My last post brought a response from Jeanne that is another side to stillness:"Indolence is a virtue. It comes from two Latin words, which mean freedom from anxiety or grief. And that is a wholesome state of mind. There are times and seasons when it is even a pious and blessed state of mind. Not to be in a hurry; not to be ambitious or jealous or resentful; not to feel envious of anybody; not to fret about to-day nor worry about to-morrow,--that is the way we ought all to feel at some time in our lives; and that is the kind of indolence in which our brook faithfully encouraged us . . . We toil assiduously to cram something more into those scrap-bags of knowledge which we fondly call our minds. Seldom do we rest tranquil long enough to find out whether there is anything in them already that is of real value,--any native feeling, any original thought, which would like to come out and sun itself for a while in quiet."
Henry Van Dyke (copyright 1912)
Its a really good point, the problem isn't so much the lack of activity but what lies under it.
Frantic thoughts of escape or stillness to see what is reflected in the moment...
My puppy up there looks indolent but at the moment she isn't feeling very good at all. We aren't sure what it is but we do know she is suffering some arthritis pain and there are blood issues too.
Presently she is taking so many pills she rattles when she wags her tail, and I think we spent a mortgage payment on her this month.
I just want her to get better.
so glad you liked the quote as much as i do. so glad i could find it last night (we're moving, so nothing is where it once was.) so many pills she "rattles when she wags her tail." that's funny . . . and at the same time not at all funny. hoping some of those pills soon take effect.
ReplyDeletehi Jeanne
ReplyDeleteProps to you for being able to find anything while moving!
The puppy is doing a little better I can hear her right now eating her breakfast. I'm hoping some of those pills do the trick too...