I started writing this blog two years ago today. I
wanted to track and leave a trace of all the things that had caught my eye or
imagination in the past and present so that they would remain even after
everything else had moved on. It felt like a means of keeping things preserved in
a bottle, one floating in space and time, buffeted around and weathered by the
elements but still the same in content. It was meant to be personal because I
intended it to reflect the things that had caught my attention, but not an
account of my personal life – with all its dull meanderings and often very
pedestrian preoccupations that seem to take me away from what gives my life extra
meaning and substance. So I suppose it has become a form of scrapbook, but it
has itself led me along different paths of interests which I have enjoyed, as
one path seems to open out onto other paths. I can’t imagine ever having
nothing whatsoever to look at and wonder over! Having a blog finally gave me a
concrete reason to work out how to use a digital camera on a basic level and to
want to take photos!
Writing a post seems to be like sending out a cyber
soap bubble, or feathery dandelion seed that parachutes off into the unknown,
carried off in the currents around the planet. However, although they fly off
they’re still present on my computer screen in this strange process – they remain personal
and yet totally impersonal in their dispersal. I do wish that mine had met with
some reaction; they all seem to meet a great resounding silence. Well, I
suppose that means I can just carry on as ever, in my own private soap bubble,
blowing on dandelion clocks! 
So, from a personal level it’s been enriching and
quite indulgent too – just focusing on the things that I like, and excluding the
rest which monopolize normal life. In addition, that’s without mentioning all
the beautiful blogs that I’ve come across along the way, giving inspiration and
ideas and opening up my eyes and changing my view of the world around me,
beyond my daily routines and concerns!
So, this is another dandelion seed to add to the
collection. Apparently if you succeed in blowing away all the seeds at once
from a dandelion head, any wish you make will be granted. A few remaining seeds
means that you will have to wait before fulfillment – so I’d recommend just getting
another dandelion clock until you get satisfaction!
Below is a clip of Jim Croce’s song Time in a Bottle
(1972). He wrote it for his son, the little boy who features in the video. Shortly after the video was filmed, aged only thirty, Croce died
in a tragic plane crash and so never actually saw his
child grow up to become a singer too.
The music is already moving, but put in that context, it is all the more so…
The music is already moving, but put in that context, it is all the more so…
Well, that's it. I am sat at the kitchen table with loo roll in one hand and mascara smudging down my cheeks.
ReplyDeleteI remember this lovely song from the '70's but had not realised the story behind it. Thanks for posting it and reminding us all how precious each moment can be.
P.S. Nice photography
His son, A.J, became a musician in his own right, years later...
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely song and video to have remained, but hard to listen to, I imagine. It certainly gives me a lump in the throat - it's all so natural and heart-felt!