Category: Quotes
“The Flower that Smiles Today”
The flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow dies;
All that we wish to stay
Tempts and then flies.
What is this world’s delight?
Lightning that mocks the night,
Brief even as bright.*
*This is the first stanza of The Flower that Smiles Today by Percy Shelley, one of my favourite poems. Read the entire poem and a brief analysis here.
And a favourite quote:
“Man’s life is brief and transitory, Literature endures forever.”
― Rory Stewart, The Places in Between
Flowers of primary colours: travel theme by wheresmybackpack.com
Photos: jenniferkellandperry.com
A Life That Matters
“It doesn’t matter who we are, what we are doing and what our station in life is, we all have the ability to contribute to something beyond ourselves and (to find) purpose in doing so.” – Emily Esfahani Smith, author of The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters.
According to Smith’s research, it isn’t happiness that makes life worth living – it is meaning. It is rising each day with a purpose. As simple and as uncomplicated as that sounds, I wonder how many of us have been chasing the wrong thing.
Is developing a “meaning mindset” the only true answer to achieving fulfillment?
Living on auto-pilot, or chasing mostly what brings you pleasure, or working long and crazy hours, driving yourself to exhaustion to conform to someone else’s definition of success – do any of these pursuits sound like happiness to you?
Or have you already figured this out?
Have you found your meaning?
Wonderful Yellow
About this time every winter, I begin to yearn for an injection of more colour in my world. So when I saw that Yellow was this morning’s one-word prompt from The Daily Post, I felt compelled to take part.
The following photos were previously shared on my blog over the years, but I thought it fitting – as well as worthy – to give them a second look.
These last two photos are from my Instagram account:
Last but not least, something to wake up the taste buds:
***
“How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Arrival of Winter & New Horizons
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?
Winter came early to our corner of the world, and so far it has packed a heavy punch in most areas. These photos were taken a week ago, after our first significant snowfall. We’ve had more since then.
Inspiration can come to the artist in us in many ways. I hope to expand my own horizons in the coming new year, and I wish the same for you.
Here are a few new horizons from Perry’s Point to inspire creativity through the frosty months ahead.
We live on Snowy Beach Avenue now! 🙂
I must give credit where credit is due: Paul “helped” with these next three. They were taken in the last couple of hours before sunset.
“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” ~ Christopher McCandless
WPC: New Horizon
What do you see on your horizon for 2017?
Moving with change
To give us perspective. Of note, Karen’s words from the comment section: “I think when there is a shock, we need time to absorb the news and if we can spend sometime in nature … it does ground us and calm us.”
That often works for me when I need to let go of anxiety.
For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction. – Cynthia Ocelli
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Change the Way You Think About It
Recently, I was catching up with someone I hadn’t seen in a while.
At first, the conversation was pleasant, as was my general mood, but as the chatting continued, I realized this person was swimming in barely concealed hostility.
Almost everything that came out of this person’s mouth was either a brag or a humble brag, a passive-aggressive remark, or a backhanded compliment (don’t you just love it when someone insults you like that – and it’s “socially acceptable”?).
But perhaps what rankled most was the obvious avoidance of discussing anything going on in my life. Whether the reason for this was self-absorption, disinterest, jealousy, or whatever, I could only hazard to guess.
So what did I decide to do? Well, I held my tongue and chose to follow the advice from Ms. Angelou as stated above. I decided to look at the experience differently, to frame it in a way that muted the annoyance I felt, and replace it with understanding.
I already know this person has difficulties going on in his own life, which helped me to recognize that the hostility had very little to do with me.
So I chose to temper my hurt with this awareness. The pain he is presently enduring in his life is far worse than anything he could inflict on me with his words. And perhaps, along with that, he was having an especially hard day.
It doesn’t always work, but in this case, a little understanding made all the difference.
Have you ever consciously changed your thought processes about something?
How has it worked for you?
How do you deal with difficult people?
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada
*Travel theme: Enlightened
A Seasonal Love Note
I know our Atlantic Canadian summers are short and I treasure the warmer days while they’re here, but there is something about this season of change I truly love as well.
Late summer and early fall has a uniquely different quality, where on a sunny day the air lends a crisper, more metallic edge to the natural world. (This love affair hinges on one important caveat: that the northeast wind doesn’t blow too much and turn our world chilly and wet for days on end.)
The outlines of clouds against the steel-blue sky look sharper, heralding the approach of what is to come. Most foliage and grasses are still summery green. I relish them all the more, knowing the colours will soon transition into vibrant shades of red and gold before finally fading to the cool grey and white hues of late autumn and winter.
It is a season of harvest and renewal, a time of new beginnings and the dawning of fresh ideas. The kiddies are back in their classes. Though my own school days and child rearing years are well behind me, I still feel that push of motivation into new plans and goals, to make the transition into a stricter work schedule, to get back to writing more in the coming months. November and NaNoWriMo are still a ways off, but I strive to clear up all loose ends in preparation for – dare I say it without jinxing myself – a 50 thousand-word first draft of a brand-spanking new novel.
Then there are the berries. Where would this season be without the berries?
fruits of the first trip
…and fruits of the second
In two afternoon jaunts, the blueberries are now picked, and it won’t be long before we are in on the barrens again to pick partridgeberries. (In other parts of the world, these lovely bitter, relatives of the cranberry are called lingonberries or cowberries.) I make plenty of the “patchy-berry” jam for my other half since he likes it on his morning toast all year round, not to mention in the occasional pastry tart with a generous dollop of thick cream.
Especially anticipated, besides an excursion on the barrens, is picking the plump, juicy partridgeberries that grow right here on our land. I checked all around the Point last week and it looks like a bumper crop this year, probably a sign of how plentiful their growth is everywhere else. They, along with the blueberries and the cod from the food fishery, will go a long way in keeping our deep freeze full for another winter.
Coinciding with the cool-down in temperature is a return to more bread-baking. There’s nothing like the smell of a fresh batch from the oven to take the chill out of your day.
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
What do you like the most about this time of year?
Relief from the heat? A return to a more orderly schedule?
Getting the children out from underfoot and back in school?
Or are you sad because the summer is nearly spent?
Do tell!
This post was inspired by Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Seasonal.
For the Love of a Cat
Last week, a friend of ours had to say goodbye to her 20-year-old orange tabby, Theo.
Understandably (to us, anyway), she is having a rough time over it.
Mr. Theo
June 1996 – 8 September 2016
Ever remembered, ever loved.
Just a cat, you may be thinking? Well, the truth is, to anyone who loves a cat the way they deserve to be loved, her grief is real and profound. Not only is a cat like a beloved child, but it is also a companion when you are lonely, a source of comfort when you are suffering or simply having an off day, and a wellspring of joy to anyone who appreciates animals for their natural beauty and abilities.
Our own cats, Maisie and Vivian, recently turned nine, so I guess you could say they now have about half their natural lives behind them.
“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”
—Jean Cocteau
“Time spent with a cat is never wasted.”
—Colette
“What greater gift than the love of a cat?”
—Charles Dickens
Is there a special feline in your life?
Or are you more of a dog person?
Have you lost a beloved pet recently?
Please share in the comments below.
Jennifer's Journal 