“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
Zora Neale Hurston
This thought made me stop and think, which I guess is what I'm after each Thursday, the chance to stop and ponder upon something. Sometimes I read a quote and imperceptibly somewhere inside I nod and agree, go hmmm yep that's right. You probably wouldn't see it in my face or in the movement of my head, it happens inside, quickly and instinctively. I did that with this one.
It suggested to me that sometimes years leave you questioning and wondering where to go or what to do, or what the heck was that all about - they ask questions of you. Other years seems to be full of success, achievements, the right directions and you feel as if any niggling or lingering questions you had have been answered and you are on the right path.
I don't think it's just years tho - they can be long and full of all sorts of things, ups, downs, round-abouts, and it is kind of hard to pigeonhole a whole year as either/or. But I think I get what she means.
Rather than categorise them in a decisive manner, I would say I often have a 'sense' of a year - it was a good year or a rough year. Often the rough years leave you with questions and wondering, and the good years feel like validations, like you've gotten the answers.
One thing I really do like about this quote tho is that is says pretty simply - not every year is great; not every year will be filled with brilliance and growth and beauty and wonder and onwards and upwards trajectories. It's a good reminder. I sometimes worry that we seem to expect constant and forever happiness/goodness/good times/improvements etc, and forget that human life is all about cycles, of ups and of downs, of ins and of outs. Perhaps, this is just a nice way of saying that.
Zora Neale Hurston
This thought made me stop and think, which I guess is what I'm after each Thursday, the chance to stop and ponder upon something. Sometimes I read a quote and imperceptibly somewhere inside I nod and agree, go hmmm yep that's right. You probably wouldn't see it in my face or in the movement of my head, it happens inside, quickly and instinctively. I did that with this one.
It suggested to me that sometimes years leave you questioning and wondering where to go or what to do, or what the heck was that all about - they ask questions of you. Other years seems to be full of success, achievements, the right directions and you feel as if any niggling or lingering questions you had have been answered and you are on the right path.
I don't think it's just years tho - they can be long and full of all sorts of things, ups, downs, round-abouts, and it is kind of hard to pigeonhole a whole year as either/or. But I think I get what she means.
Rather than categorise them in a decisive manner, I would say I often have a 'sense' of a year - it was a good year or a rough year. Often the rough years leave you with questions and wondering, and the good years feel like validations, like you've gotten the answers.
One thing I really do like about this quote tho is that is says pretty simply - not every year is great; not every year will be filled with brilliance and growth and beauty and wonder and onwards and upwards trajectories. It's a good reminder. I sometimes worry that we seem to expect constant and forever happiness/goodness/good times/improvements etc, and forget that human life is all about cycles, of ups and of downs, of ins and of outs. Perhaps, this is just a nice way of saying that.
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| ©2010 Fiona Dempster - pavement punctuation, Portland OR |
how very very true. life is certainly about change - big and small. it's a great reminder - a lesson in gratitude for when the sailing is smooth and a beacon of hope when the seas are rough.
ReplyDeletethank you -
Hi MJ, some words are truths for nodding your head aren't they? It's a nice reminder I think of he the days and years may vary... Go well
DeleteThere would be no highs without the lows. We need them both. This is what life is all about...balance. And gratitude. We usually learn more about ourselves during the not-as-great times of our lives than when we're sailing through. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie I agree - balance and gratitude, the best of lives and years...
DeleteYes... to all your ponderings. I've heard this quote before, and had a similar response. Its a great quote to get the wheels turning!
ReplyDeleteIt's sometimes nice to hear how others have pondered upon something you know of isn't it? I did enjoy the sense and truth of this one very much. Go well
DeleteI'd never read that quote before, it's lovely. An aching kind of loveliness. It somehow made me see myself standing on a long string of years past and years ahead. 2013 seems to be posing lots of questions and I am desperately searching for new answers. I hope one same year can ask and answer too.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too Ersi! I sometimes think there is a bit of both in every year, maybe just the balance tips one way or the other. Go well
ReplyDeleteThe years that ask questions, and you wonder if the answers suit your questioning...who can find the right answers...who can really understand the cycle of things, and what is it all about anyway? Here we are doing our thing,and hopefully will be remembered for making the right choices, being honest, and loving, sharing, and responsible.
ReplyDeleteThe life that I have, is all that I have, the life that I have is yours......
( Leo Marks) (1920..2001)
So true Sandra, there is no real way of knowing if the answers we like are actually good or right answers for us...we can do what we can do, and I think a sense of acceptance is important, a recognition or understanding that things will come in and things will go out...
Deletegood words, especially your second to the last sentence.
ReplyDeleteThanks Velma...
ReplyDelete