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Simply..Yes To Life....

28/6/2020

44 Comments

 
Yes To Life In Spite Of Everthing is the title of a Victor Frankle book I have just ordered.

As reader numbers dwindle and blog comments become fewer, I've been asking myself if I should continue blogging about candles in my greenhouse, playing music to plants, gardening and how to make iced coffee!

Is it all too trivial and self indulgent?

I found myself thinking lately of the people who lived on the south coast of England during the war who could actually hear the fighting in France as they went about their daily lives. There will be people still alive who remember that. How did they cope? They had the additional horror that people were deliberately killing each other - at least our current efforts are about saving and helping each other.

Going about my comfortable life here while witnessing the terrible distress of some people's experience of this pandemic is disturbing, but watching the news feels obligatory. Much of it now consists of speculation and accusation and I find myself talking to the screen, shouting even at world leaders who think that mass rallies in the midst of a contagious viral disease are a good idea. Oh dear.

How much to talk about it here is another dilemma.

My blog title is Live Simply, Simply Live, and my default question when in a dilemma is What  would be simplest?

Victor Frankle in Man's Search For Meaning has another good question (and I do like a good question). In this situation, what can be done?

I enjoyed this article about 12C poet Chomei, who lived in isolation and wrote a small book about his tiny home and his immediate environment. Later 'he chides himself for his vanity in writing it and puts down his pen.'

He is described as an unhappy man so maybe, in the hope that what interests me in my home and surroundings also resonates in some way with you, I will continue for now....

I will avoid pontificating on world affairs, continue to look for and delight in the good and the beautiful (my contention has always been that it would be churlish not to) and try to Simply Live, in spite of everything!

I am looking forward to that book. Have any of you read Victor Frankle?


Thank you for reading and especially  for commenting. :-)

44 Comments
Maggie
28/6/2020 03:24:38 pm

Oh dear, please don't stop! I have lurked here for years, maybe commented once, but I am just not a blog commenter by nature, just a deep appreciator. Today, feeling in need of a shot of beauty and camaraderie, I clicked on my bookmark of your page -- and read this! I often browse through your archive. I love your blog. Thanks for keeping it going for so long.

Reply
Freda
30/6/2020 11:00:23 am

The camraderie is so special here, and so important to me Maggie. Thank you for being here for so long and I am glad you enjoy the archive too.

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Beth
28/6/2020 06:54:06 pm

I second everything Maggie has said. Your voice and perspective bring comfort and clarity in today’s craziness. Thank you for so generously sharing your lovely corner of the world here.

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Freda
30/6/2020 11:02:35 am

Thank you Beth. The idea that what I write might bring comfort ibrings comfort to me! Really it does.

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Gwendoline
1/7/2020 09:38:28 am

Can I third Maggie please. I too love seeing a sane piece of simplicity and feeling that life is going on rationally and humanly somewhere!

Maria
29/6/2020 02:29:06 am

I have read Victor Frankle and found him profound. His writing was life-changing for me. Such a lot of simple wisdom.
Please don't stop blogging as I look forward to your musings and pictures every day. It's good knowing that what's happening on the other side of the world is basically much the same as here in NZ.

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Freda
30/6/2020 11:06:38 am

It took me years to find the courage to read Frankle knowing some of his background, but I am so glad I did. Love New Zealand as you will know, and it is wonderful that you have handled the pandemic so well.

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PennyL
29/6/2020 02:56:59 am

Please carry on posting! Your blog is my favourite part of the Internet. I can understand that making the effort to post , and not having many comments ( as the comments are also a highlight for me ) must be a little dispiriting. I think a lot of us here don’t say anything unless we feel we have something worth saying!
I think I need to find out more about Victor Frankle...

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Freda
30/6/2020 11:09:51 am

PennyL people comment on the comments here! Intelligent, compassionate and insightful - the sharing that takes place is such a big part of it for me, and that you all have things worth saying is brilliant.

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Sheena
29/6/2020 03:52:14 am

As other people have said please keep writing about what gives you joy. None of us are pretending that dreadful events aren't happening but life's small moments of beauty are what keep us all going through times like these. I am, also, trying very hard not to let stupid politicians bring my mood down in the spirit of the best revenge is to live well. Thank you for stopping to smell the roses for us, Freda.

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Freda
30/6/2020 11:12:45 am

Oh thank you Sheena. I'd forgotten that saying about living well. Made me laugh and determine to do it!

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Mary
29/6/2020 04:14:08 am

When I think that if not for your blog we would never have met...never would have had so much fun together...well, don't imagine I need to tell you how much your friendship and this blog means to me. Or how much I enjoy reading the comments of others. Not that it isn't clear to me just how much effort it takes for you to keep up with blogging--trying to come up with ideas when some days you might simply want to NOT think or write. But, as others before have said, whether you write about the profound or the mundane, your gift of friendship and heart-felt writing is a thread that ties us all together. Thank you, dear Freda. xo

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Freda
30/6/2020 11:16:25 am

I do write from the heart, and when your heart is hurting fot others it's harder....I appreciate every word of your comments. x

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Rosemary
29/6/2020 04:25:41 am

I hadn't heard of Frankle or Chomei, but now I have and both put me in mind of John Howard Griffin's life-affirming 'The Hermitage Journals'. Many of you will know this book, but I didn't until a few years ago.

How Griffin came to write these journals is a story of belief, empathy and valour. He came to live in near-seclusion in a cabin in afforested land belonging to a Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Despite great physical, and sometimes mental, suffering, his beautiful writings are studded with the sort of gems that reward solitude - and looking for the beautiful.

Two passages I love :

'...as I glance up, I see a flaming cardinal perched on one of the limbs...The sky is much darker, the wind rising, the temperature outside up to a humid eighty degrees with rain forecast...It looks as though it could begin any moment. A tremendous attentiveness...Now the wind comes rushing through the forest like a tidal wave. Nowhere is rain more glorious than in a deep forest such as this.'

'All is still, grey, hushed, attentive in the surrounding forest and within this cabin. Only the fire speaks, in its warmth to my back, in the hardly audible whispers of its burning. I do small things -sweep the ashes from the hearth back into the fire, things that will not alter the intensity of the hush.'

Please continue to prompt us to look for and delight in the good and beautiful, Freda.

Reply
Freda
30/6/2020 11:19:18 am

I learn so many new and interesting things here. It's one of the reasons I love comments. Thank you for sharing this Rosemary - I shall enjoy exploring it further.

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Gail
29/6/2020 04:50:21 am

Please continue.

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Freda
1/7/2020 01:15:20 pm

Yes :-)

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Lucille link
29/6/2020 06:54:48 am

No is the answer to your first and last question. I have all but given up writing my own blog because I can no longer load photos to it, so my only outlet is Instagram but I am a daily visitor to yours. Your beneficial influence is greater than you might suspect. So if you can say yes to continuing, please do.

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Freda
1/7/2020 01:17:14 pm

I miss your blog Lucille, though your photographs on Instagram are wonderful!

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Mary
29/6/2020 09:08:14 am

Oh, don't give up! Lots of us still enjoy old-fashioned blogging even though most have defected to Instagram. And why dismiss it as trivial? I visit here (and maybe should be gracious enough to comment more often!) to share your lovely garden that has often raised my flagging spirits. Plenty of depressing world news via other sources; I don't feel that daily exposure to it is 'obligatory' at all.

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Freda
1/7/2020 01:25:09 pm

I am so glad you get pleasure from my garden Mary - it has kept me sane of late! As to the news I have this old fashioned idea that I should be 'an informed citizen' I guess, but I could perhaps rethink just what that means....Thanks so much for your comment.

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cath
29/6/2020 09:41:09 am

Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning was mandatory reading in my studies. I think I would have read it anyway. It made a deep impression at the time. Last year I read Edith Eva Eger's The Choice. Like Frankl Eger is a Holocaust survivor and psychotherapist. Her book was a painful while valuable read and gave me food for thought for weeks.

Sometimes the time we met here and exchanged our experiences of Kondoing, seems ages ago. Another world, another you, another me, another us. I sense this change here, I sense you are searching. I very much appreciate you 'open this up' with your questions today, although I don't think there's an answer just now. To me it seems as if your blog's motto needs to be re-visioned from where you and we are today. That needs time. And sharing.




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Freda
1/7/2020 01:29:39 pm

I have been wonderfing if there was a female equivalent (if I can put it like that) of Frankl. Thank you so much for that. I wish I knew where I was today, but by thinking and sharing I may find out!

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Lisa
29/6/2020 01:38:04 pm

Gosh - I would be so sad without your blog. I do understand that it is effort and that comments are a way of you knowing whether what you have published something that resonates with others. Like another commenter said, I only comment when I feel like there is something for the good of the order. But I also understand reciprocity and will certainly comment more often if that inspires you to carry on. Thanks for the years you have been writing and posting pictures. Your blog is my "calm" space.

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Freda
1/7/2020 01:33:23 pm

What a lovely thing to say Lisa. It does inspire me to carry on to have an exchange of ideas. I especially like when readers converse with each othere here! Thank you.

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Grace Falconer
29/6/2020 11:03:18 pm

I would really miss my daily visits to this space if you decided to stop writing here Freda. You explore a wonderful mix of subjects, some very serious, others more light-hearted. You have given me a lot of food for thought and inspiration. And I too am very grateful to have made a friend in you through this blog. X

Reply
Freda
1/7/2020 01:35:30 pm

Thanks Grace. A little wobble of confidence. I am so pleased to have you as a friend.

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Cathy
30/6/2020 03:05:50 am

please don't go!

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Freda
1/7/2020 01:36:22 pm

OK Cathy!

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Madeleine
30/6/2020 04:21:31 pm

Freda, I still love to pop in here but don't often comment simply because I try not to spend too much time on the screen. I have been lax in expressing my appreciation for your efforts here. Your eye for beauty and intelligent prose are gems amongst the rubble that is the internet! There are only a handful of blogs that I love to read now.
The Frankl title caught my eye. I have read Man's Search For Meaning some time ago but I think this one was meant for me to see today. Like everyone else, we are experiencing the pandemic here in Australia, although not to the extent of other countries. But it has come on the heels of the worst drought in living memory and the worst bushfire season in recorded history. It is truly mind-boggling to consider how much forest and how many native animals were lost. The fires in my area meant that we were pretty much 'locked down' for 5 months as the air was not safe to breathe. The gardeners amongst us will understand when I say the inability to grow vegetables or keep my garden alive due to water restrictions was devastating, from a personal as well as environmental perspective. One day I looked out my kitchen window to see that my hedge and 3 silver birches had literally given up overnight. I cried for 3 days almost without stopping! I even cried in public, without caring, and I think that shows what a state I had reached!
I felt I had just recovered emotionally from all of the above when the pandemic hit and I wasn't ready for it! So some inspiring reading will do me the world of good, I think. I have felt much like Sisyphus in my attempts to stay positive and just keep calm and carry on.
Nature is recovering marvellously, I put water tanks in and we are again eating almost soley from the garden - we have had rain! The forests are sprouting new shoots everywhere and injured animals are being released back into the wild after rehabilitation. So nature is absolutely remarkable, as we have seen with the return of clean air in many countries. It reminds us there is always a reason to keep hoping.

Reply
cath
1/7/2020 04:23:25 am

Madeleine, the terrible fires made me cry when I saw them on the news, I cannot even begin to imagine how devastating it must have been to see that happen to nature all around you. You remind me this morning that being 'locked down' comes in many forms and guises. And mirror back to me how nature shows us resilience when we work with it rather than against it. Thank you so much for these poignant words.

And if you allow me a last more general personal reflection: to me your words are a profound example of the essence ánd potential of this blog. It isn't 'just' a place to find solace and calm and beauty, however important they are. It is also a place where it is palpable that solace and calm and beauty are a result of a process of hard work. It is/can be a place where sorrow and joy meet as they do in life.

Reply
Freda
1/7/2020 01:52:38 pm

Cath and Madeleine I hope these replies to your comments come up in the right order...Weebly gets confused at this.
If I sometimes think my posts are trivilal, I know the comments are dfinitely not!! Mary was quite right to challenge me on that!

Freda
1/7/2020 01:48:16 pm

Madeleine what a traumatic time you have had. One major trauma after another, no wonder you cried! The scale of all these things must have been (still is perhpas) overwhelming and require great inner strength. I am full of admiration for you installing water tanks and now growoing your own food again. I wonder if your music helped you through? You and your fellow Australians as well as nature are 'absolutely remarkable' and I am very touched that you can tell us about it here.I am sure we all send you our very best wishes for some respite and recovery time.

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Madeleine
1/7/2020 03:28:38 pm

Hello Freda,

you are absolutely right about music. On many, many days I simply shut the blinds so I couldn't see the smoke and played the piano for hours. The housework was left undone! Your comment about how remarkable my fellow Australians are is also spot on. When thousands of people needed to be evacuated from their towns there were scenes on the news of people patiently waiting in line at the petrol station - not looting and shooting! And many people put signs outside their homes offering food, shelter, pet minding water etc to displaced people. As for the firefighters and first responders, just incredible. That is part of the pain, that we need to change our behaviour to make sure this never happens again because there is a real cost to the lives of the people who have to sort it out.

Cath thank you also for your thoughts and kind words. The meeting of sorrow and joy is poignant, and so true.

I have ordered Yes To Life in Spite of Everything as I am sure we will face yet further challenges and I need all of the 'nourishment' I can get to sustain me. My word for the Winter is 'rest', as tempting as it is to start jumping into projects in this relatively normal time. I wonder if some of you have a word to take you through the pandemic? When I get frightened about trouble ahead I remind myself to use it all as Zen practice and stay in the moment with what is good and beautiful in front of me. Easier said than done some days!

I hope it's okay to share a link here Freda, if not delete it. Green Renaissance make the most beautiful and timely short films and their work is really worth supporting. They are lovely people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRXc0G3Njg8

Bye for now.xx

Liz B
1/7/2020 08:02:52 am

Ditto to all the above. I don't often comment since I'll usually be seeing you soon, but I still enjoy your words and pictures.

Reply
Freda
1/7/2020 01:53:54 pm

Oh thank you for saying so LIz and I hope we can meet up again before too long x

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swissrose
2/7/2020 01:28:38 am

Your blog sits at the too of my sadly depleted blog list, Freda! I always look forward to your posts and catching up...
Like Lucille, my blog is abandoned due to the photo problem and „life“!

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Freda
3/7/2020 02:29:44 pm

I did enjoy a glimpse into your life in the little washhouse, and it's lovely to know you still visit her. x

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Clare Rose
2/7/2020 04:18:48 am

Hello Freda I've really enjoyed reading your blog and was thinking.of recommending it to friends in search of solace. Would love to catch up one to one if you have time

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Freda
3/7/2020 02:31:02 pm

Clare how lovely to find you here! I will email very soon....

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Judi
3/7/2020 12:41:07 am

Oh Freda please don’t stop your beautiful blog! It’s such a lovely calm, meditative space that I turn to each day and always find a sense of hope and peace. As someone else commented it is also very comforting, especially during these unsettling times. I’m sorry that I too am someone who has read your blog for several years, but haven't commented very often (perhaps only a couple of times) but I promise to do so if you decide to carry on!

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Freda
3/7/2020 02:34:36 pm

Judi, how could I not when I read such kind things - but commenting is not a condition of reading, it's just very nice to know that you do!! Read I mean, Thank you - I am getting confused here. :-)

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Sheryl
3/7/2020 05:06:33 pm

Hi Freda,
I understand if you feel the need to discontinue your blog for personal reasons, however I love your posts. I was born in England and now live in the USA. I love your photos, how you share your thoughts, and a little piece of your life and world. I rareley comment, but read several times a weeks and really look forward to them.

Reply
Freda
6/7/2020 12:00:35 am

Lovely to see you here Shertyl. I am so heartened to know that what I write has meaning not just for me! Thank you for reading and for your comment.

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    An artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!)

    All words and images copyright Freda Waldapfel 2010 - 2020

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