Diana Wynne Jones writes, in Fire and Hemlock,
To love someone enough to let them go, you had to let them go forever or you did not love them that much.
That’s profound.
Sad, too.
But on second thought- what does ‘let them go forever’ mean, really? Release them to the universe? Trust them? Say good-bye? Embrace them?
Can you hold someone physically while letting them go emotionally? or visa versa?
What do you think of this quote? What do you think Wynne-Jones means? Is it true?
I made these, following these instructions. They were fantastic on the planes and noisy museums in Europe. So easy! So cheap!
http://lifehacker.com/5347245/make-comfortable-noise+isolating-earbuds-for-less-than-a-dollar
One of the interesting features of Wordpress is a list of countries from whence one’s blog visitors log in. I find it quite fascinating that in the last 30 days, visitors have dropped by from 51 countries!
So if you have come from Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Finland, Greece, Norway, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, New Zealand, Portugal, Russian Federation, Argentina, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Iceland, India, Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Macedonia, Sri Lanka, Hungary, Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Ireland, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Ukraine, Bahrain, Lebanon, Peru, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain, Bangladesh, Albania, Myanmar or any other country, thanks for stopping in! I am most glad to have your company!
I’d be delighted to hear from you, please feel free to leave a note in the comment section and tell me something wonderful about the town or country where you live.
I’ll start: What’s wonderful about living in the Shuswap region of BC, Canada, are the sparkling lakes, and the opportunity to be in a forest in a few minutes walk.
In this map the darker the colour, the most hits per country- from 578 for Canada to 1 from Myanmar.
A couple of years ago we went on a vacation to Italy. We were only there a couple of weeks, but we were enchanted by each place we visited. One of our favorites was Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy. The Cinque Terre is made up of five towns that were formerly part of the kingdom of Genoa. Four of the five hillside towns have little or no automobile traffic. You can see why here! The houses are connected by picturesque narrow alley ways and lots of stairs.
Vernazza was hit by a flash flood / landslide in October 2011. We rented an apartment when we visited here. It was in the building between the yellow and green ones. Our window was the second one above the white arch being filled with mud. This is an incredible video. So much power.
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This slideshow was created by tourists. It is amazing. One thing that I thought when I first saw the pictures of this event was how it explains the strange layering of streets that you see in some places in Italy, like Rome. There is a disaster like this, and people effected just build on top of the rubble. The street next door might be thirty feet lower. That’s civilization in motion, at the mercy of nature. As usual.
I was just noticing one of the ironies of personal communication.
Someone can crush your heart by their behaviour, and if you choose to tell them, in hopes that they will change the behaviour, or at least recognize that there is another perspective, with alarming frequency, instead of acknowledging your hurt, they will deny it. Beyond just denying your feelings, they frequently turn around and get angry at you for being hurt.
This is a very good argument for never allowing anyone to have the power to touch your heart, isn’t it? Affection is a messy business, and when the people we trust to be safe havens for our trust prove unworthy, it can be particularly nasty.
If the attacks prove consistent, and it’s a friend who is the source of hurt, then you can cut them out of your life. It is simple enough to fade away. Sometimes though, you’re actually related to the person who is routinely disrespectful to you, and then things get more complicated!
Parents are particularly prone to this experience about the time their kids hit puberty. All those precious moments of mutual adoration suddenly come to a screeching halt and the poor parents are left wondering who put that unreasonable banchee into their kid’s bedroom. What once was a relationship of caring becomes one of distrust. All motives are presumed to be cruel and vindictive. All common courtesies are seen as violations of liberty. How do you deal with the lack of respect and consideration when the source lives in the same house? That’s a recipe for some serious stress.
I hang around with a lot of teen-agers, of course, and I see a lot of shell-shocked parents.
I already shared in a past blog about The Cat Years. It’s a lovely metaphor about how our happy, friendly little dogs (pre-teens) hit puberty and turn into taciturn cats. The premise is that if we keep trying to treat them like dogs, we’ll be unhappy. Instead, parents need to acknowledge they now have cats in the house, and change their behavior. Cats have different needs than dogs.
A little TLC for the parents is required during the process, though. Long walks, spa visits, spousal affection, concerts… Eventually it gets better. Eventually the kids learn that their parents are worthy of respect and kindness. Some just take longer than others to become happy puppies again. Occasionally they revert to being cats again.
In the meantime, one can appreciate the irony, without appreciating it.
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(PS. Yes, grammar nazis, I used the singular pronoun ‘someone’ with the plural pronoun ‘they’ but you know as well as I do that that is common use as a neutral singular pronoun, and there’s no way we’re going to win the fight to stop it).
“The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.”
William Makepeace Thackeray
There isn’t really much to add to this, is there? Wherever you go, there you are!
Overheard in my class room:
If I was a tribute in The Hunger Games I’d make an alliance with everyone and teach them to dance, because everyone knows you don’t murder a flash mob.
-Morgan
On my Facebook feed today was the inspiring story of divers who rescued an entrapped humpback whale, and the inspiring appreciation she showed for their efforts.
Attending to due diligence, I investigated the story and discovered on the urban legends.com site (I sure hope no one ever discredits them) that the story was in fact true.
Here is a link to the original newspaper article relating the event that happened in 2005 off the coast of San Francisco.
I really like how the anonymous Facebook poster summarized the significance of this experience:
May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
Both giving gratitude and receiving it provide joy. While troubles shared are halved, gratitude doubles joy. I like the math.
6 reasons to attend a writing conference May 27, 2012
Just home from the Word on the Lake Festival for Readers and Writers, I am feeling exhausted and exhilarated. Here’s why!
1. There is joy in the camaraderie of like-minded souls.
2. It’s fun meeting new authors with fascinating books and interesting journeys.
3. It’s rewarding to interact with readers who love your work, and to intrigue others to pick up your work for the first time.
4. People with more experience have answers to questions you have, plus answers to questions you don’t know you have.
5. It feels great when you can share your knowledge with others to help them solve a problem.
6. Socializing with professional authors, publishers, and editors over meals and in hallways expands your connections to talented people in the industry.
What writing conference have you attended, and which ones do you dream of attending? Why?
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