Lately I have been thinking a great deal about whether I really show up - whether the person I seem to be to others, is in fact who I am. The words of a poem I read as a young girl, came back to me yesterday, ‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me’.
At the time Jenny Joseph’s ode to non-conformity tantalised and shocked me. Having grown up in middle-class South Africa, where being a good girl meant fitting in and following rules, I longed to ’sit down on the pavement when tired, go out in my slippers in the rain and press alarm bells’!
Thankfully there’s still time. I can be whoever I want to be, and I’m not waiting till I’m old. So…
One day soon I shall wear brilliant yellow,
With turquoise jewellery and gardenias in my hair.
I shall talk to the birds, listen to the wind
And dance along footpaths and in queues.
I shall play the bongos, sing without a care
And commit acts of gross generosity.
One day soon I shall love without caution,
Paint without restraint and live without fear…
What would you do if you showed up without reserve? I’d love to hear!
Given the approaching frenzy of Christmas shopping and preparations, I invite you take time for yourself, to write your own ‘One day soon…’
By popular demand, Corinne has scheduled a second painting retreat in March