The weather today has lifted. The sky is blue. The sun is shining. It is supposed to be 21 degrees. It feels like it. After days of rain, days of cold and grey, this is more than just a slight relief. My mood has lifted. My spirits are soaring. I feel lighter, almost as if I could float away on the breeze. Extending my arms, I test them out. Can I fly? No. Shame. It would have been nice. Different. Exciting. An adventure. Still, I have just returned from one, and that did necessitate flight, albeit in an airplane.
The return to reality after a two week break, after an escape from the dull and monotonous drudgery of normal life, is a challenge. I am struggling. I keep asking myself why it is that I live in this country? Why so many of us do. When the weather is so often miserable. When the sky is so seldom visible. When it rains and rains and is always cold.
Ok, so I am skipping over Spring and Summer and neglecting them somewhat. But I do feel that, to a certain extent, they have neglected me too. Some people would beg to differ and argue that we had a long and pleasant summer. But, apart from the short spell that was classed as a heat wave, it was short and not all that sweet.
It has been a difficult year. A difficult two years. Maybe that is why I am focussing on the negative instead of smiling and trying to be more upbeat.
Today, with the weather being more friendly than mean, I am feeling a lot more positive. I might even manage to like England again.
I have always loved art and drawing has been an important part of my life ever since I can remember. Having creative parents provided me with the right genes and also meant that my naive dabblings were given plenty of encouragement. Growing up, our kitchen walls were lined with huge pinboards which displayed my work. I guess you could say that this was my first exhibition, my audience consisting of family and friends. To date – apart from school and university, where there was always a termly show – it remains the only one. Life interfered with other priorities and stole away my earlier confidence.
Since graduating, I have been a web designer, a graphic designer, a magazine editor, an art director, a copy writer, a literary consultant, a poet, an aspiring novelist, and many other less inspiring things. I have also founded a literary arts magazine called Inside Out, which published two issues before the recession hit.
For the last year, I have been hard at work writing and drawing and would now call myself a writer, poet, artist and illustrator. I use these mediums as ways to better understand myself and find them helpful in exploring and resolving personal problems. This was the focus of Inside Out, which promoted creativity for personal development and emotional well-being. One day I hope to qualify as a creative therapist, offering workshops and retreats and teaching this valuable skill to other individuals.