Can't see the wood for the trees

Post 19 – Change

Redwood — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:32:54 +0000

Weeding (or in the standard vernacular ‘Spring’) time has arrived! Flowers have patiently waited for the freeze to subside and are welcoming the sun as an old friend, reminding us that new life emerges at the right time. Hard times blow through, often unexpectedly, but rejuvenation lies just beneath the surface ready to spring up as the winds subside.

Post 18 – association

Redwood — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 20:54:30 +0000

Special offer, two for the price of one, 50% off. We all look for a deal, it’s the joy of thinking you’ve paid less than someone else, that you’ve somehow got a better deal and are better off even though you’ve spent more money than you would have because you weren’t planning on getting it in the first place.

Marketing is a clever thing indeed, one little yellow sticker and somehow we feel as though we’ve won some kind of Supermarket war. I wonder if in a few years yellow will become synonymous with ‘discount’ or ‘saving’ in the same way that green = nature and blue = sky.

Marketing embeds associations into our heads, planting tiny seeds of branding which are watered with each advert we see, overtaking our thoughts like weeds in a patio, until a piece of fruit comes to represent the cutting edge of technology.

Today I am writing my first blog from my new iPhone, the one which I tried not to buy, tried to convince myself I didn’t need. Maybe it’s time to do some weeding.

Post 17 – Cost

Redwood — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 18:23:59 +0000

Them and us, you and me, they and we, separation, segregation, hierarchy, structure. Importance, value, worth, cost.

What am I worth? How is that measured? Who decides?

A cyclist came up behind me today and said ‘beep, beep’ to which I duly moved aside. Why did I do that? Why did he? Why did the fact that he was on a bike mean that I was in his way? He could have slowed and waited until he could pass by me or he could have gone onto the (very quiet and legal) road. But he didn’t. He used the universal expression for “excuse me but you are in my way an as I am more important than you because [insert self-focused reason here] you should move out of my way and/or let me through.”

It’s an interesting phrase beep, beep. I think it says a lot about us in that all though we are all the same, we all think that we are better in some way than someone else. It seems to be a fairly basic element within the human psyche, a need to feel valued, important, special.

Post 16 – Play to your strengths

Redwood — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:48:03 +0000

I rediscovered a book this week – the commandingly titled Now, discover your strengths by Marcus Buckingham. When I first read it, it was recommended by a friend at a time when I had recently endured months of strength-identifying tests as part of my final year. Tests which I detest because I don’t agree with labeling and resented that they counted towards my final mark for my degree in History of Art – a subject constantly trying to subvert labels or peel and replace them like and overused post-it.

So I read this book through cynical contact lenses – they make your eyes appear darker than coloured ones, refused to accept my allocated strengths and skim-read most of the rest.

Re-reading this two year’s on, I’m discovering it’s useful and practical and unerringly accurate. My labels (just for my one reader who has also done this test) were Input / Achiever / Learner / Strategic / Responsibility. And having moved into a new role at work I’m seeing these strengths playing out in more areas than I had imagined. I’m even starting to agree with my post-its, which is good since they seem to have been attached with duct tape which explains how frustrating it was to try and remove them.

Post 15 – British summertime

Redwood — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:27:47 +0000

Park life, hanging out, living, sharing, caring. That’s what this summer should be. Not grey and muggy, not overcast and overshadowing plans. I’m bored of grey, of washed out, of watered down, or over-watered. I’m bored of rain and hail and flooding, I want some sun!

On the other hand though wrapped in a blanket listening to the thunder outside does have its own charm. Just the weather and me myself and I.

Post 14 – slowing down

Redwood — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:37:56 +0000

Afterwards I breathed deeply and let my shoulders unknot themselves. The excitement seeped deeper than I realised, the adrenalin racing ahead of my thoughts to the finish line. That was just the trials though, now the real race begins. Why a race though? The rat race. A race to the end, a race to death and for what? Does anyone really want to get there first?

A race to the top – of what? There’s always more, higher, faster, better. Must be better, not enough. Not enough for who? Who are we trying to impress? Who are we trying to fool?

Love, true love, unconditional love, isn’t impressed. It isn’t won. Trust is given, trust is earnt, trust is won. But love? Love is abundant, you just need to knw where to look. Love tells life to slow down to notice the small things, to take a meandering, relaxing, carefree, stressfree stroll. Life isn’t a race Life is a walk in the park.

Post 13 – colour

Redwood — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:30:28 +0000

Together with painting, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, writing short stories and composing, traveling is an element that should be increased in my life. I love meeting new people, learning about their cultures, trying new food etc. And I know in our multi-cultural society I can do all of those here in Britain, but where’s the fun in that?

I think the part I like most about traveling are the different colours, especially the different blues of the sky. England has a grey tinted sky; the blue is tonally colder than that of countries further south, whereas their clearer, warmer blue skies make everything seem fresher, brighter, more colourful and more optimistic.

This was also an inspiration to the French artist Henri Matisse, whose colour palette changed, following visits to areas by the Mediterranean. I’ve felt like that this week, my photography’s changed, I’m focusing on colour more, whereas before I’ve been looking more at shape, line and balance within the composition of an image.

Having said all of this, I am writing this post on my way to visit Auschwitz in poland so my photography may become a little bleaker afterwards.

Post 12 – team player

Redwood — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:49:03 +0000

Weak (see what I did there? – for newbies I’m starting each post with the last word from the one before – see Blog 360) is not a word I like to be associated with. I much prefer strong, it even sounds better as a word (although that’s probably because of the association), other words I enjoy saying aloud incude locomotion, tantilising, flaneurial, curatorial and meditative.

So, yes. Weakness is something I have always worked to avoid but in fact it takes strength to admit to weakness. People respect those who admit their mistakes. Weakness also demonstrates a sense of vulnerability and interdependence, of needing other people.

I love working as part of a team, I enjoy the bouncing of ideas, the ways people inspire and challenge each other and how much more can be achieved with more people. I’m not afraid to admit that I need others to work with, so I guess that means admitting that I’m weak without them, I know it’s cheesy but it’s really true that we’re stronger together.

Post 11 – Try Something New

Redwood — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:42:19 +0000

Challenging things develop us more than anything else, character building and all that. From a recent holiday here are some things which can be challenging but I love doing and should do more often,

Making new friends
Doing something which may result in injury
Proving myself wrong
Sharing my faith
Swimming
Exploring new places
Travelling
Dancing

Setting myself the challenge of doing at least one of these every week.

Post 10 – Letting go

Redwood — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:38:19 +0000

Again my thoughts are trapped in a revolving door, encircling each other, ‘what ifs’ chasing their own tails.

I find myself at the crossroads of life (or more accurately at the Spaghetti Junction on the M6). Life has a habit of becoming comfortable and easy and just as I settle into a routine God decides to shake things up. Consequently I have no idea who will move into my house this month, I now have o significant other and my job situation is about as stable as an elephant in stilettos .

But c’est la vie, change is exciting, I just need to accept that I can’t always be in control. Because this is my main problem, I like to be in control. Of everything. All of the time. Learning to be happy whilst waiting for things to pan out is proving to be really challenging.