A new door, another recording and a second anti-procrastination tool

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My mother provided today’s door, just as the last two weeks. I’ll need to ask her where she found this pretty one, the file info doesn’t say. I love the colourful contrast.

I’m adding one of my reading experiments as today’s poem. It will be in the book with my mum for certain. Blurb didn’t manage to get the latest version of our document restored, so we’ll have to redo parts. I’ve asked them if they can find out what corrupted the file, so we can hopefully avoid that happening again.

I’m a bit disappointed that I won’t write anything new for today. The teachers of my son’s school are on strike, for better wages and better working circumstances. So we have plans for today. Playing old fashioned games and going to the movies are some. I did write something new yesterday, but it’s not a poem. I’ve created a practical tool against #procrastination, this time about getting unblocked.

For more doors, hop over to #ThursdayDoor host Norm. I’m a fan. New gems every week.

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A door, a recording and a procrastination tool

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My mother provided today’s door, just as the very pretty one last week. That one was from Gent (Belgium), this one can be found in Mallaig, Scotland.

I’m adding one of my reading experiments from last week as today’s poem. It will be in the book with my mum for certain – well, if we get the book document restored. That stress isn’t over yet.

I’m relieved that I don’t have to write anything new for today. I’ve spent the morning developing a new, practical tool against #procrastination and writing a blog post for my other blog. My energy is spent, but I’m happy with the result!

For more doors, hop over to #ThursdayDoor host Norm.

Book stress

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DeurMam

It’s Thursday Door time again! I’m stressed today. My mum and I are working on a book that combines her photography with my poetry. We’re getting near to the finish line, but somehow Blurb doesn’t show any of the photos in the last version I’ve sent her.

Today I present to you a door by my mum (no clue about the what, where and how of it) and a recording of me testing out a poem. It’s probably going to be in the book, and I was checking if it needs edits by reading out loud.

Published by Scribe Base

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Yay, I’ve just found that I’ve been published by Scribe Base! They accepted two of my poems: Irony and The door to another life.

There was a time that I was embarrassed to share what I’d written, so submitting poems to magazines was a big step for me. This year, when my foot was broken and I was sofa bound, I’ve made more submissions then ever before, because I wanted to do something useful with all that time that I was unable to work.

I probably still wouldn’t have dared, if I hadn’t known that sometimes my work gets accepted indeed, so it wasn’t as scary. In order of appearance:

Get me out of here – I’m not a silent poet

Back in the day – Arts Saves Lives Magazine

Seriously – Celebrating change

Things that could deliver – Auroras & Blossoms

See

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See
See me
See through
See through my

reflection

See me
See me through
See me through my

reflections

I will show
up

Imagine walking through the woods and suddenly stumbling upon this… Today I was looking through old photos and came across this memory.

It was a few years ago. My son had looooooong swimming lessons, far away from home, and I happily killed time by walking through the nearby woods. Dutch woods aren’t very big so you often see buildings through the trees – an indication your almost out of the wood, so they tend to irritate me.

Stumbling upon these buildings felt like an adventure. Unexpected, exciting architecture – in the middle of nowhere! (As far is nowhere is to be found in my very small country). It turned out to be one of the earliest examples of building in concrete in the Netherlands. It used to be a sanatorium, and actually is a complex of buildings. Very modernistic. Very graceful.

If you like doors, head over to Norm who hosts doors and door posts from all over the world. Every Thursday we gather there to share our favourite doors and enjoy their beauty.

Landgoed zonnestraal te Hilversum

Audiotour (in Dutch)

Last doors

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Drop
stolen chewing marks
from the balcony

Burn everything
but the doors

Claim stabilised stairs
your source of power

And seek
the end of
– my pharmaceutical lab

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Norm asked us to de a review of our Thursday Doors this year, and post our favourite ones. Since I have only participated for some months, I wondered what I could do instead. I got an idea when I visited Dan’s post.

I put all my door pictures next to each other, and tried to use them as prompts for a poem. Each picture a wod or a line. This is the result.

Happy holidays everyone, and see you next year!

Two socks door

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It was a no-brainer what today’s door for #ThursdayDoor was going to be. The hospital door! This morning at 9 AM I went in there wearing just one sock and a cast. I came out wearing two socks… which is a spectacular feeling when that has been an impossibility for five months.

I’ll still have to walk on crutches with a special, supportive shoe for four weeks. But I can move my ankle again, I can touch my leg, I can try to move my toes… This seemingly endless period of immobility make me totally grateful for these small but big blessings.

After 5 months of no income I can use help in finding new coaching clients. If you like, you can help my sharing my cast-off celebration sale with people you know. Or buy a coaching voucher as a clutter free, environmentally friendly gift.

Just so you know: The topic can be ANYTHING, not just procrastination. Life, love, lust… Whatever someone would like to change in their life. Whatever they’d like to talk about to a good listener, who knows how to ask deepening questions and help you find your own answers.

For more Thusday Doors, head over to our host Norm.

Mud

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There’s mud flowing through my veins, calling me to slow down and visit ancient times, to hunt the riddle that has been in my family for eons, to solve that part of the cosmic puzzle that we unknowingly have always been the keeper of.

But what if my piece doesn’t fit? What if time has changed the edges of the jigsaw beyond recognition? What if I’m carrying a copy and the original has been lost, back in the days? What if everything is ready but I’m not?

What if I’m not up to the task? What if I get lost, or bored – or distracted? What if I freeze? What if I don’t want to? What if the puzzle is not a puzzle after all?

I’ve just inherited mud.

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Todays #ThursdayDoor is dedicated to Manja, because it’s one of the old Ljubljana holiday pictures I promised her to dig up. It’s better when it’s properly scanned, but I had to work with my selfie camera. I think these doors were in the city center, but it’s been a loooooong time ago that I made the picture so I’m not sure.

The poem could be called a prose poem. Except for that those don’t have line breaks. So it’s not.

More doors can be found at the blog of our door keeper, Norm.

Gracias

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Support
Carrying me
Gentle and steady
I bow my head
Grateful

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Last week’s #ThursdayDoor was taken from a hotel room in Spain. I also took a picture of these doors, because I wanted to share them with you.

I went to Spain for the second year of my education, even though I have a broken foot and I’ve had hardly any income for months because of it. The work we do there is too good to miss out on.

I think I underestimated how tough it would be, and in a way I’m glad I did. I probably wouldn’t have gone if I’d know I would be crying on day 2, because I was physically unable to go from the hotel restaurant back to the conference room. I was too tired. Too scared of the wet foot path. So I cried, and I asked for help. I wanted to be in the room where we learn, not alone and exhausted in my hotel room.

And help I received. In many different ways. People stayed with me, and helped me get back to the conference room. Someone checked if I’s be able to rent a wheel chair, and then arranged it for me together with another lovely person. The group chipped in to help me finance the wheelchair. I got help getting my food at meal time, taking me and the chair up the (many) stairs in the hotel. I got swirled around and danced with in the bar, patted gently on my cast..

It’s hard to explain what this has meant to me. I normally try to do things on my own, be independent, self-catering to my needs… So this was Different. Very Different. But it made my week. I’ve felt supported, loved, cared for, seen, and a number of synonyms I can’t even come up with. Maybe I can best explain it by what happened afterwards.

Last night I had a nightmare. It was about NOT asking for support, and how everything went wrong because of that. In my dream I felt that I needed support, and also why I didn’t ask for it or accept it. Me old-style… I was so happy when I woke up and

realised it was a nightmare. In reality, all those things didn’t go wrong. And I now know how to ask for support, allow for it, be grateful for it, and even enjoy it sometimes.

Thank you!

Sliding door

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Sunset
Drawing attention
To the horizon
Time to relax now
Peace

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