2015: a retrospective.

Number of books in 2015: 53.

Best books read in 2015: The Marriage Of Opposites, by Alice Hoffman; The History Of Loneliness, by John Boyle.

Number of Pagan festivals celebrated: eight.

Amount of time on Earth: 43 years, 6 months, 0 days.

Number of years married: two and a half.

Number of years in my job: nine.

Number of tattoo hours in 2015: 19.

Number of diplomas started: one {this one}.

Number of assignments completed towards my diploma: four {eight to go}.

Number of copy editing projects completed: eight, all since the middle of October, including one thesis.

Best memories of the year: I have three. In January, John and I spent a day watching cricket at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. In June, on Midwinter's evening, I met for the first time with the women of my Pagan community. And, one morning in late August, I was lying on the settee feeling like death warmed up with the 'flu, when John came in with the post, which included all my course materials for my diploma.

Bring on 2016! I'm ready for you.

Anne-Marie x

Say yes.

In late November, a friend recommended me as a proofreader to a friend of hers who is doing her PhD. Would I be interested in proofreading her thesis, 90,000-plus words by 31 December?

At the time I was elbow-deep in finishing my studies for the year, proofreading a short story for a friend ... oh, as well as that small matter of my day job.

I gulped a bit. And then I said yes. Because it felt right. Because I knew I'd always wonder "what if?" if I turned it down.

Not long after I'd started the project I came across this quote by Richard Branson, and I thought it described my situation perfectly.

When I started I didn't know if I could proofread a PhD thesis. I'm a student - I still have a lot to learn. I've never proofread such a long document. Any PhD candidate is going to be extremely fussy about their work, and who can blame them when they've laboured over it for so long? This particular thesis had already been extensively edited before it reached me, so I have to read it very carefully to find the mistakes.

I'm coming towards the end of the project now, and I'm so glad I followed Richard Branson's advice. I have learned more from this one project than from four months of study.

I've learned that I can proofread a PhD thesis, and I can do a good job.

I've learned about the importance of time management.

I've learned how to keep a style sheet. I learned this in my studies, but it didn't sink in until I had to keep a style sheet for real.

I've learned about the importance of communicating with a client.

I've learned the difference between "long term" and "long-term"!

Most importantly, I've learned that the small, persistent voice that urges me to say yes to this thing that is way out of my comfort zone probably knows what it's talking about.

Anne-Marie x

Playing Big.

I recently picked up this book from the sale table of a local bookshop. I found it an interesting and thought-provoking read.

It’s aimed at any woman with an ambition, a goal, a dream in her life, particularly around careers. If you’re looking for the practical how-to-claw-your-way-to-the-top stuff, this is not the book for you. Instead Playing Big deals with the heart stuff that so many of us women seem to struggle with: negative self-talk, mentoring, fear, praise and criticism, communication, etc etc.

Some of it didn’t resonate - the chapter about visualising a conversation with yourself 20 years in the future as a way of tapping into your inner wisdom left me cold. But for most of the book I found myself laughing, cringing, and nodding my head enthusiastically by turns as I read, because so much of it was familiar to me.

For me, Playing Big is very relevant right now because my goal is to leave my job and become a freelance proofreader and editor. I'm studying for a Diploma in Proofreading and Editing, which is a good first step. But I didn't want to graduate half-way through next year and then wonder, what do I do next?

So after reading this book I decided to take a big step {or a leap, as Ms Mohr calls it} – something that I’d been thinking about for a while. I wrote a post on Facebook, telling everyone that I was doing this diploma, was looking for real-life work experience, and was willing to work for free in exchange for a testimonial if the person was happy with my work. {I plan to set up a website for my work next year, so I will publish any testimonials I receive there.}

It was scary putting myself out there like that, but I'm very glad I did it. The response was not overwhelming but it was steady. I was asked to proofread two academic assignments, one book, and the text of one website. Someone else sent me the contact details of an author who was looking for a proofreader. Another woman, who owns a PR agency, has sent me several documents to proofread - and this is likely {fingers crossed} to lead to paid work next year.

Most importantly, this work experience has shown me just how much I love this work, and how much I want to make a living from it.

Anne-Marie x

A Pagan year, part two

Ngaio flower

Beltane, at the start of this month, marked one year since I decided to spend 12 months living as a Pagan.

It's been an interesting year. I've learned a lot - about myself, my spiritual beliefs, and Paganism in general. I thought I would share with you some of the things I've learned this year.

I've learned that I am a Pagan and probably - despite being a devout and unquestioning Catholic into my twenties - have always been a Pagan on some level. As a child I knew the sacredness of the natural world {nothing to do with being made by God}, which is a central belief of modern Paganism. I was also very much an animist as child, believing things like trees and rocks and river had their own unique spirits. I still believe that, too.

More specifically, I follow a Druid path within Paganism. At the Spring Equinox I joined the Druid Network. You can read more about the Druid Network and what they believe and do here.

I've discovered, to my own surprise, that I am at the sceptical end of Paganism. I follow no gods or goddesses; and I have no interest in casting spells, drawing tarot cards, or calling myself a witch. For me what matters is the sacredness of the natural world {of which humans are a part}, honouring the ancestors, and observing the seasonal festivals. Anything else is an optional extra.

I've discovered the joy of spiritual community. Through Facebook I discovered a small but growing local Pagan group, and we have met for every festival from Midwinter onwards. We are a diverse lot, but our festival celebrations have a joy about them that uplifts me for weeks afterwards.

I've learned that Pagans can be a pain in the arse, and that fundamentalist Pagans exist {just as, I expect, fundamentalists exist in every other religion}. But Pagans can also be warm, welcoming, caring, and fun. They're interesting and questioning, and most of them love a good debate. In the past couple of weeks I have had online discussions and debates with Pagans on the following topics: the ethics of magic, the correct date to celebrate Beltane in the southern hemisphere, whether atheists can also be Pagans, whether Satanists can also be Pagans, how open people are about their Pagan faith, the work of a forest conservation group in England, whether Christmas is a Jewish festival {what?!}, and where my Pagan group will celebrate the Summer Solstice.

Of all the debates I became involved in, the Satanist {who freaked me out when I first encountered her} was the most polite and most willing to explain her beliefs to me. For the record, Satanism will never be my cup of tea but it was interesting to learn about this faith, about which I knew almost nothing.

Anne-Marie x

Dedication.

I come here at this festival of Beltane,

to dedicate myself to this Path.

I dedicate myself to the honour of my ancestors,

both those I know and those I don't.

May their heritage never be lost,

so long as I am alive.

I dedicate myself to the honour of Earth

and all who call her home.

May I learn to leave a light footprint

on our Mother, and may I never take her beauty

and blessings for granted.

I dedicate myself to the honour of the ancestors

of the land, wherever on Earth I may be.

I dedicate myself to the honour of the Divine,

may I always be open to its mystery.

I dedicate myself to the honour of the

Wheel of the Year. May I keep its festivals holy,

wherever on Earth I am.

I dedicate myself to the honour of all

who walk this Path with me,

whether or not they call themselves Pagan.

May I walk my Path with

truth, beauty, passion, kindness, and honour.

Blessed be.


{Wishing you a blessed season, whether you are celebrating Beltane, Samhain, Hallowe'en or All Saints Day.}

The Great Mystery.

'"I don’t pretend to understand this great mystery in which we participate.  Whether we call it life, cosmos, creation, Allah, God, or some other grand name, no label is large enough. I merely try to learn as much about it as I can, during my brief time under the sun. So I study what the most perceptive of our ancestors have discovered - artists and scientists as well as spiritual seekers.  I turn outward to nature and to human artifacts, and inward to the images and voices that arise in silence.  The louder the world becomes, with its relentless demands and messages, the more precious silence becomes. I can’t prove that what emerges within me arises from a source beyond the boundaries of my own skin, but I believe this is so. Simone Weil wrote that 'Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer'. What I pay attention to might be my breath, a sentence in a book, a butterfly on a zinnia blossom, my granddaughter’s face, a skein of music or a skein of geese. I may do my seeking outdoors or indoors, alone or in company, but always the goal is the same: to deepen my awareness of this encompassing mystery."

-Scott Russell Sanders, in "The Spirituality of Nature," Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, 2013

The curse of high apostrophe intelligence.

"If this satanic sprinkling of redundant apostrophes causes no little gasp of horror or quickening of the pulse, you should probably put down this book at once. By all means congratulate yourself that you are not a pedant or even a stickler; that you are happily equipped to live in a world of plummeting punctuation standards; but just don't bother to go any further." - Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

I found this cartoon on Facebook earlier this week, and it gave me a good laugh.

I think people are either born with the curse of High Apostrophe Intelligence, or they're not; and if you were born into my family, there's a good chance you have High Apostrophe Intelligence.

I was correcting my teachers' punctuation by the time I was about eight {yes, I knew how to make myself popular}.

The only time I've experienced road rage was when I was stuck behind a poorly-punctuated truck on SH2 between Hastings and Dannevirke. For about 100km I gripped the wheel and looked for a place to pass so I didn't have to keep read the four lines of writing on the back of the truck. The first three lines were separated by commas; the last line had no punctuation at all.

WHY?! Why would you bother putting in commas on three lines and not put a full-stop at the end of the fourth?!

If you think punctuation doesn't matter in this day and age, I recommend you read Eats, Shoots and Leaves - it's funny and it's informative. Or try reading a piece of writing which has the punctuation taken out, or is poorly punctuated. Poor punctuation can slow a reader down; and no punctuation at all makes writing almost unintelligible.

Those of us with High Apostrophe Intelligence know ;-)

Anne-Marie x