Thursday, October 21, 2010

'Dreams'

Dreams are fascinating visually speaking. A question I send out to you all is What colour do you dream in? I have asked this question of many people and the answers vary. There are the people who do not remember their dreams and there are those who believe that their dreams are telling them something.

I dream in black and white and never colour. Whereas, my partner dreams in vivid colour and he can make out faces and objects. The interesting part to my dreams is that most of the time I dream about stories I am writing. I get a visual cue for my story and then I can write.

I see my characters visually and then I picture them in settings that accommodate my narrative. I guess this is probably a bit out there, but it works for me. So if dreams are meant to mean something then, what meaning can be gathered from my dreams?

One of my favourite poems about dreams is Edgar Allan Poe's: 'A Dream Within a Dream'. It is as follows:

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And , in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night,or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep-while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Ref: Aiken, Conrad, A Comprehensive Anthology of American Poetry, Random House,New York, 1944.

This poem is a love poem but it does emphasise the importance of dreams in our lives. Dreams which can work for all!

So go forth and tweak your dreams for writing.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

'A compliment goes a long way'

There is something said for the power of a compliment. If you are the receiver of such a thing then it makes you feel good. If you are the giver of such gestures then it is usually received with a smile and a thanks.

I am usually the giver, but every so often I am given such nice words from sometimes a complete stranger. Why does this surprise me? I guess it is the world we live in. I hear this everywhere, 'our society is uncaring' or 'people are just so busy these days', I don't believe for a minute that we cannot take the time to give credit when credit is due or say something nice to someone once a day.

What surprises me is that sometimes people want praise and think they deserve some even though they do not like to reciprocate such an action. Maybe they think they don't have the time to be nice.

I am humbled and sometimes left in disbelief when someone says my 'writing is good' or 'you are a nice person' and 'thanks for your help'. I don't know why taking a compliment is so hard. I guess we are our own biggest critics sometimes.

A compliment a day. I wonder, can we do it!

It is the act of kindness to a fellow human being that keeps us grounded and quite frankly sane. Let there be compliments for everyone!