This is a time, as always, for reviewing the past year and making plans for the coming year, but as I said in the last blog, discussing my plans seems to put something of a curse on them so I’m having to devise a sneaky way of doing this. So rather than writing about any definite plans and intentions or making any new year’s resolutions I’ve decided to try revealing my hopes, dreams, prayers and wishes rather than discussing any concrete plans as such. To begin with my health continues to be pretty dodgy so I can’t even rely on being well enough to execute any definite plans over the coming year, so my life has to have a ‘one day at a time’ quality about it though it is clear that hope plays a crucial part in keeping me going. My most recent health problem has involved suffering yet another stroke. This has left me with severe aches and pains and considerable dexterity and mobility issues that have set me back quite a bit. On the positive front however the lack of blood to the brain seems to have resulted in me experiencing a spiritual and emotional epiphany that has so far kept me cheerful throughout these physical difficulties and also I am now on a new regime of medication and physiotherapy that promises to help even more with my recovery, and the doctors are now looking into providing me with a pace maker that may help my heart to beat more effectively and reduce the risk of having any further strokes and suchlike. Anyroad enough of me whining and moaning about my health. I want to focus on my hopes for the coming year but first a quick review of 2013 and some of the great things that happened back there.
One awesome thing about last year has been the many coastal experiences I’ve had, visiting such magical places as Bognor Regis, Llandudno, and Porlock Weir in Devon. Back in the day I used to make regular camping trips over to the North Wales Coast but hard work and relentless gigging took up most of my weekends, eventually made it difficult to find the time to get away. One of the things we can truly celebrate on these Isles is the miles and miles of spectacular coastline that we have and though I live about as far as you can get from the sea, (actually Chesterfield, which about 10 miles away from me, is the furthest market town from the sea in the UK so they tell me), it’s still quite easy to get to the coast, especially with my National Express Senior card. The sea air seems to help with the Empyema lung disease I suffer from and walking in the ozone atmosphere really seems to help increase my stamina, even more than the regular local walks I take.
Although it was a long time downloading, when the summer eventually arrived it was well worth the wait and I was able to sit out in the yard in the many sunny days that we had as well as making my trips to the coast a genuinly healing experience. Let’s hope this coming summer will be as good and the mild winter we’ve had so far will continue. I have long thought that the Vitamin D3 from the sun, and the extra fresh air and activity that the warm weather encourages is a key factor in maintaining good health, and this was especially true in 2013 when I seemed to muster enough strength to help me cope with my most recent setbacks this winter. I continue to try to make progress, through regular exercise, a good diet, playing guitar and drums, writing and researching, doing arts and crafts, keeping up with consensus reality listening to BBC Radio Nottingham in the mornings and watching Eastenders at night! Although my heart and circulatory system are well and truly fucked, I’m hoping that a healthy diet and moderate lifestyle, revised medication, exercise regime, and general enthusiasm in living will help to keep me going for a few more years yet, who knows but all I can do is hope anyroad.
My vision for 2014 is actually quite ambitious and exciting, in my mind at least. The mainspring of my life can be best described using the acronym W.A.R.M. – writing, artwork, research, and music - and also this year I am hoping to cease to be a hermit and get myself out in the local community a bit more. I hope to continue to make a contribution to protecting the local environment from housing developments and fracking and such like, and to begin to add something of value to the educational and spiritual life of my area. Being long term sick has got certain advantages, (something I have written of in the past), and while I am still able, I hope to continue to make a significant contribution both as an individual artist, educator, and Shaman healer to my local community.
With regard to writing and research, I am going to try and get some things published this year, be they in the church magazine, local paper etc, as well as continuing with this blog and other online outlets. My albatross of a book has finally been abandoned and I am now planning a more modest work on meditation that I hope to eventually use as a manual for teaching in the future. This is a major undertaking and at present I’m not really strong enough to accomplish it, but if you don’t aim high and all that malarkey..
Although I have been steadily creating various bits of visual art and craft work this year my efforts have become more galvanized after watching an ‘Imagine’ programme on BBC 1 about ‘Outsider’ Artists. I have long been aware of this kind of untaught and untutored art through a magazine called ‘Raw Vision’ and I also came across it during the ‘Healing Arts’ degree course I completed at Derby University in 2001, but somehow because I am now able to devote more time to this work and through struggling with my own disabilities, seeing afresh this kind of ‘Art Brut’ creative work has been very inspiring to me both in the visual art field but also in music, both disciplines that I lack any formal training in. What I hope to be able to do is create imagery with the musical recording projects that I am working/collaborating on, (‘The Mighty Dogheads and Wao projects’), and also develop a little business creating magical and aesthetic products for sale at local markets etc. Some examples of the music we’ve been working on can be found by Googling ‘the Mighty Dogheads’ or ‘the Dogheads Collective’ on the soundcloud website, where these tracks can be downloaded for free, but also souvenir CD’s of these tracks including my bespoke artwork can be ordered for a reasonable price from us by post. Educationally I am looking into the idea of becoming a school Governor as well as continuing to develop my skills as a musical tutor on a small scale and I am currently enjoying performing in Church playing Bass Guitar with the Parish Music Team that involves the need for me to re-learn some of my guitar techniques that I’ve lost, providing an added motivation to improve my physical dexterity. Pressing needs on our local environment has compelled me to lend a hand in campaigning against commercial developments in the area, particularly the building of new homes outside the town boundary while the inner parts of Mansfield are decaying both as places to live and work as well as providing commercial outlets – the so called ‘donut effect’, something that goes against the UN’s ‘Agenda 21’ policy that Mansfield Council have supposedly signed up to , (not that I’m a big fan of the ‘New World Order, collectivist philosophy of the powers that be and all that). Finally I just want to say a big thank you to all my friends old and new and my family who have helped me so much during this past year, you know who you are. Let’s hope that 2014 proves to be a great year for us all and that we all find fulfilment and happiness in our lives. Amen. Revd Magic Sam Murray.
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