Like Fire

April 27, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My essence is flamewords, like sparks, igniting change –transformative fire (Image mine)

Dormant

February 7, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

There’s a restlessness in me that defies explanation. It’s not that I am bored – I have any number of creative projects on the go – it’s that I have a sense that I’m missing something, something that lies deep at my core. But what? And how do I access it? Something that is dormant […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge: Threes

January 25, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

InsurrectionInaugurationExhalation A beginning, a middle, an end (of sorts). This week, let’s see how succinctly we can sum up a situation using only three words. Or, if you need more, make it three times three: Snow squalls blindroads lack definitionhearth provides contentment. Or, if you are more inclined towards images than words, tell a story […]

Shelly’s Invisible Treasure Box

October 4, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Known in class as the Quiet One, Shelly is given to wandering away from her desk for no reason. Mostly, she is good natured and easy to get along with, and as her teacher, I can tell you she is quite bright. What most don’t know is that she is a collector, somewhat reminiscent of […]

Passing The Time

May 20, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Pursuing feathered inspiration takes me to quiet rural settings. At home, I pour over images, and “picturate” as my husband calls it – altering the photos to create something new. I spend time daily, crafting poetry, inspired by images, or dreams, or prompts. Often I combine the poems with the artistic photos: I’m also spending […]

Like Fire

October 18, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My essence is flamewords, like petals, reaching high –transformative fire. (For Cee’s Flower of the Day. Don’t know what these beauties are, but am inspired by their flow.)

Creativity Remains a Blessing

August 1, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

The child embraces creativity without limits. I have memories of tucking between my bed and the wall, hidden from view, surrounded by materials for drawing, writing, and colouring. I kept the chaos at bay with my creative endeavours. Life happened, and the pencils and crayons disappeared. Journals remained, but only for private. Mundanity and routine […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #50: Acceptance

May 27, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“The doctor was adamant that it’s cancer, and I’ve researched it. If it is, it’s not good.” Weeks of repressed fear gush forward, and I find myself crying, mid restaurant, my husband seated across from me. “We just don’t know yet.” he responds softly, taking my hand. “We’ll deal it with one step at a […]

So Many Questions

March 17, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Questions are piling up over here, with very few answers. Isn’t that life? And maybe that is the point: we are meant to reflect, to ponder, to search, to explore. As a teacher, the emphasis was on inquisition: teaching children to think beyond the obvious, find the tools to research deeper. In this ever-increasing digital […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #37: Story

February 25, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

My very first blog post on this site is entitled “Relevance of Story“. It was inspired by the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie whose Ted Talk: The Danger of a Single Story, challenged me to think differently about how, as a teacher, I approached my craft. Her words are also a recipe for living compassionately. Each time we open a blog post and read, we are touching a part of someone’s story. Every time […]

Of Light

There is light in unknowns –at least I project it there –caught between the currentashen landscape and the achingsof a solitary childhood… I like to think faith guides mebut she is muted like the gardensof my dreams, more etherealthan palpable and I need concretehave waited too long for that train of certainty to carry me […]

Time Out

My to-do lists have grown appendagesare teaming up in a huddleplotting their next play Wait a minute, Guys! I pleadthe afternoon sun has caught meat just the right angle,and my chair, with a mind of its own,is reclining… Can’t we save the game day anticsfor another time… (Image my own)

Off Center

The scenery outside my windowis passing by too fast, andI’m facing backwards, wavesof nausea disrupting the view I focus on emotion, animated,try to discern its origin, realizeit is misplaced; I am disorientedlaugh at the enormity of my blunder.