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.
Yes, I was a bit torn which I should do too, and plumped for Wolf Hall in the end. Maybe I'll do War and Peace next time round! See you soon on the Life Raft!
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!
Ah great Linda! I look forward to seeing you there! The 21st Century does have its consolations. We're less likely to be burned for a witch, for example? But yes, the smells, the damp wool, furs and leather, the pisspots and shouts of gardy-loo as they tipped them into the street. The farm museum here shows how our forbears lived with their animals in the house with them in winter, the hens roosting on a bar across the corner, just above the door, fish oil burning in the tiny lamp. I guess the peat smoke disguised it a bit but the reek must have been quite something....
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.
Hi Sam, I was convinced I wanted to show that you’re worth a latte and more. Except upgrading my free subscription was not an option. A message stating “you cannot manage your subscription in the app” appeared. I’ve no doubt this is a straightforward process for you. Any hints or hunches you consider helpful are welcome. Otherwise finding a barista on or near Orkney where I might buy you a latte will have to do.
Hi Gary, I think what that means is that you have to go to the website to make changes to your subscriptions. So if you open a web browser and go to https://lifeboat.substack.com I think that might work! Let me know how you get on :-)
I regard you as a genius. Not just some numbers denoting an IQ score. Rather based on how you employ your faculties for elegant self expression, your keen eye and understanding of your surroundings, and the ability to capture the imaginations of others through sights and the word arrangements you create. While accumulating accolades is not the likely goal of your creativity, you deserve every one you’ve been accorded.
Our younger lives can deposit residue that is unresponsive to pumice soaps like LAVA. Under our fingernails as a writer called it. Later, compliments feel like stinging nettle to our brains. I speak from experience. It was only getting sober that allowed some heavy pruning after which I could say “Thank you” when complimented. Age 53 or 4. Earlier I was a swordsman flicking away the nonsense with my rapier. And I still blush at just about anything!
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
It's so completely addictive, isn't it. We feel its pull ourselves. It must be so hard for youngsters who learned to lean into that screen during the pandemic, to come out of it.
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.
I'm so glad it landed for you to help you on your own creative journey. It's slow, patient work that doesn't really fit the capitalist structures we're forced into from birth.
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.
Seven years!? Respect!
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.
Yes, I was a bit torn which I should do too, and plumped for Wolf Hall in the end. Maybe I'll do War and Peace next time round! See you soon on the Life Raft!
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!
Ah great Linda! I look forward to seeing you there! The 21st Century does have its consolations. We're less likely to be burned for a witch, for example? But yes, the smells, the damp wool, furs and leather, the pisspots and shouts of gardy-loo as they tipped them into the street. The farm museum here shows how our forbears lived with their animals in the house with them in winter, the hens roosting on a bar across the corner, just above the door, fish oil burning in the tiny lamp. I guess the peat smoke disguised it a bit but the reek must have been quite something....
And I was trying to be positive! You'd have that wild lift from the sea and I'd have the scent of the peat and the pines...
True indeed!
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 🙂
You won't regret it!
I did…as in I did take my own sweet time. I read this. I liked it. A lot. And so, I subscribed.
Thank you Nicolas! I hope you enjoy the next one as much!
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.
Thank you Gary, that means so much to hear! Some encouragement, along this slow path...
Hi Sam, I was convinced I wanted to show that you’re worth a latte and more. Except upgrading my free subscription was not an option. A message stating “you cannot manage your subscription in the app” appeared. I’ve no doubt this is a straightforward process for you. Any hints or hunches you consider helpful are welcome. Otherwise finding a barista on or near Orkney where I might buy you a latte will have to do.
Monthly lattes? Yikes.
Hi Gary, I think what that means is that you have to go to the website to make changes to your subscriptions. So if you open a web browser and go to https://lifeboat.substack.com I think that might work! Let me know how you get on :-)
I knew you’d know.
I regard you as a genius. Not just some numbers denoting an IQ score. Rather based on how you employ your faculties for elegant self expression, your keen eye and understanding of your surroundings, and the ability to capture the imaginations of others through sights and the word arrangements you create. While accumulating accolades is not the likely goal of your creativity, you deserve every one you’ve been accorded.
*blush
Our younger lives can deposit residue that is unresponsive to pumice soaps like LAVA. Under our fingernails as a writer called it. Later, compliments feel like stinging nettle to our brains. I speak from experience. It was only getting sober that allowed some heavy pruning after which I could say “Thank you” when complimented. Age 53 or 4. Earlier I was a swordsman flicking away the nonsense with my rapier. And I still blush at just about anything!
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
It's so completely addictive, isn't it. We feel its pull ourselves. It must be so hard for youngsters who learned to lean into that screen during the pandemic, to come out of it.
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.
I'm so glad it landed for you to help you on your own creative journey. It's slow, patient work that doesn't really fit the capitalist structures we're forced into from birth.