A Dog's Eye: clutching at straws

I find myself of late, for a couple of months now actually, without anything much to say. Time has not been the issue. Desire has. In terms of my writing, I have felt uninspired.

Thankfully, I am not troubled by this. Every now and then, I think about opening my WIP file, chasing up all the beta readers who let me down, pushing my published works, beginning something new, banging out a short story, or disseminating some pithy piece of commentary here on Square Pegs. However, these are mere blips on the radar of my life these days.

True, my new job has forced a routine change, but so has more discipline re gym visits, and also the necessity of watching as much cricket as I can.

Waffle. Waffle. One of dad's favourite words. Miss you Dad! Speaking of favourite words...here are three* that have struck me recently. Polar Vortex, Extra** and Banana Freckle. First, an extreme weather event, then a brand of chewing gum which appropriately sponsors cricket umpires, and lastly a fruit disease which has only just been eradicated in the Northern Territory after a five year battle.

And with that overly long previous sentence and this one beginning ungrammatically with "and", I sign off until next time the capricious wind of muse blows.

*five words in fact

** Extra is a brand of chewing gum made by Wrigley, but in cricket is refers to runs awarded to the batting team when the batsman has not hit the ball. For example, wides, no balls and byes.

Inspiration V Discipline

I'm reading (sounds just like yesterday's post) a book about marriage by an artist, named Thomas Kinkade, who uses numerous painting analogies to describe what he and his co author wife call the many loves of marriage. In the book, Kinkade speaks about inspiration and how as a family man, he cannot afford to just sit around and wait for it. He goes to work at 9am everyday and paints, whether he feels like it or not. He disciplines himself and maintains a routine to put himself in a position where inspiration may strike. He says it does.

As a fellow creative person, a writer, I have not had the same experience as Kinkade. I cannot discipline myself to write. I don't have time. I have a job and other commitments. I don't earn a living from writing.

How about you? Where do you stand in the inspiration versus discipline debate? Thomas Edison reportedly said that genius was only one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration. What's your view?

The Emotional Locomotive

National Rugby League club, Cronulla Sharks set an unenviable record last week in their 0-26 loss. It was the third consecutive match in which they had not been able to score a point. No team had ever done that before. Imagine going out to play your next match with that record on your mind. Early in the second half of the subsequent game which they played away from home against a much more highly rated team, the Sharks were behind 0-22. It was clearly a case of de-ja-vu.

As they ran out on to the ground to start the match, were the players hopeful? Or did they expect to lose? Were they thinking that regardless of their effort, they would be defeated? As their opponents racked up points against them, did what little hope they might have had, perish in the fire of reality? Did the players still believe they could win that match, or did they give up? 

It has been said that sport, any sport, is mostly played in the mind. Attitude impacts significantly on performance. Many games are won or lost before they have even been played. This is true of life. Our emotions want to run our lives, and for better or worse, we often succumb to their demands. Our heads might shout loud statements of logic but our feelings block our ears with stubborn stupidity, and insist that their way is right. 

Sometimes, the supremacy of emotion works in our favour. Positive feelings can empower us, and provide strength to do what the head says we should. Our feelings can help us, inspire us and inspire others. Negative feelings can, on the other hand, cripple us. Feelings can be nearly impossible to control. Have you ever tried to tell yourself to cheer up when you feel depressed? Ever tried to tell yourself to calm down when you are angry? We are not robots, and yet we have this sense that our feelings are not the most reliable of advisers. Emotions should be the caboose, not the locomotive of our trains. We risk running off the tracks when we are led by our hearts instead of our heads, and yet this is how we live: fragile, broken humanity feigning total control when the truth is we are quite helpless.

The Sharks battled their demons of doubt, their feelings of inadequacy, their frustration and the sense of inevitability that the scoreline delivered to them. The final score was 24-22. This victory by the Sharks was easily the most inspirational moment of my week. What has inspired you recently?

Photographs courtesy of
http://www.sharks.com.au/