Not sure which one of those best describes my dream - maybe all of them! - but I do know that when your dream starts pounding ever louder in your head it's time to start listening.
Sir Laurens Van Der Post was onto something when he wrote of the Kalahari Bushmen: "Only a fool ignores the tapping within". (A Conversation with the African Bush; Wilderness and the Human Spirit, 1996.)
Living a nomadic and stark existence on the world's oldest continent, the Bushmen were way ahead of their time. Van Der Post recalled an incident just after WWII when he was on an exploratory mission in the Kalahari Desert for the British Government.
One day his Bushman tracker broke apart from the group and parked off under a thorn tree. Impatient to continue, the intrepid adventurer asked his interpreter to get the man moving.
"No," he was told. "I can't do it. He is doing very important work. He is listening to his tapping." He went on to liken the Bushman's tapping to a white man's telegram.
"Don't you know we Bushmen have telegrams inside ourselves. This tapping tells us of things that are still to come, things so far away that we cannot see them yet, and that man there is listening in to his tapping to see where he must take us today. Only a fool will not listen in to his tapping when he hears this tapping starting up inside himself."
Here hear.
I'm hoping the tapping of my dream will match the tapping of the keyboard over the next 12 weeks as I try to give voice to my dream of writing a book. This blog is more of a self-motivator than anything, to track the process of writing. And maybe, just maybe, it might even be a story in itself... Wish me luck! R
Living a nomadic and stark existence on the world's oldest continent, the Bushmen were way ahead of their time. Van Der Post recalled an incident just after WWII when he was on an exploratory mission in the Kalahari Desert for the British Government.
One day his Bushman tracker broke apart from the group and parked off under a thorn tree. Impatient to continue, the intrepid adventurer asked his interpreter to get the man moving.
"No," he was told. "I can't do it. He is doing very important work. He is listening to his tapping." He went on to liken the Bushman's tapping to a white man's telegram.
"Don't you know we Bushmen have telegrams inside ourselves. This tapping tells us of things that are still to come, things so far away that we cannot see them yet, and that man there is listening in to his tapping to see where he must take us today. Only a fool will not listen in to his tapping when he hears this tapping starting up inside himself."
Here hear.
I'm hoping the tapping of my dream will match the tapping of the keyboard over the next 12 weeks as I try to give voice to my dream of writing a book. This blog is more of a self-motivator than anything, to track the process of writing. And maybe, just maybe, it might even be a story in itself... Wish me luck! R
9.20am today: my writing room, engine room for my dream.
9.21am: watching from the balcony as 16 yr old Jessica Watson sails away on her dream voyage around the globe.
10 comments:
Spread your wings Rubyfire!!
Then, tap your little wings Rubyfire!!!
xxx
Let it all out, my love. That little head of yours has been storing far too much for far too long.
PS: I'm a great proof reader...and very cheap!
Thanks dad :)
Hey Rubyfire - I'm loving that you are doing this!! Oh, and thanks for the Crowns...:)
The reference to van der Post makes me think that we are writing in the epic vein, so the appropriate muse is Calliope:
"The proper way to start a poem
Built on the old high generous plan
Is to invoke the Muse"
Who might that be? No googling!!
Hi there Rubyfire. Hmmm. Writer's block! And one would think I should have been inspired by our little adventure tonight... I will come back to you very soon with some magical first lines x
Thanks for the invitation, Rubyfire. I'm about to send you an email, but thought I'd say in this forum--just get into the practise of writing, and keep reading!
warmest wishes, Terri-ann
Poetic and lovely to read. I cant wait to hear about the story line for your book...... the forecast for the next 3 weeks is rain. No better place to be indoors and writing in such circumstances. I hope there will be pictures in said book ; )
Caraline
La Petomane! I now have a new hero!
Now that your house is in display home condition, not that I've ever seen it looking anything less than Better Homes and Gardens perfect, can you come and clean mine?!
What a perfectly inspirational scene Jess Watson's departure presented you on your first day.
I've loved your writing so far, even in it's embryonic stages, and have no doubt it will grow and flourish as a spirited, mature and truly captivating creation.
Very, very best wishes in your endeavours Rubyfire, from the Man Down The Hill.
Thanks for your comments and encouragement everyone! So I've figured out...with quite some prompting...that the author of the poem above is AD Hope and while I read it I'm conjuring up a suitable response...! In the meantime, ooh-la-la who might you be mysterious Man Down The Hill? I hope I don't disappoint with my future postings :)
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