“Literature can train, and exercise, our ability to weep for those who are not us or ours. Who would we be if we could not sympathize with those who are not us or ours? Who would we be if we could not forget ourselves, at least some of the time? Who would we be if we could not learn? Forgive? Become something other than we are?”
Susan Sontag
Who would we be indeed?
As I read this my heart fills and I feel the wonder of her words, the strength, the compassion and the humanity. The sense of a life that is not simply about 'me' but is about getting outside of one's self and caring for, and about, those who are not us, or ours.
And her conviction and belief that what gets us there is literature. Is writing. Is books.
Without these things it is so much harder to share experience, to discover empathy and to reach an understanding of something and somebody we do not know. Not impossible I grant you, but words and writing and books and literature almost give us a head-start in a way.
This is almost a hymn in praise of literature and the great goodness that can be found within. What a wonderful set of words, what great and challenging questions. I can hardly bear the thought of who we might be if in fact we cannot weep for others, nor sympathise, or forget about ourselves. If we could not learn or forgive or become something other than we are…
Thank you Susan Sontag.
Which brings me to my give-away. I don't always a manage to keep track of my blog posts, but I did become aware recently that I was approaching 800 - and today is the 800th post on my blog.
I am amazed. It has been one of the most delightful journeys and experiences of my life - to find a way to share my art, that suits the introverted me so well!! I think that blogging suits me because I like writing more than talking and I get to share without having to be present in a large group which is sometimes a wee bit hard for me to manage.
What has been so unexpected, and what continues to inspire and nurture me, is the connection with like-minded folk around the world who are kind and generous and share their thoughts with me. Every time I get a comment I am thrilled to see what folk have said; I have learned from others' thoughts and words; and I am buoyed when something I do or say has meaning for others, and they let me know.
So thank you all. As a celebratory give-away I have this wee book 'peace is every step'. It has the phrase overwritten many times, with small pieces cut out and others then stitched in, with threads left dangling.
The cover is mat-board with white gouache calligraphy.
To take part in the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment and share with me (and others of course) one of your favourite quotes - it can be on anything - just words that you love.
I will draw the winner next Wednesday 11 June at 5pm Australian EST, and let everybody know in next week's Thursday Thoughts…
Susan Sontag
Who would we be indeed?
As I read this my heart fills and I feel the wonder of her words, the strength, the compassion and the humanity. The sense of a life that is not simply about 'me' but is about getting outside of one's self and caring for, and about, those who are not us, or ours.
And her conviction and belief that what gets us there is literature. Is writing. Is books.
Without these things it is so much harder to share experience, to discover empathy and to reach an understanding of something and somebody we do not know. Not impossible I grant you, but words and writing and books and literature almost give us a head-start in a way.
This is almost a hymn in praise of literature and the great goodness that can be found within. What a wonderful set of words, what great and challenging questions. I can hardly bear the thought of who we might be if in fact we cannot weep for others, nor sympathise, or forget about ourselves. If we could not learn or forgive or become something other than we are…
Thank you Susan Sontag.
Detail of a recent book "peace is every step".
Which brings me to my give-away. I don't always a manage to keep track of my blog posts, but I did become aware recently that I was approaching 800 - and today is the 800th post on my blog.
I am amazed. It has been one of the most delightful journeys and experiences of my life - to find a way to share my art, that suits the introverted me so well!! I think that blogging suits me because I like writing more than talking and I get to share without having to be present in a large group which is sometimes a wee bit hard for me to manage.
What has been so unexpected, and what continues to inspire and nurture me, is the connection with like-minded folk around the world who are kind and generous and share their thoughts with me. Every time I get a comment I am thrilled to see what folk have said; I have learned from others' thoughts and words; and I am buoyed when something I do or say has meaning for others, and they let me know.
So thank you all. As a celebratory give-away I have this wee book 'peace is every step'. It has the phrase overwritten many times, with small pieces cut out and others then stitched in, with threads left dangling.
The cover is mat-board with white gouache calligraphy.
To take part in the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment and share with me (and others of course) one of your favourite quotes - it can be on anything - just words that you love.
I will draw the winner next Wednesday 11 June at 5pm Australian EST, and let everybody know in next week's Thursday Thoughts…
Congratulations on your 800th post! But most of all, congratulations for all of the connections and friendships that have been made as a result. I'm honored to have you as a friend and it's thru our blogs that it was possible.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes is one I use as a tag line on my email and one that I totally believe.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw
Here's to another 800 posts! Enjoy!
I waited until I had drawn the winner before answering so nobody thought the draw was rigged ;-) I read this quote often and it always makes me stop and think - and to remember to keep playing!
DeleteA former gang member and current youth worker from Auckland was asked some years ago about some ethnic groups' youths starting life with great disadvantage, laughed and shouted, "Get off the cross; we need the wood." I wished I made note of his name.
ReplyDeleteI love your beautiful work.
Thanks Meg - what an interesting bunch of words…I've delved this way and that with them and remain intrigued! Go well.
DeleteCongratulations on 800 posts - Wow!
ReplyDeleteMy mantra is 'I believe that every person is born with talent'
Maya Angelou
What an amazing woman Maya Angelou was; and what a simple, yet powerful creed. Thanks Gill.
DeleteCongratulations Fiona. 800 posts is a huge achievement, cheers to the next 800.
ReplyDeleteI discovered your blog early this year and I'm a fan of your work.So to win the little book 'peace is every step' would be fantastic.
A favourite quote" Don't bend, don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly". Anne Rice.
Thank you for the chance to win one of your creations.
Ah Maya - thank you for your kind words! And what a quote - 'don't edit your own soul…" how amazing is that?
DeleteWow, 800 posts is amazing! Congratulations. And thank you Fiona for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes was from young Mattie Stepanek. Even though he graced this earth for a brief 14 years, he truly was a beautiful, peaceful soul who made the most of life.
“Do not breathe simply to exist; inhale to truly live.”
― Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Thanks Melody for sharing that quote - what a reminder to live our lives to the fullest and to make the most we can of each moment. Go well.
DeleteSo many of the quotes you choose for Thursday Thoughts are my favourites and I love to read the thoughts behind each post. Your reasons for blogging are very similar to mine. It certainly has been a wonderful journey! Congrats on 800 posts, Fiona !
ReplyDeleteThe favourite quote that comes to mind today is "... and I am out with lanterns, looking for myself" by Emily Dickinson.
Hi Robyn - the wonder of words, moving this way and that and landing with the folk who love them. I am slightly astounded at 800 posts, but grateful and thankful as well. That Emily quote is so evocative…and I think we have all felt that way at times. Go well.
Deletemy quote is, and has been for years, from Leonard Cohen..."There is a crack in everything it's how the light gets in." I have done so many different interpretations of it and it is still very important to me.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordi - that is a beautiful quote and I can imagine playing with it a lot! I did it for a friend recently and had to give her two versions because I couldn't decide! It offers us all so much...
Delete800 posts! And all of them interesting. How do you do it?
ReplyDeleteI also love to read other people's favourite quotes.
One of my favourites is 'When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace' by Jimi Hendrix.
Apparently William Gladstone (1809-1898) said something very similar but obviously a lot earlier.
DeleteGladstone's quote is: "We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace."
They are both wonderful and of their time Lyndell; and I love their meaning irrespective of who said it when! Thanks for your kind words as well...
Deletecongratulations on your 800 posts! We lived in Queensland many years ago and I love revisiting it through your eyes and words. One of my favourite quotes is: The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well. - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
ReplyDeleteHi Janie - I'm glad you get to re-enjoy your QLD time thru the blog - today we picked bananas! Elizabeth K-R was a wise woman and this quote requires reading and re-reading and trying to make sure we actually get it…go well.
DeleteFiona, I so agree with your celebration of blogging for introverts. As for a quote to put me in the drawing:
ReplyDeletePicasso said:
'If it's good, it's art. If it's not, who cares'?
Thanks for your 800, and here's to many many more!
=sus
Oh Susan - I love it! The who cares? thing is actually so wise in it's own cheeky way. In the end we have to do it for us and to speak with our own voice; even if others don't get it or hear us…go well.
Deletethank you, Fiona, for your posts I follow every week !
ReplyDeleteand by the way, thanks to all your "commentators" for their wonderful quotes !
Here's mine, which I interpretated so often : "Tous les matins du monde sont sans retour." (Pascal Quignard), and that means : every morning has no way back, and this is for me an exhortation to live every day intensively.
congratulations for your 800 !
Thanks Marie-Helen! I am glad you are enjoying all the quotes as well, they are just wonderful. And wow, what a fabulous quote you shared - to think that each morning has no way back - we must make the most of it and keep moving forward…wonderful!
DeleteCongratulations Finally on your 8th post.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 800 th post Fiona, my fa or its post at the moment is Shakespeares Once more into the breach dear friends, once more. My life at the moment seems to one struggle after Another!
Thanks for sharing that Penny - and I am sorry that life is sending you struggles at the moment. It seems to work that way at times, when just when you think you can't handle another thing - lives sends you yet another one. I hope you are finding your way through - take care.
DeleteI can't imagine what a closed mind one would have if unable to read. Literature is a window on the world outside oneself. Congratulations! 800 posts is phenomenal. I do have a favourite ancient Chinese proverb...."Keep a green bough in your heart, and the singing bird will come". Your book is a very generous giveaway...good luck to all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo - I have read and re-read that proverb it is so beautiful in its simplicity; yet so profound. Thanks for your support - 800 can't be too far away for you????
DeleteCongratulations on 800 post.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite book related quotes is from ” Fly By Night” written by Frances Hardinge.
“If there is paper, there may be books ................. Dangerous books, gunpowder books, books that could burn away the castles of the mind and change the colour of the sky.”
Oh boy Jac, that stopped me in my tracks. What a marvellous exhortation on the power of books - shivers up the spine! Thank you...
Deletethank you for sharing 800 posts of wonderful work and inspiring thought
ReplyDelete"That is how to burn most brightly. That is how to catch like wildfire.
Walk. The drum begins. Follow it. Follow the drums of thunder. Follow the sun. Follow the stars at night as they lean their long slant down the far side of the sky. Follow the lightning and the open road. Follow your compulsion. Follow your calling. Follow anything except orders and habit. Follow the fire-fare-forwards of life itself. Go where you will, burn your bridges if you must, leave the paving stones smouldering and singe the gate as you leave, leave an incendiary device by The Wall and scorch your way across the land. I dare you.
Being on the road has an inherent quality of song. It feels so natural to sing as you walk, in wanderlust, lustful, full-throated, belting out melodies at the hills. Sing up the sun. In your walking you sing your path. Nomadism's rhythm is the sun. Nomadism's melody is the songline. On the leaning way, the slanting way, the canting way, music echoes the lilt of the land. The singer is chanting, canting the descant part, till the way is steeped in song, en-chanted, sung, the singer chants the way and walks the song, and the way and the song and the singer are one. On!
p 312- 314 "WILD An Elemental Journey" by Jay Griffiths
Mo - if people followed this as they journeyed and travelled through life what a difference it could make. Risky and scary at times, not always easy to follow; but decent, caring and thinking people can change the world. Thanks for sharing this one.
Delete'When nothing is sure, everything is possible.' Margaret Drabble one of my favourite authors
ReplyDeleteI love Margaret Drabble too - and this quote is a beauty. It really speaks of grabbing those moments of uncertainty and seeing where they lead (like moving to Iceland?) and realising so much is possible if we are not set in our ways…go well.
DeleteOh Fiona, what a fabulous torrent of quotes you've unleashed. I think I shall have to write them all down and add them to my collection. Whilst I would love any book that came my way, I have already been the recipient of your generosity too many times so leave me out of the draw but accept a quote instead - so hard to pick one from the mountain that I have but I've opted for Mark Twain because just re-reading it to write it here made me think about the wisdom of it all over again - ' You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus' . Words I should heed!
ReplyDeleteThat is a superb quote Lesley - I am sitting here trying to make sure my imagination is in focus! The range of quotes is astounding and I have made myself a new document just to save them all…glad you enjoyed; and so glad to have met thru blogs...
DeleteCongratulations on your 800th post !
ReplyDeleteI discoverd your blog via Pinterest and i'm fan of jour work.
My favorite quote for the moment is : friendship isn't a big thing , it's a million little things.
Thanks Marleen - so true isn't it? It's those everyday moments; a look; a call; a smile; true friendships are made of millions of little things.
DeleteDear Fiona - it's taken several tries to wish you congratulations on your 800th post. Thank you for sharing your wonderful work with us. My favorite quote shifts with time. At the moment it comes from Oscar Wilde, "Be yourself, everyone else is taken." All the best-
ReplyDeleteThank you for persisting Anne - some days it can get quite frustrating can't it? Thanks too for your kind words and gentle reminder from Oscar Wilde - I love how he kind of turns life on its head and upside down in order to remind us that we are unique! Go well.
DeleteI know I'm late for the draw ( I would have loved that book) but I want to congratulate you on 800. I find it hard to believe you are introverted! But I understand what you mean by a blog being a good medium for quiet people. Like many of the above comments I too am delighted to have made your acquaintance, your work and words are truly inspiring and your a.l.a.w. Has got me through some fallow times. Thank you for all of that. I wish I was close and I would have dropped by to your open studio, I love that idea, we don't have it here.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite quote is from Shakespeare's' Hamlet,
"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so"