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Singing as the Darkness Lifts 23/10/2023 (#SingingAsTheDarknessLifts 8)

Singing as the darkness lifts 23/10/2023

The morning smells of cold stone, and opening the sash window of a hotel room to discover this, set off the alarm call of two different blackbirds.

Many steps have been slow and steady this week after it began with a funeral to say goodbye to a lovely person. I found such a gentle poignancy in the way she wrote the service herself in order to help her family and in the vicar saying, “Once a teacher always a teacher”. In the morning before going to the church there was a wonderful echo in my head of the sparkle of her laughter which made me smile. Here’s to finding comfort in the way people teach us to be better versions of ourselves by being themselves with us.


I am learning to seize the moment when something feels particularly stretchy for me and this week’s thing was the thought of writing a five thousand word essay. I had in fact written a very rough splurge of ideas that amounted to half of this amount when I knew an essay was going to be needed. Having done the right thing and read the guidance properly I realised that only some of these words would actually make it to the essay itself. There was a certain satisfaction to pausing when I put two hundred and fifty of these words into the right order to begin the essay and then I took a deep breath and continued. Over two days I formed a satisfying first draft and was able to say well done to past me for listing books in my bibliography when I did some of the preliminary reading.  Academic writing is not one of my strengths and I have to tell myself to sit there and get on with it. Luckily I am able to listen to myself AND I am learning to do what I wished everyone would do when I was shortlisting for jobs which is ‘read the criteria and follow it’.


There have been #ElasticBandPhotos in the world this week and I leave you with these two:

 'Stepping Out in Bath'

A discarded elastic band in the gutter is twirled in three tight loops. The kerbstone adds interest as does a sprig of green leaves amongst the more autumnal brown and orange leaf debris.

 

'Blue Like Your Shoe'

A discarded blue elastic band is on the step outside the house where we have been invited for dinner. Green plants add a colourful dimension as does a pink petal, and the photographer’s shoe is just in shot.

 

Here’s to the continued singing as the darkness lifts.

 

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