Wake the f*ck up

I was in Dublin on Saturday when the Pro-Life march was on. They gathered outside The Irish Writers Centre before marching through the city. That’s all I have to say about that. No political statements here. There was a man with a guitar and microphone singingly terribly. You can’t say that statement has any political undertones. Welcome to Monday, by the way. I hope today’s blog is as good for you as it will be for me.

I hit a bit of a wall last week. Unfortunately, it was not one of those cushioned walls they have during athletic races. I won’t lie to you, dear reader. You know I lay out the facts and don’t shy away from telling you what’s happening (besides changing my friends’ names here for their privacy and mine). I have been unemployed now for over half a year. It hasn’t been easy. I have been enjoying myself, though. Spending time with friends and family on their dime. Going to events now that the world is pretty much back to normal. As well as making time to do things like this. It has been great. However, I need to wake the f*ck up. Hence, the title of today’s blog.

One thing I rarely fail to do is practice self-compassion. I know that may seem like a cop-out, and maybe it has become more of one recently. But, from my experiences during dark times, I know that I am not the kind of person who should be incredibly hard on myself no matter what. I think that is a methodology of a bygone era. Now would be a good time to discuss our new world, where self-care and mental health are important. I have harked on about that enough in other blogs. Also, this will not become a blog with strong views on global topics. It’s just not my bag, in the public space anyway.

The title of this blog is also twofold. I have mentioned this before, but I love to wake up early. 6 am, in an ideal world. I have let that slip for a while. It doesn’t do me any favours, and I know I will not get anywhere lying in all the time. I did, however, get up at 6 am this morning, So go me.

Going back to Saturday, I attended a workshop facilitated by Jan Carson. It was my second one of hers, which was just as good as the last one. She knows her stuff. The day-long workshop was focussed on “making it as a writer”. I am sure you know it is incredibly difficult to accomplish. As someone trying to move on it, I know it’s almost impossible.

The good news is I haven’t given up hope. It’s time for me to wake the f*ck up and start again. That’s something I learnt from a meditation course I did recently. It’s a cliché, but every day is a new day with new possibilities. There’s your dose of motivation for a Monday evening.

I hope you had a nice weekend. I hope you have an even better week. I will see you back here on Friday for some fiction. Thank you for reading. Remember the blue sky. Thank you for your time.