By Rote

We don't learn things by rote any more. If you're lucky you might be able to remember your own phone number, but there was a time you could rattle off any number of phone numbers. I remember working in London and being in a job where I was ringing counterparts all over the world. I had around ten 15 digit phone numbers on instant recall. Talk to Anja in Belgium or Mike in New York - no drama. No computer to auto-dial. Nothing but a teledex, which after a while you don't need it because the numbers are committed to memory.

Well, now I find myself having to learn something by rote. A heap of ritual for tonight's meeting. There are a lot of thees and thusses and all sorts of consonant sounds which trip over my tongue. I've been at it for a month, really trying to bed down the text for tonight. As always it will be all alright on the night, but I'm still nervous about this. 

I mean, it took me years to get Jabberwocky down by heart - and I can still do this. I have half of The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock down by heart. As demonstrated on Saturday night, I've got the lyrics of many an eighties song down. But I liked learning 80s songs.

Learning lines of ritual is HARD.

But I have a responsibility to get this right, as today's Goddess Card is telling me. I have to get this ritual as good as I can. 

Maeve

From the Goddess Oracle pack, by Amy Sophia Marashinsky, illustrated by Hrana Janto

There is something olde-worldy about having to remember slaps of  text by rote. Actors doing it all the time. 

I am not an actor. 

But I am feeling the responsibility to do as good a job as I can at this.

Wish me luck. I go on in three hours. 

Today's Song: