Walking in winter sunshine

I didn't think I would get a blog done today, even though I have had quite an inspirational week, but it is has been good. I would say that I have been in a reflective mood all week, trying to get somewhere that. I am not quite ready to be and getting quite frustrated with myself. I haven't been remembering life's a journey this week. Sometimes I want the spoilers alerts! There are two things that have helped the inspiration this week.

First a haircut. I know at first this doesn't seem very out of the norm but the fact is that I don't get my hair cut very often, and it is usually to do with a step change that I am trying to make in life. Although I am not good at going to the hairdresser, I have been going to one of the best salons in Edinburgh and to the same person for years. It is a guilty pleasure as I know  I could go somewhere cheaper but I think there is a memory there of my mum and watching the horrible hair lost she went through with the cancer. I remember that although we did manage to laugh about her wig, especially when the cat attacked it, she hated the effect of her treatment had on her body, so by getting my Hair done, it is honouring my mum's love for her hair. Whether the hair cut is going to be a step change for me, you will just have to keep reading.

The second event was a walk, having had a brilliant night with friends, we had abandon the car in ferry road last night, so we took a glorious walk down to collect it crossing the Dean Bridge and walking down Fettes avenue. The walk in winter sunshine was invigorating as the colours in the trees were amazing. Also, we covered an old writing walking route that I used to do from Grove street on a regular basis. With the leaves swirling beneath my feet, the characters of my book walked with us. The world of Breaking Portraits is coming alive again, and as nature is beginning to hibernate, I feel the need to dance like a winter leaf. It is although Edinburgh is challenging me to come out of hibernation and is giving me a diet of inspiration, and that makes me very excited.

Your dreams are your own

Okay so I've decided that an active writer doesn't keep a tidy house! Well it's my excuse for  my flat at the moment. I have had a sweet morning writing a chapter of my book and actually feel as though my senses have awoken to the book again.   I don't know why the inspiration is back, perhaps it never went away!

Sometimes I wonder whether the sheer fact that I have been writing essentially the same story for the last 10 years, whether it is time to start with something new. But then I think there must be something so strong in my imagination that makes me want to tell this story and share it with the world. I'll get there.

As promised as this blog is about inspiration, here are a number  that have helped me this week.

(1) spending time at the National Gallery and picking a painting to for a writing competition. A picture paints a thousand words.

(2) music - as ever music plays to my imagination, songs in particular this week has been Timshel by Momford and Sons, very powerful lyrics, and Bonfire heart by James Blunt.

(3) Finding the Mojo version of the Beatles's 2nd album and really enjoying it as I am normally Beatles purist.

(4) Taking Chris out for dinner at one of our favourite haunts and taking time out to be together.

As the time is ticking, I'm going to leave you with this thought " it is better to have live one day as a tiger, than a thousand years as a sheep."

Hope you have a roaring week.

I love a good quote

I turn from my own words to someone who changed the world:  Mahatma Ghandi

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

What change would you make today?

Finding inspiration

I am ashamed that this is my first blog in nine months, life has taken over in a good way and now with the wedding ring firmly on my finger, exams behind me (hopefully),  I am drawn to a dusty folder, where an unfinished manuscript lies awaiting. There has been, at times, a real doubt in my mind on whether I can or know how to finish my book as it is almost easier to have a work in progress than put a finish product out there. But I am sick of hiding behind fear, as fear can often bring about the greatest opportunities and sparkling success.

So why write a blog when I have a book to write? Simple, to write with vigour you need inspiration, in fact to do anything worth while in life, you have to be passionate so this blog is going to be about inspiration, because we all need to feel inspired in life.  The dictionary definition of inspire is:

To inspire is to stimulate activity; encourage a feeling, to make a person feel uplifted.

I don't know about you but we could all do with some of that in our lives.