Rebel Reflections

The end of the year is approaching and it's the ideal time to reflect on my Rebel journey so far. I joined the Rebels in September and have learnt a few new things along the way. The Rebel Badge Book is a source of inspiration for how to spend your free time.

I began with the Artist badge as I have done art all my life so this seemed like a good place to start. I made a mosaic for the first time and also a wire sculpture. My drawing skills are a little rusty these days but I sharpened my pencils and put them to work. I feel drawing is a skill which I possess but I don't have the same passion for this as I did in younger years. It's nice to do now and then though when the urge strikes.

Due to finances, I decided that certain badges I would like to do will have to wait for now. So I began the November 'Write Every Day Challenge', the Good Habits badge and the Reader badge. I wrote thirty haiku for the November challenge. This was fun to do for a short time but I'm not particularly interested in writing more. The Good Habits badge and Reader badge are making good progress. Through doing the Good Habits badge I have become a lot more aware of how I am spending money due to keeping a spending diary. I have discovered some amazing books including The Choice by Edith Egar and Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E.Frankl.

I joined The Rebel Council a little while ago and have recently received my membership card and council badge. I have taken part in the council and put forward my ideas.

I have the Diarist badge in mind for 2023 and will continue my Writer badge (this blog!). I would like to do the Builder badge, Craft badge and Critic badge but completion of these will depend on finances. I don't like to take on too many badges in one go as I would rather take my time and focus on a small number of them. I think the Adventurer badge would be a good challenge for me as I am such a wimp!

The Rebel Badge Book has made life more fun and I'm so glad to be a part of the club. The club which is definitely not a cult! (in-house joke)

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Origami

As I found some lovely origami paper in a shop during a recent holiday in Portugal, I decided to try my hand at some origami for the Rebel Badge Club's Craft badge. I used online tutorials to create hearts, boxes, boats, butterflies, a crane, a swan and a turtle by folding paper. I also made a house and a rabbit. The craft was enjoyable to do and a pleasant way to unwind after work in the evening. Some of the more complex origami models didn't work out so well with the paper I used as it was too thick and bulky to fold neatly. The best thing to do with those attempts was to throw them straight in the bin. My favourites to make were the hearts and the boxes. I now have quite a collection of paper hearts and boxes in my possession for which I hope to find a purpose for in the future.

Calligraphy

A few months ago I mentioned in my blog that I attended a calligraphy workshop. This workshop was the start of my Craft badge journey. At the time I did not know how hard calligraphy was to master using a nib pen and ink. The workshop was held at Lytham Hall by Mellor & Rose. Beverley and Lucy Mellor taught the basics of modern calligraphy which included how to hold the pen correctly and a series of worksheets were provided for practice. I found holding the pen so unnatural as I don't normally hold my pen in such a way. My practice strokes were terribly shaky at the workshop and they still are even after months of practice! I have better control over the ink now though and leave less splodges on the page. Although I am finding learning calligraphy a tough challenge I am determined to improve. In my determination to master calligraphy to some degree, I have signed up to a six month subscription to The Calligraphy Box. The monthly box contains materials and a two hour video less...

Book Review

As part of the Reader merit badge for the Rebel Badge Club, I am to write a review of a book for one of the clauses. I have chosen to write about The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté. This is a long and very interesting book which I chose as I have an interest in mental health and physical health. I was first introduced to the work of Dr Gabor Maté on Dr Rangan Chatterjee's Feel Better, Live More podcast. Maté is an expert in trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development. The Myth of Normal explains how modern living is contributing to the rise of ill health. Trauma, stress and life experiences affect our physical health aswell as our mental health. To put it simply, a suffering mind takes it's toll on the body. For example, in his book Maté observes that people who suffer from the neurological disease ALS are people who are too nice. There are a lot of thought provoking matters in this book and many of which most of us will be able to relate to in our own liv...

Midlife Rebel

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