It was in December (a world away) that I discovered performance poetry and decided this was for me.

If you care, read the post I wrote about it all.

I’ve been researching poets and events around Queensland. Recently I went to these Poetry Unearthed events. All linked into the Queensland Poetry Festival and the Brisbane Poetry Scene.
The deal: 2 poems + 5 minutes = The winner lands some prize money, a short mentorship and a slot at the Queensland Poetry Festival. Sounds awesome dosent it?

I went to two of the three events - in various brisbane liberarys. These were major migrational experiences for me, just for a few hours of poetry. I practised my poems up and got myself all ready. Before I went to them I said to God that whatever he decided should happen would be cool with me. I only wanted to get my name picked out of the hat to perform if it was his will.

Well you know, I didnt get my name picked out. When I told people about this they were really negative. They thought it had been a waste of an afternoon. That I had some how been ripped off. But I Chose to remain POSITIVE. I had a fun afternoon. It was worth the train tickets down. I met some really cool people. And I trusted that God had it all figured out. It was all part of his plan.

This saturday night (ANZAC day) I went down to the annual Love Poetry Hate Racism event at the Globe Thearter, Fortitude Valley. It was an amazing night with great feature artists (Acts I had heard about but had not yet seen). There was an open mic but alot more names in the hat then at any of the Poetry Unearthed events. My chances seemed pretty poor. So I just prayed that God’s will would be done. My name was the LAST one picked out of the hat! Very tense.

I got up there and spoke my poem = ‘You’.
It was AMAZING.
People were laughing and responding while I was performing.
I got a massive applause.
I got congradulated by heaps of people afterwards!
Pretty much the best feeling ever.
It reminded me that this is what makes me come alive.

I won. $250 and a book/cd of poetry.

This was so much better than any other possible out come I could have planned. My first poetry performance was in a cool theater, sharing a burning stage with some of the best poets in Queensland. I got a better prize. I got better exposure. I won a cooler event. I stood on a cooler stage.

And you kow what, I dont think I would have won if I had performed at the Poetry Unearthed events.
My poem wasent as Polished and Passionate and Practised.
I would have wasted my poem on a missed opertunity.

I 100% belive in the importance of positive thinking. I try to apply it as consistantly as possible. So often we dont need to buy a new jacket, we just need to be grateful for the one we have now. And we dont need to get a chance to perform every time, or win every competition, we just have to trust that if we give our situations to God, he will work all things for the good of those who love him. We need to be satisfied that we DONT have a birds eye view of the board game - just listen, obey and trust that God is moving us in the right direction.

Also I have recently been learning about Time. I am always looking forward to things, I want things to happen INSTANTLY. I want my book to be written NOW. I want to publish my Album, go on a book tour. Taste success. But when you bake a cake, one of the ingrdients is TIME. It takes time to put the stuff togethert and let it rise. I think people are very into instant gratification. I work in the fast food industry, I experience this every day. We want the end product but we are not prepared to sacrifice time.

This is not how the universe works. An oak tree is amazing - but this amazingness takes hundereds of years to get amazified. We celebrate the cool things that have happened. The fruits, The successes, but we don’t discuss the amount of time that has been sacrified for that end product.  Maybe my world view has become a little warped. I have cencored the hard facts out of my glossy version of “life”.

In x years time I will look back on 2008. The year I wrote my first book, the year I gave my first poetry performance. I will remember it with nostalgia. I will want to revisit it. But once a second is lived it is gone forever. So right now I just want to seize EVERY day. Embrace every opertunity. Appreciate all experiences. Savour moments. Watch sunrises. Hug friends. Work hard. And be patient and passionate and know that I’m not wasting time by not being a success NOW. I am pouring in the most essential ingrediant into anything, from a cake to an oak tree. Time.