Well said Samantha, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve just completed a painting I started 7 years ago, for me it’s always the same, the journey not the getting there (though we need that as well!) the slow hypnotic contemplation/meditation and the quiet, receptive tuning into what is revealed. I see this as a form of prayer - what is not known is always more enriching than the known.
Everything you’ve said here Samantha. I made the choice of War and Peace with Simon this year and I haven’t regretted it. It’s a wonderful way to read, slow and in community. But I’m hoping Simon continues next year again with Wolf Hall - I just knew I wouldn’t manage both together.
Looking forward to getting on to your lovely life raft later this afternoon. It’s a balm.
Oh beware the blinding light of C21st. I think it was the evocation of smell that trapped me. Most modern "reporters" say that everywhere would have stank - animal & human ordure, sweaty bodies not to mention the burning bodies but there would have been the florals, the suddenly caught scent of lavender, rosemary, of street cooking, of community baking. All of one's senses held alive. Our noses as, of course, our palates are now deadened to a world of uniform pappiness. That, for me, is where paying attention resparks life.
I have just ordered The Clearing from your link and will find a quiet space to consider it ( @SimonHaisell War & Peace readalong currently occupying my slow read time. I am behind and I'm telling myself this matters not, but then I can't readily respond to the chat & follow the wide ranging comments from fellow readers. Perhaps another example of where even the most gratifyingly gentle of social media still presses the FOMO buttons in my brain).
Today's solution will be to haul out on the Life raft this afternoon. See you later!
I too started the Wolf Crawl but, unlike you, I've ground to a halt. I'd just got into the rhythm when I had a 10 day trip away and that was it broken. In fact, it broke my reading altogether and I've only just picked up a book again. I'm now making a conscious effort each evening to close down the laptop and put the phone aside to read in the last hour or two before bed - not only am I enjoying it, but my sleep quality has improved. I'll be picking back up on Wolf Hall soon 🙂
Another great essay, Samantha. On the subject of reading that absorbs and redefines us, fiction seemed the obvious force. Silly me! Non fiction does as well.
Out of no financial incentive from the author (Samantha), I’ll gladly say how much THE CLEARING commanded my attention. Reading then re-reading pages, examining what I learned from certain segments and chapters, relating portions of my younger life to the descriptions of hers. Being neither burdened nor bored by my approach, I felt like one enjoying a fine dinner, course by course. I believe doing so built a bit of foundation from which I can appreciate your ongoing accounts - posts, essays, art, videos, and life on Orkney. Winter months included that show resourcefulness and stamina. In newer paintings, somewhat pointillist in nature, I remember your dad’s interest in ham radio. Particularly the coordinated effort with many others to bounce radio waves off the moon then plot the degree of success. Pointillism through ham radio?
Like a moth to the flame, I’ll keep coming back for more. All the best, Sam.
I worry so much for our children and their scrolling, made so much worse through the pandemic and you’re right that they become sponges of other people’s opinions. I’m currently in the thick of the teenage years and it’s so difficult to get them to do anything else
I feel the love you put into your posts and am regularly encouraged on my artistic journey. This post is particularly meaningful and I wish some of your words about reading came from my pen, i will certainly be quoting you in my stack sometime soon.
Well said Samantha, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve just completed a painting I started 7 years ago, for me it’s always the same, the journey not the getting there (though we need that as well!) the slow hypnotic contemplation/meditation and the quiet, receptive tuning into what is revealed. I see this as a form of prayer - what is not known is always more enriching than the known.
Everything you’ve said here Samantha. I made the choice of War and Peace with Simon this year and I haven’t regretted it. It’s a wonderful way to read, slow and in community. But I’m hoping Simon continues next year again with Wolf Hall - I just knew I wouldn’t manage both together.
Looking forward to getting on to your lovely life raft later this afternoon. It’s a balm.
Oh beware the blinding light of C21st. I think it was the evocation of smell that trapped me. Most modern "reporters" say that everywhere would have stank - animal & human ordure, sweaty bodies not to mention the burning bodies but there would have been the florals, the suddenly caught scent of lavender, rosemary, of street cooking, of community baking. All of one's senses held alive. Our noses as, of course, our palates are now deadened to a world of uniform pappiness. That, for me, is where paying attention resparks life.
I have just ordered The Clearing from your link and will find a quiet space to consider it ( @SimonHaisell War & Peace readalong currently occupying my slow read time. I am behind and I'm telling myself this matters not, but then I can't readily respond to the chat & follow the wide ranging comments from fellow readers. Perhaps another example of where even the most gratifyingly gentle of social media still presses the FOMO buttons in my brain).
Today's solution will be to haul out on the Life raft this afternoon. See you later!
I too started the Wolf Crawl but, unlike you, I've ground to a halt. I'd just got into the rhythm when I had a 10 day trip away and that was it broken. In fact, it broke my reading altogether and I've only just picked up a book again. I'm now making a conscious effort each evening to close down the laptop and put the phone aside to read in the last hour or two before bed - not only am I enjoying it, but my sleep quality has improved. I'll be picking back up on Wolf Hall soon 🙂
I did…as in I did take my own sweet time. I read this. I liked it. A lot. And so, I subscribed.
Another great essay, Samantha. On the subject of reading that absorbs and redefines us, fiction seemed the obvious force. Silly me! Non fiction does as well.
Out of no financial incentive from the author (Samantha), I’ll gladly say how much THE CLEARING commanded my attention. Reading then re-reading pages, examining what I learned from certain segments and chapters, relating portions of my younger life to the descriptions of hers. Being neither burdened nor bored by my approach, I felt like one enjoying a fine dinner, course by course. I believe doing so built a bit of foundation from which I can appreciate your ongoing accounts - posts, essays, art, videos, and life on Orkney. Winter months included that show resourcefulness and stamina. In newer paintings, somewhat pointillist in nature, I remember your dad’s interest in ham radio. Particularly the coordinated effort with many others to bounce radio waves off the moon then plot the degree of success. Pointillism through ham radio?
Like a moth to the flame, I’ll keep coming back for more. All the best, Sam.
I worry so much for our children and their scrolling, made so much worse through the pandemic and you’re right that they become sponges of other people’s opinions. I’m currently in the thick of the teenage years and it’s so difficult to get them to do anything else
I feel the love you put into your posts and am regularly encouraged on my artistic journey. This post is particularly meaningful and I wish some of your words about reading came from my pen, i will certainly be quoting you in my stack sometime soon.