Author: Sarah

Inspiration

‘I want to write a poem’

never works for me.

I have to wait.

I have to go to the places

where inspiration lies.

Sometimes I glimpse it

quietly sleeping

in a grey sky full of rain,

or shouting for attention

through the flowers and birds.

Sometimes I glimpse it

within myself.

And I have to be quiet enough to hear it.

A blog post from a writer I admire

sparks a train of thought,

or I glimpse an old quote in

a book, inspiration travelling

across time and space.

Or I walk.

Usually I just walk,

and the world nudges me

into attention.

Everyday contentment

A hailstorm engulfed the woods.

I walked, partially sheltered by

the bare branches,

cocooned, warm in my coat as

the hailstones drummed on my head.

It passed over, the last balls of ice

bounced off my hair as

I put my hood down.

I emerged into sunshine,

a cool fresh breeze,

and contentment.

You can always find contentment if you walk far enough!

Winter trees

First attempt at collagraph printmaking. The printing plate is made of card, which I then cut with a stanley knife and ripped to make the tree trunks. The foreground is a collage of ripped bits of card and scrunched up masking tape. Then I inked up the plate and this was the result. Now I want to do more!

Home

I lived away,

for too long.

Leaving after a visit,

or passing by

on the train

or on the motorway,

I would press my nose

to the window

letting the silhouettes

of the mountains

fill me up,

cricking my neck

for that final glimpse

as I headed north.

There were hills there, too,

but they weren’t my hills.

Now I am back home

for good.

Judgement

Imagine

turning certainty

and judgement

into wondering,

into curiosity.

How then

would we see

this world?

I joined a really interesting coach training course this week, all about releasing judgement.

I thought it would be a good one for me to do, because sometimes I can be very judgemental. The current political climate does not bring out the best in me!

It is so easy to slip into a judging mind-set, comfortable even. It means I don’t have to think, to put myself into another’s shoes, to feel the discomfort of acknowledging that maybe someone else’s opinions are just as valid as mine. To assume that I know why they say what they say, why they do what they do.

And then there are self-judgement, comparison, self-criticism. For as much as I judge other people I also judge myself, and my work.

Two things really struck me:

Comparison

Instead of comparing myself with others, how about looking back at how I was at a point in the past, or how I would like to be in the future? So instead of looking at the blogger with thousands of followers and feeling discouraged, not good enough, I look back to a year ago when I had less than 10 followers and I realise how far I’ve come. Or I imagine a future where lots of people read my blog and I work out how to get to that point and then take the steps to get there.

Judgement

Instead of thinking I know why something is as it is, I could be open and curious instead.

Ultimately, judging is just part of being human. I can just notice that I am doing it and let it go. Another one of those under the category ‘simple but not easy’!

What do you think? Do you have any tips for releasing judgement?