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Showing posts with label finding time for yourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finding time for yourself. Show all posts

I was going through my old music posts and had to re-post this for today’s Music Monday … The original post and comments can be found here

I heard this song for the first time in April 2009 after a weekend of R&R courtesy of my friend HS.  He got pretty fed up of my ‘house music’ and told me that he was switching the tone to some ‘real music’.  I couldn’t’  really blame him – we’d quite literally heard at least 2 albums of St Germain – and he told me to put on some Leonard Cohen. 

Until  that day, I had absolutely no clue who Leonard Cohen was – now of course I know better.  He’s a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, artist who has also been in the music industry for four decades !

The very start of the music makes you instantly relax …. and then … THAT VOICE … the deep husky baritone and bass voice … it can make you melt ! The simple drum beats soothe every muscle in your body.  Every time I hear this song – I simply have to close my eyes – and just let Leonards’ voice take over. 

It’s become one of my favourite songs simply because not only does it have a lounge feel with a soothing melody; there is also the enough time between each line of the song allowing the listener to fully grasp and acknowledge each instrument playing and at the same time being able to ‘hear’ the lyrics word-for-word. 

With most songs, even slow songs – there are some verses of the songs that one isn’t able to grasp all the words being sung.  With this track – it’s impossible not to hear all the words.  Cohen and collaborator Sharon Robinson's vocals are absolutely gorgeous throughout.  Not to mention the perfect harmony of the various instrument – take it up another notch !

The unusual combination of music and lyrics is perfect. The lyrics are sheer poetry !! and just transports you to another world … It really does feel like a secret life ….

memoryCan you picture a memory to each word you hear … doesn’t it create a warm fuzzy feeling inside ?  Sometimes it also causes a pull in the pit of your stomach … .. slowly releasing itself into your insides … doesn’t it increase your heart beat .. just a little bit … do you feel the tightening of your heart ….  

Do you hear the hum of a wind instrument against the bass and drums  ? Can you picture the fingertips gracefully moving on the keyboard … or the ones strumming the guitar ?

Do you know which verse I’m referring to with all my thoughts above ?   I closed my eyes and wrote whatever I was feeling …. I think you should try it … You never know what you come out with hehe 

Do you have a secret life ? I think we all do … Do you find yourself drifting off … someplace … away from where you currently are … when you ‘finally’ find a few minutes to yourself .. away from your busy schedule ?

That zone .. that someplace … it’s ‘your’ time to reflect back for a little bit …on anything … and everything …  to shut out the noise and daily communication … I’ve been needing a getaway for a few months now – but work is keeping me grounded.

Now that I think about it – I wouldn’t mind finding a pool just so I could ‘float’ around without a care in the world (I love that feeling of losing myself in the water).  And ironically HS – gave me a call earlier this week to figure out if I wanted to ‘get away’ for a break … soon I shall take him up on his offer …

So on that note – I’m gonna leave you to enjoy your secret life =)

Side Note : I was contacted by the management of Leonard Cohen for my original post – unfortunately that email got deleted =( So if anyone out there is reading this – I need to give you my address for a signed CD

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Whilst on this journey of discovering my Blogger Voice in the past few days – I’ve come to realize a few things.   In the last few months, quite a few people I know in my regular social circle have told me that they read my blog !

Considering the fact that I don’t really tell my friends about it – except for perhaps a select few – it was quite flattering to know that therebrand voice are others out there who read and lurk on my blog =)  These friends are lurkers – they don’t comment – but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that they’ve taken the time to drop by .. even if its every few weeks; and not regularly.

Even more flattering was when a few of my favourite neighbours like Simone Grant, the Fabulous Bitch, SingleCityGuy all messaged to check on my MIA status.  It just felt good to know that somebody out there was thinking about me.  And these guys have never met me.  

As I mentioned in my last post – I reckon I’ve always had my Blogger Voice – and of course I have adjusted and adapted my style of writing as I got more and more regular.  However it was only recently; perhaps in the last few months that I started making a conscious effort on how to make my blog more appealing.

Here are 10 tips that you can use (and you probably do this anyway) to find your inner Blogger Voice :

  1. Be Yourself.  Nothing  you can say is wrong because it’s Your perspective.  Some people will agree with you; others will not; some may start a heated debate. But there’s nothing wrong with that.  We are all entitled to our opinions.
  2. Blog the way you think.  Your thoughts are original to you; sure – others may think the same thought – but they process it differently to you.  I took my neighbours behind the scenes and gave them something to think about for the first time in March ‘09.  I haven’t done something like that until my last post ‘To Blog .. and How ??!!’  I hope to be doing more of that this year.
  3. Mind Your P’s & Q’s.  Every writing tool (MS Word, Live Writer, down to web browsers) have got spell checks installed.  They are there for a reason.  Use them ! It shows a sign of respect to your readers.   The same way – make sure your grammar is correct.  Use capitalization and correct forms of punctuation when forming sentences.. It gives your reader a better experience.
  4. Commit To Writing.  The more you write – the stronger your voice gets.  In 2009, I averaged 10.8 posts per month.  My highest blog count is 19 posts last May.  I don’t keep a schedule for writing – I write when I feel like; but I’ve told myself that I need to have at least 4 posts a month no matter how busy I get.  If you’ve got an idea – write it down – check out my thought process that resulted in this post.
  5. Be Transparent.  Bloggers earn their readers trust.  Be honest with them.  Don’t be somebody you are not.  When I first started writing, I used to often wonder ‘how do people get blog awards' … and then sometime ago, I got my first blog award.  It didn’t stop there – I ended up with a dazed blur of awards..  It doesn’t mean I’m a super blogger – I was given those because somebody believed in what I was doing.  Nubby has written a great post on The Importance of Transparency in Blogging which is a must read.
  6. Avoid Censorship.  Just because someone has a different opinion to yours, or negates your writing doesn’t mean you censor their comments.  Unless the comments are spam; offensive and/or abusive – leave them up there.  You never know who else might stand up for your thoughts.
  7. Comment, Comment & Comment Some More.  I discovered a new layer of thoughts by interacting on other bloggers posts.  There are times I wish I could write posts like Simone or WSG – but I can’t (in time perhaps) but I let them know by commenting on their blogs.  And it’s always nice to see other people keeping your comments in mind when responding.  Besides, a lot of what you read and comment on can help inspire your next blog masterpiece !
  8. Ask for Feedback.  Let go of your ego and fears and just ask someone for feedback; and take it with a pinch of salt.  Bloggers are a friendly bunch – if you ask for help – they help.  If you need motivation – they give you that little push to get your feet in motion.
  9. Experiment With Content.  If you’ve got a favourite author, give their writing style a shot.  I’ve seen a lot of ‘Wordless Wednesday’ posts around cyber space – try one of those Mr Linky things.  I started this blog with music, poetry and my random thoughts.  I still write about those and quite a few other things too. Try a new template / blog design; a writing format; make a few lists; a book or movie review; or just a post linking to your favourite bloggers.
  10. Contemplate & Reflect.  What is the purpose of your post ? Why are you using certain photographs ? Is there a lesson to be learned ? Is there something you want to ask your readers ?

So here’s wishing you well on your journey to find Your Blogger Voice.  For any of you veteran bloggers out there – please feel free to add to these tips.  Is there something else that you guys recommend ?

I believe that our voices will keep changing as we experience all that life has to offer us.  I’m glad you are a part of my journey – and I look forward to being a part of yours =)

Inspired By

  6. Voice and Blogging

This post came about whilst I was lurking after my very sexy blogger friend Nando over in New York.  His post titled Nandoism’s Valentines Erotica Submission and Exposing Yourself on Twitter caught my attention which resulted in my last post ‘To Blog .. and How ??!!’

Hello. This is Your Blogger Voice Calling.

I’ve been blogging for about 1.5 year now; 170 sporadic thoughts to be precise. And I don’t think they suck either.  As I looked back at the posts I wrote when I first started blogging in 2008; there were only 28 posts in 6 months.  In 2009, I had managed to pen down 130 very sporadic thoughts :)

I noticed that ever so often I would put up a few posts that could be considered ‘a bit out there’ or just not with the general flow of the writing or perhaps something not everyone reading could relate to.  Some of my old favourites include ‘Chivalry : Dead, Alive or Abused’ and What the Hell is Dating ?  Lately I’ve been reading up on quite a few dating / relationship bloggers – and it’s kinda cool that I’ve already sort of written about those topics.  I’ve been thinking about it – but haven’t really put anything down.

I can safely say that none of my neighbours here in Bloggerville would classify or even categorize me as someone who refers to shattering news stories.  That’s probably because I’ve stopped reading the papers and try to catch the ‘happier’ stories online.  However in 2008, I found myself bang in the heart of the Mumbai Terror Attacks, and I have gone on to describe my close encounter in that chaotic crisis.  At the time, I didn’t really get any response from my neighbours (I was – and still am – a newbie in cyber space) but got an overwhelming feedback in the form of comments on my FB notes.

Contrary to what Srinivas Rao says in his post  How To Find Your Voice as a Blogger; I find that looking back at the early days of my blog – I somehow feel that I didn’t hold back on what I was thinking.  During the course of growing as a writer – there is a quite a difference in the content – it’s still very much ‘me’ .. but it’s a bit ‘held back’ – I’m not being as blunt as I could be.  Or maybe it’s just another side of me. 

However I did find that the more ‘sporadic’ and non-conventional my thoughts were – the higher my neighbour engagement was in the form of comments.  Sure I wondered ‘why am I publishing this’ every now and then – but then I realized I can’t let something public or private affect my writing; and that I shouldn’t just write for readers or for comments or just for the sake of it – that I should be writing because I want to and because I think whatever it is that I have to say is going to hold some sort of importance or relevance to somebody out there in Blogosphere.

I took my neighbours behind the scenes and gave them something to think about for the first time in March ‘09.  I haven’t done something like that until my last post ‘To Blog .. and How ??!!’  I hope to be doing more of that this year.

My sporadic thoughts are just that – my past, present and future – a part of this thing called life - a small speck of ME in the overwhelming realm of the Universal Spectrum.  And maybe I had always HAD my blogger voice =) I just didn’t realize it fully until now.

Have you found your blogger voice as yet ? Yes. No. Maybe. Somewhere in between perhaps ? Not that I’m an expert – but thought I’d put together a few words of wisdom to help you determine your status.  After all – its Your Voice – Your Blog – Your Blogger Voice.

Inspired By

Did you know that today is the start of Simplify Your Life Week?  In the first seven days of August, do something to make your life simpler, more organized, less complicated, less cluttered.

I received this in an email today and really liked what I read and decided to randomly check with the Gods of Google to see what I could come up on this.

Guess what – it’s actually true !  The 1st – 7th of August is  actually a National Simplify Your Life Week !!!  It’s an official, yet little known observance that encourages you to organize and de-clutter your life.

Considering I just found out about this – do any of you know about this Simplify Your Life Week ? Have you maybe heard it in passing but not really focused on it ?

I don’t know about you, but I definitely need more than one week during the year to reduce the stress brought on by work, family, and general things taking place in my life.  I’ve been trying to take a vacation all year around and I’ve realised that I have to make a choice : go on vacation and splash out my savings OR forgo the vacation (including a friends’ wedding) and just let the next few months pass and think about it for another time.

We constantly over-work ourselves and then try to compensate by taking a long weekend or a week of vacation.  As dreamy and relaxing that a vacation may be – once we’re back (to reality) the same worries, commitments, tasks, and responsibilities are still there – they only went away temporarily and were just waiting patiently for our return !  The stress doesn’t just go away !

 

So what does it really mean to SIMPLIFY our life ?  After reading around a little bit, I came across this quote …

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
-Hans Hofmann

 

So by way of the above quote, simplifying is all about having enough without having too much.  I suppose this would include cutting back on unnecessary spending, taking time to slow down and focusing on ones true priorities.  Obviously no two people have the same priorities.

Ohio State University Extension suggests that you do something each day of that week to reduce the stress in your life and start enjoying life more.

Here are a few things one could indulge in to start reducing stress :

  • Take a bubble bath.  When was the last time you had one ? The last time I soaked in a tub was in April ! and before that it was in September ‘08 !! talk about really waiting to kill the stress !!!
  • Make a List.  Sounds simple right ? But do you make the list ?? Start small i.e. clear out clothes that don’t fit me and move on to more pressing matters
  • Go For a Picnic.  When was the last time you did that ?
  • Ask For Help.  Yeah you read that correctly.  There’s nothing wrong in asking someone else for help.  No one is perfect – and even the most perfect person gets stumped every now and then !

I genuinely can’t think of anything else right now – however here are some links that give more detail about the week and what you can do to simplify your life – and it all depends on your perspective

So what will you do to simplify your life this month ? Do share your suggestions in the comments :)