I’ve been thinking about light, and love, and grief, and hope. I’ve been thinking about happiness, about silence, about music.
“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.” —Arundhati Roy from The Cost of Living
I came across Arundhati Roy’s quote when visiting Shawna LeMay’s Calm Things. I had written the opening sentences above, had included a video (below), and dropped in a few photos but was still at a loss of words. When I read this quote she had included in a recent post, it fit perfectly with where my thoughts lie lately. I know some of you are well acquainted with Shawna’s lovely blog but for those who aren’t, it truly is a breath of fresh air. It’s always calm over there, always something to contemplate, filled with literary goodness, and abounding with beautiful photography. Oh, and her most recent novel is turning out to be a best seller – check it out.
Richard Wagamese, Winner of the Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life, Nov 3 2015, Toronto. I realize not everyone will be inclined to watch the video of his short speech but if you do, I hope you wait until the 3:00 minute mark to witness his deep and caring soul as he comes towards the end of it.
I haven’t read his recent book, Medicine Walk
So those are some of the things that have touched me deeply in the past week. In recent times, what has touched you deeply?
[Coming up next: I finished knitting my Antler pullover. You get a peek next post plus what’s now on my needles.]
oh yes, these things touch me deeply too. whenever I have a hard time putting my feelings into words, I look to Shawna’s blog…she never fails me.
Beautiful images as usual. I draw great peace from them. That is no secret, as I seem to tell you that all the time.
Thank you for sharing that wonderful speech. I will now make sure to add this author to my list of reads.
What touches me deeply lately is humankind. The resilience of the spirit and the heart of our brothers and sisters despite the sad times we sometimes endure. xo
The Cost Of Living quote is extremely beautiful. I have difficulty with the continuing looking. I want to look away and not see the ugliness but I suppose that makes me half blind and it is likely that I will miss the joy. Beautiful pictures.