Colour closer toward extending lines

On days I'm tired of running 

I rest under the trees my great great grand father had planted 

The branches have grown strong and wide

Casting a huge shadow of comfort 




When restlessness sets in 

my body is numb 

But my ears are filled with a constant buzz 




I run after the buzz and take a leap

Dressing myself in nomadic clothes 

Shedding eccentricities and

previous identities like aged skin 



If I ever become whole  

I will brood over the lightness with which this neck carries 
this heavy head 

Or measure the negative spaces between the arch of my back and the 
softest sheets 




Because the only way to feel complete is to fill voids 

And to constantly colour closer and closer toward extending lines

The works are ahead

The art of understanding anyone 

One of the many things I learnt at creative fiction class, is that people are made of contradictions. When constructing a character, contradictions and paradoxes are good to have, but they have to be streamlined so that the readers are not too confused.Writers often alter the contradictions a character possess for easier reading.In our daily lives in an attempt to understand one another we tend to overlook contradictions. We forget that unlike characters everyone is complex and our paradoxes are not meant to be trimmed but to be understood and celebrated.

 We forget that unlike characters everyone is complex and our paradoxes are not meant to be trimmed out but to be understood and celebrated.

Because what we are, is not a character and our lives are not a logical story. What we are, what we want changes and how we narrate our stories will always change.

When it comes to friends and relatives I have consistently attempted to understand them better. I have known to be transparent and a very good friend once told me that I preferred people who I could read and understand over ones who seemed impenetrable. As such, I have shared many of my stories, allowed many to see ‘me’ and draw their conclusions. However, I am always surprised by the short attention spans of several individuals who have tried to get to know me better. With time, the responses get shorter and the response times gets longer. After a while I’m known as that ‘girl who looks quite but actually talks a lot, writes, likes tea excessively, studies liberal arts and only talks about literature and theatre’. It also amuses how knowing my interests and weekend plans suddenly makes them an expert of who I am.

As most people do, I show facets I’m most comfortable with, and share narratives I have had the mental strength of processing and making sense of. When people are just content with scraping the surface of getting to know me I’m often shrouded with self-doubt. I start to question if I’m shallow person or whether there was’nt much in getting to know me anyway. After much thought I have realised many people have very short attention spans and it is easier to just scrap the surface and not have to take a second look. To those people, I say: ‘Just because you know my social media activity, my weekend plans, my favourite movies and my upcoming projects, does not mean you know me. Most of me is hidden under these crazy curls, which only patience can untangle.’

Just because you know my social media activity, my weekend plans, my favourite movies and my upcoming projects, does not mean you know me. Most of me is hidden under these crazy curls, which only patience can untangle.

These quick facts and trivia that we share readily about ourselves at interviews and with acquaintances over dinner parties make up merely the surfaces of ourselves. Everyone including myself are much more than just the sum parts of our interests and plans. There’s this whole parallel universe of thoughts and emotions that may tell a different story.

It was with seven years of friendship that I got to understand an unknown side of one of my best friends. She comes across at first glance as the composed, calm and responsible eldest daughter. Which she is, but one evening when I made spontaneous plans I realised how flexible and spontaneous she is. I also got to know that the despite her goldilock curls and her seemingly quiet disposition she was an aspiring biker chic! If our friendship had been short lived and we never reached a level of comfort I would never have known her adventurous side.

Main take away :

You don’t know anyone yet, unless you’ve spent a significant amount of time with them. As simple as it sounds getting past the rehearsed introductions and getting to the phase of comfortable silences and random conversations is the start of getting to know someone. But most people loose steam before they reach that part.

It’s one layer to let someone talk about themselves and for you to listen. To reach a deeper and more meaningful understanding we need to listen and observe when he or she doesn’t intend us to.

It’s a process that no three of even four hour seated conversation can suffice.

The works are ahead!

The works are ahead. Take that leap and go to the museum, make spontaneous plans, sit in silence and watch a show. Be invested in your time and energy.That’s how you understand people. If not you’ve only touched the surface. And what a pity when there was so much more you could have known.

 Be invested in your time and energy. That’s how you understand people.

Patience is key to the art of knowing someone and ourselves.

Patience is key to the art of knowing someone and ourselves.