Well, it’s been a blast.
Taken out of our comfort zones on the 8th of September, there we were with our socks and our souls on display. Open and vulnerable. And that first day turned out to be a fine microcosm of what was to come over the following months.
It was a day of reflection for me. The beginnings of journeys often are, I guess. It marked the end of something old and the start of something new and I was determined to be curious and in the moment.
I didn’t always succeed, if I’m honest, but I’m human too so that’s okay.
The first project happened quickly and it took us out of our reverie and discomfort and into action in Fitzgerald’s Park. Doing is good – it gives focus and movement and direction. And we did good, coming together and figuring it out and contributing and collaborating. And participating in the others’ projects was positive too. Immediately I could feel a joint group goodwill to others and I think I needed that. And that too has been a feature of this whole experience, all through the following weeks and months. And it’s been enriching.
At the Headway and Inma Pavon dance performance, I was reminded again of how lucky I am. It was a privilege to be witness to the joyful bravery of five women and I was glad.
My review of Music for Wood and Strings was also reflective of experiment and the new. Again it was a participative act of creativity and I developed from this an interest in writing about the experiential in art, in what the giving word to what’s out there means to me as a way of self-expression.
Performatives – that was a new one on us too. But we got there, and we did it. And we jumped into the dark too with our architects. What I took from that was the value in trusting and also some confidence in my ability to be more flexible and adaptable than perhaps I’d given myself credit for. And maybe not to be so narrow in what I’d envisaged I’d do as a writer. Vlanka was young and fresh and positive and that’s always a pleasure to soak up. And I wrote about possible futures, and food and people. And it was challenging and scary and I wondered sometimes – but I did it anyway. And I’ll return to Firkin Crane too, I hope – why not? Life is short.
The MEmorials, as I’ve said in a previous blog, were another journey within a journey and we grew as a group and as individuals. Again, there was the leap, the new, the uncertainty, the disquiet – and then the trusting, the balm of the work, the determination and the final products which we were glad to deliver. And the mutual support and goodwill was a blessing. And I was blown away by what had been produced, what had been shared. I’m very proud of my class.
And then it was over and we were there, and we had done it. We had done it.
We had arrived.
Photo: Road to Loop Head Lighthouse taken March 2009. I LOVE lighthouses.
tadhgucc 