Do you like animals?......

Charity worker: Do you like animals? 


Me: On a scale of 1-10 I'll give them a 5 depending on what they are and where there from? This makes me an elitist animalist and I am not ashamed. Thus mice get one (0 if there in my kitchen) and Tigers/ Huskies and Whales get between 8-10. 


Charity worker: Would you like to give money to (insert charity here) 


Me: There are lots of charities I support unfortunately yours isn't one of them and I was hoping my rant would have meant that you wouldn't ask me this question.  


(I smile and walk off) 


(Charity Worker looks over bewildered) 

Glory Days.....

Today I read this story http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/sports/baseball/bruce-springsteens-inspiration-for-glory-days.html?_r=2 


The article talks about the inspiration for Bruce Springsteen s song Glory Days. Turns out Glory Days was written about a baseball team mate of Bruce's called Joe DePugh. They grew apart during school with De Pugh becoming more sports orientated and Springsteen getting more into music. They met at a bar years later, had a few beers which led to De Pugh becoming the inspiration for Glory Days. Now I wasn't born in the USA but I do love Springsteen and his music. If you read the article you'll see that its full of serendipity. The moment De Pugh's wife heard the song she started crying and he knew it was about him. 


This article reminds me of how we are all connected and the beauty of those crazy moments where you meet someone you haven't seen in like in 10 years in your local chip shop 500 miles away. I love those stories. They make the world a better place....

'Shake your hair and do what you do' Do what you do - Chuck Ragan

Creativity you can be a cruel mistress but without you my home would be the nearest hospital ward and for that reason I am grateful to have you in my life! 

I had a conversation with a friend the other day who said that they were bored so I came up with a list of things she could do to alleviate her boredom which included painting, running, writing and many other things, but then she said I'm not creative and I replied everyone is creative. 

That conversation got me thinking, I remember when I worked a 9-5 and hated my job because I had no time to do what I love and the things that made me me i.e walking, writing, photography. The less I did of these things the more depressed I got and I ended up really ill. The moment I gave myself a break, quit my job and just started doing things I enjoyed I felt better and in essence more me. Everyone is different but everyone can be creative! Creativity can come in all shapes and sizes but it lives in all of us. I'm not saying become the next Picasso but simple things like doodling make all the difference (my exercise books from school and university are FULL of doodles!) 

Whatever you do as long as you enjoy it thats the main thing. I recently watched the film 'Its a kind of funny story' about a young man who is depressed and ends up spending time in a psyche ward. Now everyone I know who has seen this film has raved about how awesome it is, having watched it I am happy to join this crew because it was really good with a clear message that makes me want to watch it all over again. The message (without giving away the ending) find something that you can completely immerse yourself in and just live! 

Kurt Vonnegut says it best 

'The Arts are not a way of making a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. practising an art no matter how well or badly is a way to make your soul grow, for heavens sake. Sing in the shower, dance to the radio, tell stories, write a poem to a friend even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward you will have created something!' A man without a country 2005