Author Archive: Julia
Quietly thrilling
“It is always quietly thrilling to find yourself looking at a world you know well but have never seen from such an angle before.” ― Bill Bryson When I read these words from Bryson, I realized why I love photography so much. Through the lens of my camera, I look at things from all sorts …
A magnifying glass
“You can think of a moment of crisis as an anomaly because it’s going to pass, and that’s true in one sense, but sometimes it can also be a magnifying glass that reveals to you what was going on underneath the surface all along.” — Anonymous in Becoming Duchess Goldblatt “Most of the time, I …
The opposite of availability
“The opposite of availability is not unavailability, but an overcrowded heart.” — Sue Monk Kidd Did any of you wince inwardly on reading these words? I know I did. It’s the sort of observation we know to be true even as we wish it wasn’t. So many of us have a hard time saying “no” to new …
At this time and this place
“You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place. Like you’ll not only miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.” —Azar Nafisi Now that Jeff is retired, we can sell our Alexandria townhome …
Like my own heart
…box of tea, like my own heart you arrived bearing stories, thrills, eyes that had held fabulous petals in their gaze and also, yes, that lost scent of tea, of jasmine and of dreams, that scent of wandering spring. —Pablo Neruda Ah, no wonder I love tea so much! Once again, the poet distills deep wells …
How beautifully difficult
“A child is a guest in the house, to be loved and respected– never possessed, since he belongs to God. How wonderful, how sane, how beautifully difficult, and therefore true.” – J. D. Salinger As I think about it, “beautifully difficult” is an excellent way to describe what it’s like to have children around. I …
A very astonishing place
“If you can sustain your interest in what you’re doing, you’re an extremely fortunate person. What you see very frequently in people’s professional lives, and perhaps in their emotional life as well, is that they lose interest in the third act. You sort of get tired, and indifferent, and, sometimes, defensive. And you kind of …
In the noise and whip
…It is lonesome, yes. For we are the last of the loud. Nevertheless, live. Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind. – Gwendolyn Brooks This post is for anyone who has ever felt alone in a crowd. It’s for anyone who speaks in a voice trembling with grief or rage, while hearing …
Only one thing to do
“We are so outnumbered there’s only one thing to do. We must attack.” — Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham Admiral Cunningham spoke these words before the Battle of Taranto, in which a small number of obsolete planes (the Fairey Swordfish biplanes) conquered a mighty fleet of ships and ushered in the ascendancy of naval aviation. I loved this quote the first time …
The trick is growing
“The trick is growing up without growing old.”— Casey Stengel Let’s just say it had not been an easy day for me. I know I say that a lot, but if you have followed this blog for very long, you probably know why. Then– when I least expected it– I got an instant sip from …
Water always goes
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it…If you can’t go through an obstacle, go …
To save the world
“I have never met anyone who wanted to save the world without my financial support.” — Robert Brault OK, it’s comic relief time here at Defeat Despair, and what better time than election season to take note of the fact that even when our other gifts go unwanted and unrecognized, there is always someone who …
Like butterflies
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Carl Sagan Ah, but Mr. Sagan, you of all people should know that infinity is poorly understood, even by humans. Perhaps our most profound mistakes occur in our perceptions of finality, in our willingness to accept the limits drawn by what …
Such a secret place
“I did not know what to say to him. I felt awkward and blundering. I did not know how I could reach him, where I could overtake him and go hand in hand with him once more. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Whether or not one is …
With little effort
“Whatever the season, and with little effort, your kitchen can be as headily fragrant as groves, orchards, gardens…bakeries, brasseries, coffeehouses, and tearooms. If you view food and beverages as simply substances to be eaten and drunk quickly, you’re missing more pleasure than you could imagine.” — Sara Ban Breathnach Let’s just say I’m no gourmet …
Plotting
“I’m a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.” ― J.D. Salinger I’ve often identified with this quote, and never more than in the past three and a half years, since starting this blog. Some of the world’s nicest people have landed on this page, and it’s a …
Not so poor
“Grace is not so poor a thing that it cannot present itself in any number of ways.” – Marilynne Robinson Have you ever gone into Target or Macy’s or Piggly Wiggly with one particular purchase in mind, and been so distracted by other fun or pretty or tasty things that you bought more than you …
Tea being made
“The sounds of the tea being made invite the peach blossoms to peep in through the window.” —Sasaki Sanmi, Sadô Saijiki If you are reading this anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, chances are I have the kettle on, or just now made tea, or will be making tea in a …
A sentinel all around
“…if we starve ourselves of mental junk and replace it with what is true, admirable, right, pure, beautiful, and attractive, peace will stand as a sentinel all around our feelings and thoughts, creating an impregnable fortress of calm and tranquility.” — David Murray Could you use some calm and tranquility right now? I know I …
A bridge with people
“When I stopped trying to block my sadness and let it move me instead, it led me to a bridge with people on the other side. Every one of them knew sorrow. Some of them even knew how to bear it as an ordinary feature of being human instead of some avoidable curse. Watching them …
Begin transforming
“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.” — Adrienne Cook That sounds good to me. Let the transformation begin! Help me brainstorm some ideas to get us started. How shall we prepare to welcome spring? Maybe we can visit a nursery or hardware store and pick …
One surge at a time
“The waves rolling in from the Atlantic today were high and white and threatening. Then, later in the day, the ocean was suddenly very quiet again, very much itself and at peace with the world. I couldn’t help thinking what a life lesson there is in that kind of undulation, in that kind of natural …
Your vision
“Your vision of the future is not intended to keep you living in a ‘someday’ mode. It is as much a guide to the way you live out each day in the present as it is to direct you toward the future.” — Mark Brunetz This quote from Brunetz pinpoints the difference between getting stuck …
The world is full
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W. B. Yeats Awhile back we had an interesting discussion with Boomdee in the comments after she mentioned the rabbits in her world changing colors with the seasons. Until then, I didn’t know about the Snowshoe Hare, which turns white …
Defeat Despair 