Home Sweet Home

I’ve finally returned home after my extensive vacation and am now trying to catch up on everything and reintegrate myself back into “real life”.  It’s amazing how we get into this strange bubble on holiday and how the outside world seems to just disappear into oblivion, especially since I never looked at a newspaper, watched tv, or rarely logged on to a computer while away.  Now that I’ve returned, I’m trying to get back into my natural rhythms and routine, which I so longed for while away as the constant moving around definitely took its toll on my body.  It’s good to be back though.  I always gain a greater appreciation for my home while away.  I certainly do have many gifts here to be grateful for.

My time away was fantastic and I’m so pleased I took this chunk of time off to explore.  While I did feel a bit rushed in some of the places I visited, I did cover a lot of ground and got to see some very beautiful and quite spectacular locations. I travelled through a variety of landscapes from rolling hills and emerald country-sides, rugged highlands and rocky plains, towering cliffs that dropped far below to sandy shores, and barren lands of bogs and marsh.  I visited vibrant and bustling cities, charming historical towns, and quaint little villages, and enjoyed a medley of sights and sounds.  The weather, on the other hand, was a bit dreary with lots and lots of rain and wind and chill, and we even got snow in the highlands of Scotland.  And while this was an exciting and welcome sight for the bunch of Aussies that were on my tour with me who had never seen snow, it really wasn’t the kind of spring I was hoping for.  What was really strange to me, was that in many areas, the weather would change literally every 15 to 30 minutes, sun for a few minutes, then rain, then back to sun, then hail and more rain, so you needed to be prepared for all sorts of weather each day.  So bizarre.  You didn’t even have time to be disappointed or elated at the climate because, before you knew it, it had already changed to some other kind of weather pattern.  It was a wonderful experience overall and I’m so glad I finally got to visit the British Isles as I had longed to do so for quite some time.

I’m extra glad I ended my holiday in sunny and hot Madrid though, as my aching bones and sinuses were desperate for some heat and sunshine.  It was also wonderful to just plop down in one location for a week and take my time enjoying the city rather than bouncing from location to location every night or two as I had done all over the UK and Ireland.  The slower pace really helped me to relax and it felt more like a vacation than the go-go-go experience I had prior to arriving in Madrid.

As for my writing challenge, I am happy to say that I was successful in writing daily, as I had intended.  I kept a travel journal and wrote every night, and when I wasn’t exhausted from an extremely long day, I even found inspiration to write some poetry.  I’m sure that once I go through my collection of the over 3000 photographs I took, my memories will help me to find the inspiration to write even more poetry as I had wished to do while away.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I am so grateful that I had the time to get away and enjoy this little adventure.  Now, my challenge will be to share more of my journey with you all, the highlights of my trip, a few interesting stories, and some of the photographs I took as well.  I hope this will allow you all to enjoy the journey as much as I did and it will also be a pleasure for me to relive my holiday with you all once more.  Until then, I wish you all a wonderful personal journey and leave you with my favourite Irish blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

My Writing Challenge

In just a few days, I will be heading off on my extended vacation.  I’ll be spending 5 full weeks travelling around all the British Isles and then will continue on to Madrid for a week.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this trip.  It’s been a long time coming and it is definitely well deserved as I have been working like a maniac for almost a year.  This is the first full weekend I’ve had off since, I think, last June.  I know, it sounds crazy doesn’t it?  But this sacrifice of my time (and some of my sanity) will soon be rewarded and this insanely busy time will feel like a distant memory.  At least, I hope so.

While away, I will challenge myself once again with a new task.  Since I have been writing mostly for everyone else over this past year and not so much for myself, I am vowing to dedicate this time away all to me.  My challenge will be to write something each day – a poem, a story, a future blog post, or whatever else I’m inspired to write.  The catch?  Everything I write will only be handwritten in a journal.  Since I will have limited computer and Internet access while away, I am going to take advantage of this technological withdrawal and reconnect with some good ol’ fashioned pen and paper.  Somehow, sharing this challenge with all of you makes it more real and gives me greater incentive to actually keep my promise.  I’m super excited about the idea and am very much looking forward to just getting away from it all, getting back to basics, and reconnecting with myself and nature.

As I’ll be travelling through some breathtaking destinations, I’m sure I will not be lacking in inspiration.  I am hoping that my writing will come naturally from my experiences and that I won’t feel forced to write something because I’ve made this vow.  Just thinking about some of the places I will be visiting is stirring my imagination.  I can’t wait for this new adventure to begin!

Thus, since I will be trying to “unplug” from technology while away, my blog will suffer from lack of new content, but rest assured that once I have returned, I will have plenty to contribute and will certainly make up for lost time.

And so, I wish you all a wonderful spring.  Stay tuned…

The Value of Time

We’ve all heard that “time is money”, but how much is it really worth?  As a freelance writer, this is a big question because, basically, I’m pretty much putting a price on myself.  The time writers take to research, to invent, to write, is sometimes disregarded, as it is the final product, the end result, which only seems to hold any merit.  But is the rest of our time not worth something as well?

Lately I’ve been pondering this question more frequently as I try to stretch my time and myself as far as they will go, mostly to my own detriment.  I have come to realize that taking the time to relax, to play, to regroup is integral to my longevity as a writer, for it is during this time that I can truly flourish.  Taking the time to think, to dream, to be inspired, and to let my imagination wander is what enhances my creativity and writing.  Without this freedom and rest, I would merely be trying to sponge up water from an empty bucket, and then what would I be worth?

While we may all feel that we are utterly priceless, we must find a way to reach a compromise, to maintain balance, so that our creative juices can continue to flow. Isn’t this the challenge we’re all battling in life; being able to achieve our goals without sacrificing our time, our value, our integrity, and our sanity?  I for one feel like I’m fighting this fight every day.  When does it end?

For now, I am learning to just say “no”.  No to more projects when I simply don’t have the time, no to constant demands I can’t fulfill, no to the rape of my creativity and spirit.  It’s time I finally started saying “yes” to me, because at the end of the day, you really can’t put a price on the time you’ve lost missing out on what matters most.

So, how much are you worth?

I’ve Become a Grammar Snob – Rant Warning

I love the art of writing immensely and respect all the great leaders of literature from comics to classics.  Thus, it is more than understandable that one of my biggest pet peeves is poor grammar and spelling, especially from someone who claims they are a “professional writer”.  Of course, I will excuse someone if they are writing in a foreign language they have not yet mastered, or if they suffer from dyslexia or any other learning disability related to literacy, but if you are the kind of person that is just too lazy to use the oh so handy spellchecker, well, I’m sorry, but that’s just inexcusable as far as I’m concerned.  Now I’m not talking about the occasional typo, nobody is perfect, but some errors are just downright ghastly to me.

I read a lot – books, magazines, blogs, whatever happens to catch my fancy, but as soon as I begin to spot simple errors, I not only lose interest, I lose respect for the author, and the editor for that matter too.  If I had a nickel for every time I saw the incorrect use of “they’re” and “their”, “your” and “you’re”, “its” and “it’s”, etc., I would probably be a millionaire.  And apparently, the plural of writer is actually writer’s as far as some “professionals” are concerned.  Seriously?

What has happened to our education system?  Are people no longer being taught simple grammar in school anymore?  Or perhaps it’s because our teachers can’t spell either nowadays.  As a former teacher myself, I can attest to the fact that yes, there are indeed teachers out there who cannot spell, and this boggles the mind.  How can people employed to help shape the minds of future generations be so uneducated themselves?  Are our children destined to be doomed?

And for the love of Shakespeare, writers!  Do you have so much going on in your head that you have lost the ability to string your thoughts together in a coherent fashion?  I’ve often found myself reading something that had originally enthralled and captivated me, but then realized I was reading a sentence that went on and on without end, and then it became a fragment of ideas, a jumble of words, a puddle of verbal diarrhoea, and then it strayed from the original prose that caught my interest in the first place, but it was obvious that the writer was unaware of this, and so just kept writing and writing, and then suddenly I no longer had any idea what the person was actually talking about, and completely lost track of what I had just read,  so I had to revert back to the beginning of the sentence only to find myself once again lost in this maze of unintelligible rambling without any form or shape or end in sight.  Are you still with me?  Believe me, I’ve seen this more than once.

Now, if you are one of these offenders who drives me crazy, the sad part is, you probably don’t even realize the error of your ways.  Ignorance truly is bliss.  Or have I really just become a grammar snob?  I can’t possibly be alone on this one.  Writer’s, lettuce unite against these literary atrocities!  Oops!  I mean, writers, let us unite! ;)

Starting From Scratch… Again

I think every writer comes to a point in life when he or she begins to wonder, “what am I writing about, and whom am I really writing for?” You begin to doubt yourself and the value of your words. You wonder if they hold any merit, if anyone is really reading them, enjoying them, learning from them. I know I’ve come to that place several times and it’s almost made me stop writing altogether. Almost.

I’d lay awake at night, mentally and emotionally exhausted from having sapped every ounce of inspiration out of myself for a writing assignment that I’d have nothing left for me. No rousing words to utter from my lips. No stimulating sentences to prance across my page. Nothing. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, I’d awake with random words and phrases racing through my mind. They would poke and prod at my brain shouting, “Wake up! Write me down! This stuff is good!” but sadly, I would be too tired to act. Shushing my own thoughts, I would just roll over and try to get back to sleep in order to be well rested for the next day of soul sucking work.

It wasn’t that I was beginning to hate writing for others; I was only beginning to resent it. I was angry. It was taking time away from me; the me who had dreams; the me who had so much to share with the world from deep inside my inner core; the me whose spirit wanted to soar, to dance, to share, untethered; the me who wanted to fly.

And so one day, I decided to just let myself do that. I made a promise to myself that I would sacrifice my time for a while and spend it writing for others, so that I could afford to take a break and reconnect with myself, to rekindle that inspiration, to find my words again. I promised myself a vacation, where I would focus entirely on myself. No worrying about finding work assignments. No stressing over deadlines. Just me, a pen, some paper, and the world.

In a month’s time, I will own up to that promise. I will revisit the passion I’ve had since I was a child and will allow myself to fully embrace it. Rather than throwing away the random scraps of paper that are cluttering my nightstand, I will throw caution to the wind. I will enjoy every single second of time, every moment of wonder, every moving experience. I will start from scratch, again and be grateful for this gift I have given myself.

Welcome to Ouroboros Logos ~ The Alchemy of Words

For me, words are the source of life.  Hidden within their meaning, they contain the origin of creation.  They breathe existence into the world and colour it with inspiration.  I believe that words are transformational.  They gift you with joy and pride, while also depriving you of self worth; uplift and enlighten you, or vanquish you into despair.  They can deafen you with their silence and resound through your entire being.  Words hold truth and lies.  They are intoxicatingly rich like the sweetness of honey, but can also leave salt on your lips.

We no longer chisel our stories into stone, or paint them onto papyrus.  We no longer put ink to parchment and hardly even put pen to paper nowadays.  In a world that moves at lightning speed, words have been diminished.  Phrases reduced.  Significance lost.  My intention is to share with my readers my passion for words in hopes that they may impart knowledge, insight, wisdom and stimulation; and I pray that somehow, in their magical and alchemical ways, my words help you to grow, evolve, and transform.

On these pages, are my words.  I welcome you to read them.

Daniela Masaro