Creativity Journal

I am going to let you in on what I have been doing for the past couple of months that has kept me away from the blog in the past couple of months.  I have been keeping a creativity journal which means I am  writing every single day on a wide variety of subjects.

I am studying creative writing at the moment through university and I have been having a blast with it.   One of the things my course asks me to do is keep a writers journal.  A writers journal is a book of observations, ideas, random quotes and pretty much anything else that has interested me or has popped into my head for some reason.  It is a good exercise to get the creative juices flowing and it is also very therapeutic to empty my head of all of the things I would bottle up inside and obsess about for ages.

Ideas, Sharing and Blogging

So that got me thinking about my blog and what I could do to tie in both the things I have spoken about before and the creativity journal that I am keeping each day.  I thought I could share some of the things that I have been writing each day and let you tell me whether you like/dislike them and it also may give me an idea to try and write some short stories or hopefully a novel!

I also thought about having a day where I will take suggestions from you folks of 3 different objects or ideas and then I will write them into some kind of short story.  I reckon this would be a good challenge and it would get me into a good habit of writing and would also let me give you guys something that I have created just for you! I could try and use the few photography tips that I have been given to try and take some photos that tie in with the story that I have written as well.

Another idea buzzing around my head is to do a photography scavenger hunt, for those of you that blog, so we can share photos about our local areas and link up to promote each other.  I think it could be great fun and I hope you guys are on board with it as I would love to see some of the places that you visit in your local area.

Sunset over mountains taken from the plane

This doesn’t mean that I am going to be changing the blog completely to talk  about different subjects though, I am just hoping to include you all in some of the things that I like to do to relax when the pressure of my own pain and Pretzel’s disability get on top of me.

So what do you reckon?  Are you guys up for putting your toes into the pool of creativity with me and coming on a journey?  I hope so and I reckon we could have a good laugh along the way as well.

Until next time folks,  Stay Safe and Keep Smiling!

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Poem: Heaven's Very Special Child

Wordsmith Wednesday

Poem: Heaven’s Very Special Child –

A meeting was held quite far from Earth,

“It’s time again for another birth”,

Said the Angels to the Lord above,

“This special child will need much love”.

Her progress may seem very slow,

Accomplishments she may not show,

And she’ll require extra care,

From all the folks she meets down there.

She may not run or laugh or play,

Her thoughts may seem quite far away,

In many ways she won’t adapt,

And she’ll be known as handicapped.

So let’s be careful where she’s sent,

We want her life to be content,

Please, Lord, find the right parents who

Will do this special job for you.

They will not realise right away,

The leading role they’re asked to play,

But with this child sent from above,

Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon they’ll know the privilege given,

In caring from this gift from Heaven,

Their precious charge, so meek and mild,

Is heaven’s very special child.

Copyright © 1981 by Edna Massimilla

I chose this poem for Wordsmith Wednesday for my wife who told me about it.  It was given to her by a teacher at a nursery that our niece was attending at the time.  She had never met our daughter but had heard lots about her from my sister.  It is such a nice poem and the sentiment behind it shows just how special parents who deal with the extra strains and stresses of caring for a disabled child are.  I am not a believer in God and the Angels myself but the thought and feeling that goes behind the writing of the poem and also the fact that someone was able to associate it with my family makes it extra special.

I love to receive a poem that I may not have discovered and I love the fact that using the right words in the right place can evoke such strong emotions in the reader.  I think that people should read and send a poem to each other a lot more regularly than we do now.  There are some fantastic writers out there who do some stunning work but they don’t get the coverage and readers they deserve.  Maybe we should start making our own greetings cards and put in them a poem that we have written ourselves instead of relying on the awfully corny, cheesy and very short offerings that the greetings card companies seem to offer up to us.  The personality and individuality that a poem in a card would give would be much more appreciated by the receiver than the standard cards that are bought in the shops would give.

Have you been given a poem or piece of writing to help cheer you up or keep you motivated?  Would you share your own poem in a card for someone close to you? Would you participate in a poem swap if you had the chance to do it? Let me know what you think and if there is a poem or piece of writing you would like to share with the world and I will put them up here as part of my Wordsmith Wednesday series.

Thank you for reading and I would appreciate it if you could leave me a comment to let me know what you think about the poem and the series in general.

Until then folks, Stay Safe and Keep Smiling!

 

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Wordsmith Wednesday

 

The Special Child

 

The churning stomach, the racing heart,

The step into the unknown,

A new life, a new beginning,

Just waiting to be grown.

 

Something changes, something’s wrong,

Why is there no sound?

That deep purple, that awful stillness,

The worried looks get thrown around.

 

My little girl, my darling child,

Why are you there so still?

Just one breath, one little cry,

Just show that fighting will.

 

That gasp of breath, that piercing cry,

You fought and you have won,

You beat the odds, you fought the fight,

But the tale is not quite done.

 

Then came the fits, the jerky limbs,

Why were these movements so?

Then came the tests, The results were slow,

And yet still we do not know.

 

My baby girl, my darling child,

My special little SWAN,

A confusing world, A different life,

But still you soldier on.

 

You are my gift, my reminding note,

Of how precious life can be,

I love you lots, my bonny bairn,

More than you could ever see.

 

Do not feel pity, Do not feel woe,

For her life is filled with joy,

Her smiles are many, Her laughs are loud,

As she plays with all her toys.

 

So from this tale, this little ode,

Don’t think we cannot cope,

The trek is hard, the journey long,

But it’s one that’s filled with hope.

This is the first piece of poetry that I have written in a very long time, so I hope it isn’t too far away from the mark.  I drew my inspiration for this from the birth of my daughter Pretzel, who has an Undiagnosed Genetic Condition or, as it is otherwise known, a Syndrome Without A Name (SWAN).  It can be difficult going taking care of her as I have already said in many different posts on this blog but as a family we always manage to get through the difficulties by keeping a sense of hope.  Our hope is that one day Pretzel may just surprise us and learn a single word or be able to use a piece of software to communicate with us.

I would love for you to share some pieces of poetry, prose or passages from your favourite piece of work for Wordsmith Wednesdays and I would especially love for the writers among you to share pieces of your own original works with some of those readers who may not know about them.  So join in and show us all just how talented you all are…….I DARE YOU!

Until next time folks, Stay safe and keep smiling!

 

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