A blip in my blogjourney

One of the things I wanted to be when I grew up was a journalist.  I have loved reading, thinking and writing for as long as I can remember.  I even got a conditional offer to study journalism at Napier University in Edinburgh, the only place offering such a course in my school days.  Unfortunately - or fortunately - I didn't make the grade academically and went on to follow other pursuits.  A love of reading, thinking and writing however, has always been a big part of who I am.

When I became aware I could read stuff, think about stuff and write about stuff online, my world became much more exciting as I realised it was just like being a real writer. 

So, my todayoutof10 online life was born.  Unfortunately, my love of procrastinating has meant the reading and thinking hasn't translated into writing as often as I would like. 

And then I found Blipfoto.  This online platform, with the brilliant strapline - save your life - encourages us to post a picture every day, with or without accompanying words.  Developed by a guy who wanted to keep an online photo diary and was inundated by people asking if they could do it to, it was just the motivation I needed to post regularly.  It's a wonderfully positive haven for  photographers and diarists alike.  My pictures are pretty lame but it's enabled me to start seeing my life with fresh eyes, ever looking for a picture to accompany something worthy of writing about each day. It's the perfect place for me to record my todayoutof10 positive thoughts. I've been blipping faithfully since Dec 31 and plan to keep it up for 365 days. 

I hope this new found discipline will enable me to blog here more often.  I certainly have enough to say.

If you haven't seen Blipfoto before, check it out. 

http://www.blipfoto.com/todayoutof10

Make it about something

Thanks to Twitter, I became aware of a movie that was creating a buzz on social media and in the news.  The documentary is called I Am Breathing and is the story of a 34 year old man and his immediate family as they come to terms with his diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease.

All I knew about Motor Neurone Disease (MND) was that it was fatal, incurable and was the cruellest of conditions, rendering the sufferer unable to move, swallow, breathe and ultimately sustain life.  All the while being of sound mind.  It's the one that tops the list of conditions people in the medical profession would least like to have.

I wondered why this man chose to share his painful story with anyone outside of those closest to him. And I must admit the chance to get inside his head, coupled with my morbid curiosity, carried me along to the afternoon screening on its opening weekend.  

It's taken me a few weeks to make sense of what I think and how I feel about this incredible man.   

As the story unfolded, in the true, gritty and at times uncomfortable style of a good documentary, I was far less interested in the, what felt like,  voyeuristic aspect of watching someone live with MND and completely fascinated by Neil as a person. 

Neil Platt was an architect - an artist - someone who was defined, in large part, by what he created.   Neil was also, latterly,  a blogger.  As with many artists I know, my guess is Neil was driven to create.  

I think I am coming to understand this about artists.  The need to create, to give of themselves. 

I believe Neil's blog became the only way he was able to leave something of himself behind.   The only way he could share himself with others.   And this final and most brave sharing is how we came to know him. 

He said, on camera, that the freedom to communicate has to be the strongest and most powerful freedom.  To this end, he had an advanced medical directive which stated that his ventilator should be switched off when he could no longer swallow or speak.  This stopped me and I'm sure, the whole theatre, in our tracks. 

Is this why any of us blogs, to exercise this most powerful freedom?  I love how it allows those of us who share that drive with Neil, to give of ourselves, to have the platform - for the most part, freely - to leave something of ourselves behind. 

And this is my reflection on Neil Platt.  He showed incredible dignity in his fight with MND and  incredible courage to allow the world to see him, as he thought, at his worst.  And I'm sure he was so much more.

As he faced his own passing, he started to write a letter to his toddler son, Oscar, to give him a sense of who he was.    

If you watch I Am Breathing or read his blog, I believe you will see Neil Platt, not at his worst, but at his best.  And when his son Oscar reads his dad's blog and the unfinished letter and watches the documentary, I'm sure he will know exactly who his dad was.  

Even just for your next post, take inspiration from Neil Platt, the bravest of bloggers who shared the piece of work he knew would be his last and make it about something. 

Make it about you.

You can read his blog here:

http://www.iambreathingfilm.com/plattitude

I went to see the Who live in concert recently.  More on that next time.  For now, this seems appropriate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4

A life less ordinary

I decided to start blogging for a number of reasons:

1. I have a few chums who blog and I was always interested in their blog-chat.
2. I am fascinated by the creative process but felt I had pretty much nothing artistic to contribute.  I wondered if blogging might be my foray into the art of writing.
3. I don't mind admitting that for a while, I wanted to be a journalist/writer when I grew up.  

Imagine the technology existing that allows us to get involved creatively, without the need for publishers, money, like minded or sycophantic people with influence.  Once I convinced myself I would get my blog on, I thought about what I would write. Now that was the hard but interesting part. I began to think that what people choose to blog about kind of defines them - in as much as it's important enough for them to commit those thoughts and opinions to the blogosphere.  

I've been called lazy.  I prefer to think of it as reflective and contemplative.  I suppose it depends who you ask. When I started to consider what I think about during all of my "downtime" I realised it would be the perfect inspiration for my new blog.  I am fortunate enough to be a naturally positive person so I thought I would blog about the ordinary things that make me happy.  I also hoped other people, who might come across the blog, would start to reflect on the things in their own lives that make them happy.  Perhaps I would start a new movement...  I also thought it would give some justification to my procrastination - "yeah, I'm just reflecting on what has made me happy this week so I can share it with my blog chums." And I have a probably annoying habit of rating everything out of 10.  It makes sense to me.

A learned blogger said it's important to blog once a week @ least, in order to keep any potential readers hungry and interested. Well, I fell @ the first hurdle since my last blog entry was in July.  It's not that I haven't been counting my blessings and rating them out of 10.  It's just that I've not managed to share them with anyone other than my best chum. 

But today I found the headspace.  I wonder if it's because I'm spending the weekend on a Scottish island with a population of less than 100.  I'm in a beautiful place and have had plenty of time to consider what life and blogging are all about and the effect outside influences have on our ability to be happy.  If this was the view from my window every morning, would my life feel differently I wonder?

So.  I'm going to find the time every week to stop, reflect on what's made me happy and to tell you dear blog chums.  

As I write, one of my musical heroes, Paul Weller, is on telly, advertising his forthcoming programme from Abbey Road Studios.  I have a feeling I will blog about this in the coming weeks.  Music has always been a huge part of my life - a great companion, a source of much happiness and something that makes me smile and dance.  Two of my favourite things. 

A wonderful old guy called Terry Callier died this week.  He collaborated with Paul Weller you know.  But my favourite song of his is a Northern Soul classic.  This fills my heart with joy and my feet with the urge to move.  I'm now off to smile and dance...  Catch you next week. :) x

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTjiMWOnUc

Weekends in Vatersay outof10 - 9.75