test. Remembering my left from my right and blinking to see if it’s an O or a C requires an on-the-spot focus which seems different from the focusing I do in day-to-day life. My optician is friendly and kind, but I still wonder if I am seeing the right things when I cover one eye or need to look up or down. I also have an urge to get it ‘right’, to be able to unfuzz the images, name the correct letters.   This time there was no change to my prescription. And the visit also included a wonderful shiny moment of self-recognition when I heard he...

PLAY    Listening Link This morning the air is mild and is scented with floral notes.  Alt text suggests this week’s photo is of a person wearing a yellow circle with leaves and acorns on. I can’t really add much to that apart from the fact it is me celebrating the Autumn Wreath that Kath’s Mum made in a craft session recently. I also say that it reminds me of the circles that can be added to profile photos on LinkedIn. I was not one hundred percent sure it was the kind of photo that would typically be shared there, but since it coincided with my Friday celebration of joy that’s where it was destined to go. I even made a couple of new connections there that day.   Playing always puts me in my happy place. So being a poet and knowing that t he theme for National Poetry Day this year was ‘Play’ was a gift to me. One year ago, a friend messaged me on National Poetry Day to say they had read a poem of mine to a group of people at a celebration event. I messaged ...