Again, MC What is the Rationale for the Reflective Video Project?
A Wee Bit Embarrassing? …. Week One of 15 Down.
Why? Most of you know that although I do public blogs and engage in my performance artistry as Dazzle, I am a pretty private person. So, this public sharing might appear to some, the actions of silver haired Rapunzel high up in the condo on Bear Mountain, are incongruent and that she might be losing it, lol. No. I’m just trying like the rest of us to make sense of my own resurfacing anxiety (strange wee waves returned) and moving forward, digging deeper and vulnerably reaching out sharing topics that are universally close to those of us in the retiree world. Yes, as you will see, there is a limit to what I will share.
Around Thanksgiving, I could feel an ominous wave of tension, trepidation and transformation. Perceptually dark was overshadowing the light which triggered me to ask, “Who control’s your perceptions?”. My answer, “ME!”. Hence, I thought, “Light and dark coexist, I can choose to illuminate rather than dwell on the dark! Why don’t I address some of the issues facing the designated ‘vulnerable’ over sixty crowd and how we are coping with physical distancing, keeping a positive mindset, being purposeful and developing new routines, deteriorating health and embracing the new level of intimacy we are experiencing with our partners.” My hope is that people don’t feel alone while getting a chuckle and inspiration from our short videos. Last, thank you for indulging me, seeing that for all my ‘out-there’ creativity, I do enjoy the structure and focus of a project.
Routine and Focus of a Project
Why cover 105 days with 75 videos and 15 blogs? I really enjoyed the 100 days of blogging in 100 days. It challenged me to be routinely writing and I was amazed at how the universe delivered inspiration just at those moments when I thought I might give up. It was magical to see that if I kept an open mind and listened, the universe/Dear Lord delivered thoughts and direction through the people and situations in my life.
I wanted to recreate that but with a new creative direction (appealing to my own adhd tendencies and self-amusement). I also thought this would be a fun way to include Mark plus work on my amateur filming skills. A distant hope is that I can then take these clips and collaborate with my film director/producer friend Doug and morph it into something else.
How did it feel? Oh, my goodness, immediately embarking on this project I garnished a sense of playful purpose.
Challenges of Filming
This process of telling a story and documenting a day in a succinct manner is tough. My goal is to create a film that lasts no more than 2-3 minutes (preferably 2) that reflects the general activities and issues of the day. I am not scripting nor am leaving my camera on non-stop. Yes, we do repeat a moment for purposes of the video if it needs to be a recaptured fun moment.
I loosely have themes for each day, however, sharing routines is important along with problems and decisions/choices that challenge us in the over 60 pool. It’s finding the balance of authenticity and celebrating, what might seem boring to some, the beauty and challenges when retired.
Evolution of Themes
As the week has unfolded, I have tumbled into centring each day around a different theme, while including some typical routines (talking to the bust of my mom that I sculpted when I first moved out to B.C.). This week the themes included general daily routines, staying safe in a condo, spirituality, fitness, health, personal grooming, a trip to help our son and see the grand-pup, relaxation- wine Fridays.
Halloween – A celebration of Creativity and Light
What a fantastic way to end this week, watching Halloween return to the kids! Yes, it was so exciting to see families focus on children, engaging in more outdoor intimate small gatherings (within social bubbles and respectful of distancing) and decorating and presenting goodies in exceptionally creative ways. For a number of years Halloween has seemed to be hijacked by ‘big kids/adults’ needing to recreate the fun of Halloween by dressing up and having beverage parties. As a teacher, I noticed that although kids enjoyed celebrating at school, overall the excitement of Halloween was not the same as when I was a child. When I arrived home, I noticed that we weren’t getting the number of kids walking the neighbourhood and that kids didn’t seem to talk about collecting full pillowcases (the most competitive of us bragged of multiple bags) full of candy collected over several hours of trick or treating. This year I heard kids getting more excited about the sharing of scavenger hunts and just enjoying sharing some outdoor celebrating and being creative with family and select friends. Bravo everyone!
This Halloween light was the focus. We were dazzled by the gorgeous full blue moon and in our community multiple firework celebrations awed us in the mystical darkness. What a beautiful metaphor in this time of Covid-19.
Again, MC What is the Rationale for the Reflective Video Project?
A Wee Bit Embarrassing? …. Week One of 15 Down.
Why? Most of you know that although I do public blogs and engage in my performance artistry as Dazzle, I am a pretty private person. So, this public sharing might appear to some, the actions of silver haired Rapunzel high up in the condo on Bear Mountain, are incongruent and that she might be losing it, lol. No. I’m just trying like the rest of us to make sense of my own resurfacing anxiety (strange wee waves returned) and moving forward, digging deeper and vulnerably reaching out sharing topics that are universally close to those of us in the retiree world. Yes, as you will see, there is a limit to what I will share.
Around Thanksgiving, I could feel an ominous wave of tension, trepidation and transformation. Perceptually dark was overshadowing the light which triggered me to ask, “Who control’s your perceptions?”. My answer, “ME!”. Hence, I thought, “Light and dark coexist, I can choose to illuminate rather than dwell on the dark! Why don’t I address some of the issues facing the designated ‘vulnerable’ over sixty crowd and how we are coping with physical distancing, keeping a positive mindset, being purposeful and developing new routines, deteriorating health and embracing the new level of intimacy we are experiencing with our partners.” My hope is that people don’t feel alone while getting a chuckle and inspiration from our short videos. Last, thank you for indulging me, seeing that for all my ‘out-there’ creativity, I do enjoy the structure and focus of a project.
Routine and Focus of a Project
Why cover 105 days with 75 videos and 15 blogs? I really enjoyed the 100 days of blogging in 100 days. It challenged me to be routinely writing and I was amazed at how the universe delivered inspiration just at those moments when I thought I might give up. It was magical to see that if I kept an open mind and listened, the universe/Dear Lord delivered thoughts and direction through the people and situations in my life.
I wanted to recreate that but with a new creative direction (appealing to my own adhd tendencies and self-amusement). I also thought this would be a fun way to include Mark plus work on my amateur filming skills. A distant hope is that I can then take these clips and collaborate with my film director/producer friend Doug and morph it into something else.
How did it feel? Oh, my goodness, immediately embarking on this project I garnished a sense of playful purpose.
Challenges of Filming
This process of telling a story and documenting a day in a succinct manner is tough. My goal is to create a film that lasts no more than 2-3 minutes (preferably 2) that reflects the general activities and issues of the day. I am not scripting nor am leaving my camera on non-stop. Yes, we do repeat a moment for purposes of the video if it needs to be a recaptured fun moment.
I loosely have themes for each day, however, sharing routines is important along with problems and decisions/choices that challenge us in the over 60 pool. It’s finding the balance of authenticity and celebrating, what might seem boring to some, the beauty and challenges when retired.
Evolution of Themes
As the week has unfolded, I have tumbled into centring each day around a different theme, while including some typical routines (talking to the bust of my mom that I sculpted when I first moved out to B.C.). This week the themes included general daily routines, staying safe in a condo, spirituality, fitness, health, personal grooming, a trip to help our son and see the grand-pup, relaxation- wine Fridays.
Halloween – A celebration of Creativity and Light
What a fantastic way to end this week, watching Halloween return to the kids! Yes, it was so exciting to see families focus on children, engaging in more outdoor intimate small gatherings (within social bubbles and respectful of distancing) and decorating and presenting goodies in exceptionally creative ways. For a number of years Halloween has seemed to be hijacked by ‘big kids/adults’ needing to recreate the fun of Halloween by dressing up and having beverage parties. As a teacher, I noticed that although kids enjoyed celebrating at school, overall the excitement of Halloween was not the same as when I was a child. When I arrived home, I noticed that we weren’t getting the number of kids walking the neighbourhood and that kids didn’t seem to talk about collecting full pillowcases (the most competitive of us bragged of multiple bags) full of candy collected over several hours of trick or treating. This year I heard kids getting more excited about the sharing of scavenger hunts and just enjoying sharing some outdoor celebrating and being creative with family and select friends. Bravo everyone!
This Halloween light was the focus. We were dazzled by the gorgeous full blue moon and in our community multiple firework celebrations awed us in the mystical darkness. What a beautiful metaphor in this time of Covid-19.
