Angels and Demons

One of my favourite set of books is the 'Question of ...' series of board books by David and Amy Butler. Not only are they toddler proof (chunky, chewable, chuckable), they are beautifully illustrated and make an inspiring change from Barney. Amy Butler is obviously a talented lady - she has a great site here. Another example of what we have been talking about - a multi talented artist who uses her gifts in multiple ways. Last night I was reading A Question of Belief to the two year old at bedtime, and read:

'As ye think, so shall ye be' - Jesus Christ

'What we think we become' - Buddha

'Our life is what our thoughts make it' - Marcus Aurelius

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Do you know the Tom Waits song

'Please call me baby'? He talks about how:

'If I exorcise my devils

Well my angels may leave too

When they leave they're so hard to find'.

I first heard in on the soundtrack of an in-flight film as we were travelling round the world. I'd decided one of my missions during those months was to try and understand as much as I could about world religions. As we travelled, one of the things that struck me is the simple truths underlying disparate beliefs (see the quotes from the toddlers book above). I was also working through a lot of my beliefs and preconceptions about being an artist and writer, and something about the Tom Waits lyric bugged me. Do you think it is one of those stereotypes about artists that you have to in some way be difficult, tortured, not 'normal'? Do you think a writer's mind functions differently?

I guess what I'm asking is do you think it is possible to hang on to the angels while releasing your demons? Watching the Sylvia Plath movie the other night, she talked about how she believed she had conjured Ted Hughes' lover, how she had manifested her worst fears - rather like the quotes above - her thoughts had made her life.

I've always been optimistic, glass half full - I really do believe in the power of positive thinking, creative visualisation ('what we think we become'). Perhaps Sylvia's demons were just the flip side of this. In spite of my best efforts this year though, it has been an uphill struggle (just haven't accomplished any of my resolutions from last year). I have been thinking positive like crazy - maybe this is the trouble? Can you want something too much? Perhaps the things I have wanted (book contract, security, buy our home and settle down), have been too dependent on external factors (agents, crazy housing market, pilot's career). Think my resolutions this year are going to be a whole lot simpler, and focus on doing the best I can with the things I can control.

TODAY'S PROMPT: Lists play a big part in any working parent's life - shopping, to do pro/con etc - and they can be pretty prosaic. Why not take ten minutes or so and write an Angels and Demons list. What's good in your work and life, and what's bad - what situations or behaviours are limiting your growth and potential? How can you give more attention to what is good and start getting rid of what's bad?