The Book That Changed My Life

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE The book that changed my life was Tropic Of Capricorn by Henry Miller. Wow! This one was monumental, a real game changer. We were in the kitchen of his House Party after work, when my friend John Graham just for laughs, picks up a book and starts reading out loud. Everyone laughed, we were shocked and couldn't believe it. What is incredible was that somebody was crazy enough and not only willing to just try, but had actually managed to get away with this. The quotes mainly consisted of rude and offensive passages from The Land Of Fuck / Interlude section. It was the battle cry of a soul that had had enough, the defiant rage of the isolated and condemned. He didn't belong anymore, just couldn't fit in, The Stranger at odds with the so called civilized world. His soul had died from grave suffering, but was somehow now resurrected. Henceforth he ascended far beyond the sick and tired, and the sick and tired of the sick and tired. He had been born anew. A triumph of the human spirit, a reject, free of the soul crushing system. What made Henry Miller so impressive was his ability to go from the vulgar to the sublime, he wrote exactly the way people actually speak. Non linear. Absurd Narratives. Wild Immoral Tales. Vivid portrayals and graphic depictions of The Common Man. Utilizing the rich vocabulary of an erudite thinker and brilliant philosopher. There were layers of profaneness, tragedy laced with humour, pleasure and anguish, joy and suffering. We all thought it was hilarious, but as he read on it began to dawn on me. There is poetry here, something transformative. And so the more he read the more I began to think, "This Is What I Want To Do..."

Forgotten Dreams

FORGOTTEN DREAMS Have you ever abandoned a childhood dream? Is there a skill or gift that came quite naturally, something you used to love to do? Have you ever enjoyed doing your thing so much that you forgot about the time, or it felt like time stood still? Does it make you feel good? Did you take it for granted? At the beginning of 2013 I had a very pivotal dream. In the dream I was sitting on a garden wall or partition, at the center of the lounge or smoking area, inside this massive club or rave. I get up, walk straight over to the far wall, and began painting a huge mural. I observe myself in this manner, applying paint, until I wake up... Many years ago when I was seven years old, I accidentally discovered I could draw and copy anything. I guess I secretly desired to be a painter, but felt intimidated, and so I never got around to it. As a teenager, before teaching myself to read music and play the piano, drawing would have been my favourite pastime. But as the years go by, following friends, as time goes by, drifting through life, from experience to experience. I must have buried my dream... At the time I was THe Singer Songwriter Who Worked As An Actor in TV, Film and Commercials. Being an Artist was not part of the plan. Yet there was no doubt, I knew it in my heart, it was time to paint. At first my mind was going through them changes, thoughts and feelings vacillated between hope and fear. They ranged from 1) I always wanted to paint. To 2) I don't wanna be a Starving Artist. . But as I painted, I would catch myself smiling from time to time. I was so much happier now. Reconnected, with a forgotten part of me... Dreams Are For Real.