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September 22 is the 265th day of the year! There are 100 days remaining. So in my bloggy world that means I have 100 more blogs to complete before I finish my challenge of writing a post a day for the whole of 2011. So in about 10 days I will have still one quarter of the task to complete. In those terms, it is quite reassuring that we still have more than a quarter of the year left, as I must state at this point I am trying to neither blog or wish my life away, and am trying as usual to live each moment as if it was my last (not in a morbid way). I try not to thank the universe for all the small things I have that do not seem important until you lose them  (like limbs, teeth, sense of smell, bladder control, better skin quality  than it will be in say, ten years from now)

It is usually a good time to take stock, as the nights are drawing in. I  find September is the time when I make more resolutions than in January, as I still work in Academic years rather than Gregorian ones. I think a lot of us do…back to school and all that. I am offically back to school (I know I know, better late than never) next week when I start my singing groups of differing ages. Yippee! I have cut my work  down a lot this year so I  shall be spending more time writing  lots of bad songs.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to write bad songs. There’s a lot of people who don’t want to finish songs because they don’t think they’re any good. Well they’re not good enough. Write it!  I want you to write me the worst songs you could possible write me because you won’t write bad songs. You’re thinking they’re bad so you don’t have to finish it. That’s what I really think it is. Well it’s all right. Well, how do you know? It’s not done!” JOHN MAYER .

This quote will be  spurring me on this  year. There is a very similar quote in “the Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.  It is printed above my desk. The quote reinforces that issue about  our needing to please or impress other people – you can replace  the word songs, with poems, paintings, scripts, cakes, anything you like….It is really helping me at the moment. Taking the Judge and Critical Audience  and the ‘Like ‘ button out of my head (well sometimes, it does tend to creep in and has to be slapped back into it’s box)

I have written 3 and a half  bad songs since August already, with the help of fair Mickey B. Goode on guitar. So the quote is weaving it’s magic.

Song of the Day -Happiness -Ken Dodd and Freddy Mercury

 I dare you to get through this without a titter then. Hope it cheers you up.  x

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When times of change come, and they come, it is good to have inspirational people around who will help you on the journey. I find one of my fellow bloggers, nrhatch  completely ‘on the money’ and when ever I need to hear something in my head, she almost without fail puts out  a post with all the quotes I need. So a big thanks to her.

Another inspirational fellow who has given me so much during the last year is Derek Sivers.  He sends stuff all the time, which is the enlightened stuff you knew all the time, but needed someone to say it OUT LOUD in a simple and clear way. He SHARES in a way that is just so generous. Every useful book he reads, he puts a potted version on his site –  he has a new book out  Anything You Want – 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur” and much stuff on his blog, website that will not only help musicans, but anyone and everyone with their creative and community side something to ponder on…I am on his email list and I so appreciate the nuggets he sends through…this is one of them.

He is a lesson in how we should all live our lives. Sharing with our communities, helping other to find their way creatively .  I found a lovely thing he shared just the other day of a John Mayer workshops at Berklee which I have stuck on my wall, and it is for all you budding songwriters, story writers, script writers. Just take out the word songs and change it to story, painting, decision…it works in almost any context.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to write bad songs. There’s a lot of people who dont want to finish songs because they don’t think they’re any good. Well they’re not good enough. Write it!  I want you to write me the worst songs you could possible write me because you won’t write bad songs. You’re thinking they’re bad so you don’t have to finish it. That’s what I really think it is. Well it’s all right. Well, how do you know? It’s not done!” John Mayer

So I am off to write lots of bad songs and finish them…thats the task…

Today  I have to thank Earthly Voices for an amazing concert last night.. I had a little cry on the way home clutching my flowers, thinking about all the brilliant times we have had, and how I am so not going to miss that horrible journey.

SONG OF THE DAY She’s Like the Swallow trad.

My first choice is June Tabor singing this traditional folk song from Newfoundland, with the delicious Huw Warren on piano.The other version by Cara Dillon  is to ‘compare and contrast’ . Dedicated to Earthly Voices who cracked this  song last night, and I can only apologise for not being able to tell the difference between ‘the ‘ and ‘a’, ‘dum’ and ‘ba’.