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Writing back to Happiness

1 January 20201 January 2020 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

In 2015 I started this blog when I was dealing with treatment for a life threatening form of leukaemia. I kept the blog up for some while – it helped provide me with a focus – and when I was able to go out, I enjoyed taking photos and sharing them.

As life returned to some form of normality – I had survived! (needing checks every six months) – my blog writing slipped. I had a couple of attempts to rekindle it but somehow life got in the way. Yet when I wrote my first book “Life Happens, Live Happy” (available on Amazon – author Kay Underdown), I fully realised how both writing and blogging had helped me through some very challenging times.

When I eventually graduated from University in 2017 with my degree in Social Sciences, having had a whole year out due to my illness, the idea for Life Story Writing was born. Workshops and courses using my own unique approach combining coaching, creativity and sense of belonging.

Following graduation I had to negotiate some difficult, and unexpected, life paths. the outcome is living in the most wonderful area by the sea, one of my dreams that I had long wanted to achieve but never before had the guts to see it through.

There followed a period when I half-heartedly worked towards working for myself as a coach and running workshops but somehow the time wasn’t right. Life was good. I still felt as if I was on holiday whenever I had the time to wander but I lacked something and I just didn’t know what that something was. So I returned to University to start a Masters degree in Methods of Social Research and during this time I had a period of exploration and fine-tuned my direction. It was the Life Story Writing workshops I wanted to focus on. I had an inner conviction that they could really make a difference to people’s wellbeing, and could help increase happiness and sense of belonging.

After a few initial workshops on happiness and empowerment and life story writing, I started running a longer course for a local charity aimed at people aged 50+. That course has led to something very special to me – a small life story writing group. One of the outcomes from this will be my next book – “Writing back to Happiness” Life Story Writing the Waves and Pebbles Way. I started handwriting this book just after Christmas with a lovely new fountain pen, part of a set gifted to me by my group.

It is during these meetings that I have realised how much I really enjoyed blogging, and not really understood why I stopped doing something I loved so much. Anyway, here I am, back again!

I am excited for 2020. It somehow feels that it is a year of the unexpected but that it will be good, providing new adventures with opportunities to explore all that life has to offer and doing it in my own way.

I truly wish anyone reading this the very best for 2020 and the coming new decade. May you give yourself the gift of time to explore what it is you really want to do with your life – whether that’s carrying on doing the things that you love or allowing yourself to explore new avenues based on your own life values and future dreams.

Watch this space as I continue “Writing back to Happiness”. My focus for my Waves and Pebbles blog continues to be random stories about life, creativity and memories – with the addition of nature – which are all reflected in my Life Story Writing workshops and groups.

I live in Broadstairs, on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, England. We are blessed with beautiful bays, sandy beaches and amazing skies. In 2020 I will be running short courses at various venues, usually hotels and cafes where you can relax and enjoy a social occasion and do some life story writing back to happiness along the way. I am also exploring the possibility of offering online groups so if you might be interested in this, please let me know.

I hope you have all enjoyed the festive season and are looking forward to what the New Year 2020 and the next decade will bring. I’d love to hear your life stories and what your hopes and dreams are for the future.

Kay xx

Please feel free to comment here or visit my website http://www.kayunderdown.com. You will also find my page on Facebook @empoweringyoubeyondyourdreams (Kay Underdown, Happiness & Empowerment Coach). Like my blog, this has not been kept up to date and I am looking at developing my social media presence specifically aimed at Life Story Writing. I’d love to hear your own experiences of writing … or perhaps the reasons why you don’t write … I also encourage people to draw their stories if they don’t want to write or to do storyboards, a bit of both!

Beloved Bay

30 July 201830 July 2018 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 2 Comments

Version 2

Once again it has been a while since I blogged, no real excuses, it just hasn’t happened. Last November a distant artist friend challenged me to 30 days of drawing lessons on Facebook. My involvement was a bit of a disaster, I had every good intention but even though the time was there, it evaded me. Yet for me, the challenge was worth it because I produced the above! Believe me, this is far superior to anything I had produced before and it is now proudly framed and hanging in my downstairs cloakroom. It was based on a photo that I took whilst walking along my favourite bay. Every time I enter the cloakroom, it reminds me of that beautiful place and how I love living by the sea. It may not be a work of art but I enjoyed the process and it brings me joy whenever I enter the cloakroom. Not only does it remind me of the bay but I recall the kind offer of a friend to help me improve my drawing skills. Do you have something you have painted or made that reminds you of something and makes it extra special?

The unfinished picture

27 December 2017 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 2 Comments

I was at the start of a challenge. A challenge I had brought on myself one morning when I had asked a friend to encourage me to do something each day for 30 days to enhance my creativity, to get me doing some painting or drawing.

I am in no way an artist but I do enjoy the process of getting lost in time creating something, exploring different shapes but especially colours. I feel that I experience ‘flow’ when I truly allow myself the time and space. My thoughts drift in and out of the day, to and fro between the past and future, with everything in the now focussed on my creation.

I love taking photos but there is something different about taking a blank piece of paper that transforms in minutes with just pencil, pen, felt tips or paint. It is very personal, not something I would usually share with the world. But what I wanted to share was the story of my experience. How this 30 day artist’s challenge on Facebook (because that is what happened!) really got me thinking about how little sketches captured a fragment of my life at a particular point in time. Sometimes we may think that art is only for those who have the gift to create, but we are missing out on so much if we never venture into this special world.

Just by looking at this picture now, done back in November, there is so much that can spring from it personally for me.

Each little mark or object can be the starting point for a different story. To start with, it reminds me of a long-distance friendship that has developed from a brief encounter on a road trip in the Summer.

The border lines marked at intervals remind me of the sharing of knowledge by a very talented artist, which led me to create viewfinders from cereal boxes to help get everything in the right place in the picture.

The fireplace is one of the features of the lovely home in which I am currently living and only in the past week found out more about its history and that the place where I sat drawing this picture used to be a hairdressing salon.

The little plaque above the fireplace was a gift from my dear mum and dad when they visited Las Vegas, and the little wooden plate below the wall lights another gift from them when they visited Austria. This reminds me of fond memories of a holiday with my parents in Austria in the snow when I was just 16 years old, staying in Mayrhofen when I had the opportunity to learn to ski-bob and what fun that was. I later went on a cheap coach trip to the same place and had a wonderful summer holiday, getting a chairlift up into the mountains. I recall the magical feeling of being literally on top of a mountain, the amazing peace and sense of freedom. This turned out to be the calm before the storm, realising that zig zags on the map of a real mountain equate to a very lengthy and exhausting ramble downhill which left us painfully achy the next morning!

All this from an unfinished picture, and that is just the start …

I must admit I didn’t complete the whole challenge but really think I have benefited from the experience. I may share one or two more of my pictures if anyone is interested. The one I am most proud of is one that is very childlike in nature – a painting done from a photo – but for me represents so much that is important to me.

All it takes is some blank paper and your choice of pencil, felt-tips, paints etc. Have a go and see where it leads you, what stories come to your mind from what you create. If you are used to writing as your medium for creation, see how this can bring a new layer to your life. Go out into the world and see what draws you in, or sit in the comfort of your home and let the memories drift onto the page.

Dual Delight

27 July 201527 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

I think I’ll make this the last attempt at playing around with editing photos that I publish for now. It really makes me think how little I normally notice when I look at a flower. When I see these flowers here, it’s as if I am looking at them for the first time, noticing all their intricacies. Kay

Beauty amongst Chaos (3) – more abstract art from photo

26 July 201526 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

I am enjoying this! Surprising what comes out of a visit to a garden nursery … (read my previous 2 posts for more info!) Once again, I am using a photo and selecting a portion of it to play with. On reflection, maybe this isn’t ‘abstract’ as it can be seen that it is a flower petal and leaf? Kay

Beauty amongst Chaos (1) – creating abstract art using a photo

26 July 201526 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

It’s early Sunday morning and I’m playing around with a few photos I took in my small garden, which is in dire need of a makeover. I had given up on it completely this year and then I visited a garden nursery and decided to splash out on some sale goods – three pots of herbs and two hanging baskets – so that I had a bit of colour. I’m having a go at putting together a small slideshow just to see if I can technically manage to get it on my blog. I then decided to edit one of the photos which was too blurry to use. I cropped the photo and used the basic editing facilities available on an Apple computer. I love the colours and the abstract shapes created by the lines of the yellow flower. To me, I look at it and see deep blue sea and turquoise sky in the distance.

Urban Gem – finding tranquility

20 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Living in a mainly urban area, I sometimes forget how easy it is to escape in less than 20 minutes and find tranquility, something I should do more often. It was wonderful sitting by the lake reading my book and I hope to return to do some writing soon. It gave me a chance to try out the panorama facility on my phone and I quite liked the black and white filter effect for the last photo shown here.

Creative Anticipation – poem written from the facilitator’s perspective about the start of a creative memories workshop Uniday for families

18 July 201518 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / 1 Comment

I call this a poem – it is exactly as it came to me on the day of a Family Uniday – the theme for which was creativity and memories. I wish that I had continued writing to show more of what happened once the families became captured by the thought that they could actually create but my time was otherwise engaged! It was a heart-warming occasion, families of all generations sharing quality time creating together. Kay

Creative Anticipation

Empty rooms, space filled with expectancy

the clock ticks on

the first signs as footsteps and faces emerge

the chain cranks slowly into action

people emerge in the doorway, open, hesitant

warmth draws them in and they take their place

Tables fill, people become names

a gentle hub softens the air

words are shared, plans made clear

leaders share their passion

memories recalled, mine to offer

the underlying gift of it all

Choice is given, the queue is drawn

excitement building as wishes are met

the underground motion moves them on

each family starts their own journey

the throng is split, meandering to rooms

new experiences and knowledge theirs to find

Watching like an angel guide

sharing as a friend in kind

working on what needs to happen

valuing the help that’s found

creation has begun its travels

and pride with wonder gathers round

An African Jewel amidst Ruskin Park, London

2 July 20152 July 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Yesterday I posted about my visit to London which included my discovery of Ruskin Park. This painted picnic bench was an unexpected find. I wanted to find out more about it before posting these photos.

This art picnic bench was created as part of the Camberwell Arts Festival, the longest running visual arts festival in the UK at 21 years. 10 artists were commissioned to decorate picnic benches which would be used during the festival and then be placed within local parks. The bench located in Ruskin Park is an African design created by Nkiruka, a creative fashion, arts, crafts and textiles design partnership and is called The New Yam Table.

Information about the festival which was held at the end of June is at http://www.camberwellarts.org.uk. Information on Nkiruka is at http://www.makerhood.com/nkiruka.

(If you believe the information I have provided is incorrect, please let me know. Information on the bench was limited and I could find no images online.)

Unblocking creativity and releasing inspiration – 10 minute writing challenge (2 of 2)

25 June 201525 June 2015 / Waves and Pebbles - random thoughts and writing on life, memories and creativity / Leave a comment

Copyright 2013 Miguel Virkkuhen Carvalho, Flickr, CC-BY, via Wylio

This 10 minute writing exercise was written four days after the last one posted yesterday, back in January of this year when I was in hospital. It was a very emotional time yet at the same time my emotions were somewhat on hold, still struggling somewhere with my new situation in life, having just been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia – a fast-acting life threatening form of cancer. Fortunately the final report revealed that I had the type APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia) which has the best prognosis.

‘Let anything come to light. Light, sun, shade, depths. My favourite colours. Pink and turquoise. Where are they now? The luminescence of my favourite pink is in my hand leading this waltz of writing. Waltz – music is within me yet it has evaded me. The song of life, the thrill of it all. The lilting sound of creativity. Creativity is to be found all around – or is it? I need to search it out, to wallow in it and bring it back to life. Life, it keeps coming up. This new, unexpected venture. How does it feel to be here? But I am not ‘here’. I am soothing my soul to do something special with creativity. There is so much around, but where is it hiding. I am on a journey and that journey is just finding me. I must avoid the logic. That is not what this is for. Storytelling was my aim and that can stay with me. I will write a short story, one that wings in from the sky above. One that I don’t think hard about, it just comes to me. Will it be real? There will be more than one – but fantasy is what breathes through my veins. A new light. Get caught up in the colour that comes to me. Take inspiration from all that has come to be in this vessel of a room. The cards and gifts. Where am I? I am with heart. I am loving life. All is not lost it is within me. To find the light and the story. To have music in my mind. To love and to laugh. To write music is a gift that I can bring to this time. I am soaring through the sky in Florida. Such a wonderful and special time. The cool air brushing through my hair as I swirl through the clouds like a swan sweeping across the ocean.’