Monthly Archives: January, 2023

The still ecstasy

“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” — William Sharp This isn’t the post I had scheduled for …

Continue reading

It really is

“Life is like a flower. You don’t realize how beautiful it really is until you take a closer look.” — Ash Sweeney I wasn’t able to find out anything much about Ash Sweeney other than endless web pages citing quotes from him (or her) such as this one.  Perhaps Sweeney is a robot, or a pen …

Continue reading

Walking around

“I absolutely love cities that reward walking.  In London, you can’t go three blocks without coming upon something grand and historic, a charming little square, or an interesting piece of street life.  To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, when you’re tired of walking around London, you’re tired of life.” — Alex Soojung-Kim Pang For those who haven’t yet …

Continue reading

In spite of all

“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you to go on in spite of all.  And so today I still have a dream.”  — Martin Luther King, Jr.  The Trumpet of Conscience, 1968 Today we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and …

Continue reading

Like enthusiasm

“Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life.” – Vincent Van Gogh January paints nature with a muted palette, but that doesn’t mean our days have to be dull during the winter months.  Add some color to your life, literally or figuratively, and get a jump on springtime by animating your mood with some sparkle. When …

Continue reading

Greatness in small things

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things.” — Muriel Barbery Okay, so it’s now definitely winter– if you’re very far north of the tropics, that is.  Despite the deceptively warm days of this past December, cold weather will be our frequent companion for …

Continue reading

Making life more bearable

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow…” — Kurt Vonnegut “What is the purpose of your blog?”  That’s a question others have asked occasionally …

Continue reading

Between intention and habit

“With all the advantages being online gives us, we’re also offered a set of potential dangers we have to understand.  What we know about how humans react to virtual environments is still in its infancy…In the battle between intention and habit, we need to be able to work out who is winning; who is master, …

Continue reading