Verity's Blog

Clouds to moonbeams

copyright © 1996 Verity

As time slowly slips away, from your watch out into the day - the second hand moves round again, another hour of infinity descends.  Time weaves her web in silken threads, she’s getting right inside your head, you run, but you get more entwined - feel like the more you look, the less you find.

As eternity wraps around, keeping your feet firmly on the ground. Like an endless chain of incapacity, crushing the wings that crave to be free. Forever creeps like encroaching night, permanence tries to block your sight. You scream, but your cries fall flat - feel despondency forcing you back.

But as the sun comes up, the fog of life evaporates, turning clouds to moonbeams as butterflies play. And you know there’s hope where there are dreams, and living isn’t as bad as it seems.

It’s not as bad as it seems, sometimes you’ve just got to believe, things can’t go wrong all the time; sometimes you’ve just got to smile   

Survival Games...

Copyright © 1998 Verity

There are people here, sitting alone,  they don’t know what they want. Reading in magazines about beauty queens, and all that they’ve got. And we sit in our lines and we feel so alone, so we flick to a new page and read all about some celebrity’s home…

There are moments now, slipping us by - we don’t see them go. Reading in paper worlds about other girls - people we don’t know.  We wait for our time to feel safe to feel free, so we switch the channel and learn all about places we’ve never been.

And we wait to be seen by someone who’ll tell us we’re all alright. If my heart’s still beating and I’m still breathing - it means I’m alive.  And we sit and we wait in this survival game we play. If my heart’s still beating and I’m still breathing - it means I’m okay...

Put on your thinking hat...

My first day of shooting with the Journey to the Core team went really well and was great fun. They flew into Cape Town first thing on the Sunday morning and were with me and setting up cameras & lights by 10.30am. They decided to focus mainly on the interview part of the program for the first day so I spent most of it talking into camera about my experiences in life and music & what I have learned along the way. The team was such a pleasure to work with & we had a pretty easy day of shooting.

One of the things they want to highlight in the show is useful tools people can try in their own lives - something potentially really helpful for viewers. I talked them through how my sister and I used Edward DeBono's 6 Thinking Hats to come up with the final plan for the Lucky Packet Project & we had a lot of fun dramatising the process so that it is visually interesting and hopefully will explain how to use creative problem solving in an easy & memorable way! At the end of April I will spend another 2 days with the team where they will pick up all the footage they need to finish the piece...

Studio on Cantebury... avail May 1st

My desk space is going to be avail from May at the studio where I have been working. It is a stunning collective of designers, IT developers & architects & perfect for someone creative with a small business. Rent is R800 & it a great place to work! It has also has a kitchen, 'boardroom' & rooftop looking onto the mountain. It is situated in Cantebury Street just off Roeland & has 4-5 parking spaces in front of the building. Internet is avail from R80-R125 a month & R100 covers weekly maid & petty cash. It is an open plan setup in a stunning old bank vault with gorgeous mountain views.

Pls spread the word or give me a shout (studio@iamverity.com) to come & see it!

Falling...

Copyright © 1998 Verity

You fill me up with what you say. You cover me with your words. You tie me and I can’t escape - you hold me with everything you say. And you know I feel like a thread you are weaving. And as you, as you keep on speaking...
  I feel myself falling, I feel myself falling - I feel myself falling in…

You cover me with your meaning.  You wrap me up with your words. You tie me when you are speaking -  you make me make me feel heard. And you wash me with your words and I am clean. Your words flow like water streaming to me...
  I feel myself falling, I feel myself falling - I feel myself falling in…

So please keep on talking. Don’t stop this verbal weaving. You paint a beautiful story - your words dry all around me. I feel caught in your painting - tied to everything you are saying. You hold me without holding - I’m here I won’t be leaving
  I feel myself falling, I feel myself falling - I feel myself falling in…

Journey... to the core

I am thrilled to share with you that the SABC3 program "Journey to the Core" will be producing a 30minute documentary on my "Journey" and we start filming it this Sunday. It is an incredible program that aims to inspire South Africans about what is possible no matter what odds you face. Below is more info on the show and I think it is definitely worth following as they are highlighting some pretty special people over the next few weeks.

A FIRST FOR SOUTH AFRICAN TV

With a pioneering, first of it’s kind format for South African television, Journey to the Core is part of a new era of visionary and transformational entertainment that is unfolding globally. Amidst a barrage of violence, bad news and mindless entertainment, it seeks to use the media as a force for good in the world and aims to inspire profound individual and social change through compassionate story telling.

BY CHANGING OUR LIVES, WE CHANGE THE WORLD ...

Every human being has the ability to transform suffering into spiritual strength and wisdom. Often it is only when we are thrown into deep crisis, that we stop to question the fundamental premise of our lives. With some awareness and insight, the toughest of times can be used as a catalyst to conquer our fears, to stretch our boundaries and explore new dimensions of Being.

By sharing the unfolding spiritual journeys of a diverse group of remarkable South Africans, Journey to the Core presents meaningful transformational tools and interventions to help heal ourselves so that we may move away from a place of emotional and spiritual numbness and turn our lives instead into a passionate, purposeful and conscious experience.

Interweaving heartfelt biographies, dramatic re-creations and the best soul-nourishing advice from local and international wisdom keepers, Journey to the Core explores universally asked questions such as “Who am I?” , “How do we live a life of meaning and purpose?” and “What is the real secret to abiding happiness?”.

Each handpicked story offers inspiring life lessons of personal growth, human triumph, love, courage and enlightenment.

Weekend Live

On Saturday last week I got to crawl out of bed at the ungodly hour of 4.45am & with the moral support of my brother and nephew we headed off to the SABC studios in Auckland Park for a live interview & performance on Weekend Live. My producer & general life saver Paul McIver was there with his guitar to accompany me for a verse & chorus of "Shine" and for "Raise" & "Angel" I faced the cameras alone with only my backing tracks to keep me company.

Live TV is a daunting experience to say the least as there is no room for error. Thankfully my voice woke up in time for the singing and my interview with Masechaba went really well. She is an incredibly competent & professional presenter & after hearing my story & songs at the Feather Awards she was really passionate about the project & letting viewers learn more about it. Every time I do another interview I always come away having learned something new & discovering how to answer questions on the fly & perform under any circumstance. I am really grateful for the amazing attention "Journey" & my Lucky Packet Project continue to attract & hope that everytime I share the story it acts as inspiration for people out there wanting to live their dreams!

1st for Women Feather Awards...

Just a quick note to say that the 1st For Women Feather Awards were amazing! I met some incredibly inspiring South African women & it was a priviledge to share my story & songs with everyone at the event. I was blown away at the iniative of one of my Future Owners - Tanya Magalhaes - who had the vision of creating this annual event & pulled it together brilliantly. She has begun something that will be a beacon of hope for women in our country as each year the Feather Awards get to celebrate ordinary women doing extraordinary things in various arenas of life. I certainly was inspired by the nominees this year & look forward to being there again next year to see what other women have been doing in their communities.

The MC's for the night were Thuli of SABC1 & Tanya Ploner of CNBC Africa & we had a blast backstage getting to know one another. It was awesome to rub shoulders with some truly powerful women who have astounding visions of how they want to contribute to this country. Bring it on I say!