Drawing again, at last

Sometimes you have to pay attention to what is nagging at the edges of your consciousness. And in my case for a while now it has been drawing. Or rather not drawing. Computers are great and I could not be without mine . . . but I miss getting my hands dirty and dusty and the fun of just scribbling away, the feel of chalk on paper and the sound of scissors as they cut.

So I have spent this weekend doing just that. 

Mist

Saturday 9.46am

There is something comforting about a misty day. Some days I want to look out upon distant vistas full of possibilities. On other days the world seems just too big, too full of insurmountable problems, and on days like these I need to be cocooned and feel safe from it all.

Coming home does that and I get the same feeling when walking surrounded by mist. The world becomes much smaller as I walk protected within my little bubble of light. Sound is muffled and all I can see are faint shadows, hints of what might be out there. There is a childlike innocence here as well because the ethereal shapes out there could just as easily be fairy castles as trees and rocks.

Within my bubble there is a brightness as the light is diffused and comes from all around, the colours yellow and green glow as if lit from within. Gone are the harsh shadows of reality. Here in my little patch of Scottish Autumn or New Zealand Winter I feel as if I have stepped off the train of life for a while and can draw breath, relax a little and gather myself ready to continue on with life . . .  




“So what becomes of the little boys who run away from home. The world just keeps on gettin’ bigger when you get out on your own.” Tom Waits

Give us the gift

Thursday 8.57pm

I like to watch people. When I am walking, when I am driving I look at the people around me. Especially those in cars. There is a kind of separation from the world when you are inside a car, insulated somehow. And so when I watch people in cars it is as if they do not see me, they are completely caught up in their own worlds.

As I watch there is always one question on my mind - what are they thinking? I mean is it the same as me or different? But of course I realize that is one thing I will never know, how could I?

Or so I thought. But then came twitter. An application where people can share with the rest of the world what is on their mind as it happens, any time day or night. This would give me new insights, I could even find out what goes on inside the heads of famous people, world leaders even . . .

And what did I learn? . . . Well not a lot really. It is a bit like sitting on a bus or train, you hear these sometimes tanatalising snippets of conversation but have no idea really what they are talking about.

Ah well, back to the real world I suppose.