I’ve no idea what shape grief will take over the coming years, but I’m in for the long haul. The loss of human and nonhuman life, of systems and ways of living isn’t showing any signs of abating, and I think making friends with suffering and loss is one way through that promises a degree of sanity. Perhaps it’s because grief and love exist as a call and response to one another, a daily reminder in these times of the paradox at the heart of the human experience. It’s obvious to me that I can’t live a deeply human life without either, and that they are – everyone knows – intricately linked: we only grieve what we love.
Em Strang
This morning I sat with my grandchild by the kitchen window and pointed out the signs of autumn, leaves, spider webs, dried up flower heads, windfall apples, foggy air, cabbages and phacelia and a pale moon in the sky. Then we sang for a while, mostly Row, row, row the boat and If I had a hammer (with a real bell to ring). I am the happiest and the saddest person on earth.
Here are a few Holland pictures.
Thank you for this wonderful blog- I look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about being the saddest and happiest person on earth. I work on this with mindfulness.
Truly lovely Sabine. Enjoy that baby.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite possible to be both at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIt is a joy to picture you and your grandchild singing together.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps it’s because grief and love exist as a call and response to one another, a daily reminder in these times of the paradox at the heart of the human experience."
Thank you for the introduction to Em Strang.
When I calculated how far you and R are in driving hours from the beautiful coast of Holland, I realized that it is about the same distance for me if I were to drive to my favorite ocean destination on the Oregon coast. I've been reading a collection of Vincent van Gogh's letters and just read that he visited Sheveningen and painted there. Where on the coast of Holland were you?
Scheveningen is the beach resort of The Hague (Den Haag), the capitol city of The Netherlands, and while it is lovely, it is also a very built up area. the tramline goes from the International Court of Justice right to the waterfront. Here are two pictures I took when we had a winter holiday there at the time when I was really sick: https://interimarrangements.blogspot.com/2011/01/realistic-resolutions-for-2011.html
DeleteThis time - as many times previously - we stayed in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland.
Thank you for the link to your evocative ocean photos. I have a feeling of deja vu when I look at photos of the coast of The Netherlands. I hadn't found your blog yet at that time of those photos. I'm remembering now that it was through Dale's blog, "Mole," that I found your blog. It seems that happened in 2011. Just now, I read some of your posts from before I found your blog and was moved by the photo of your mother holding your sister, before your mother's life took its dark turn.
DeleteIt was good to find this, too, from 2011:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBGSTEmgvtE
when mine were babies I did similar. carried them around the yard naming all the plants and bugs. enjoy those days, they go by fast.
ReplyDeleteI think that loss and suffering are such a part of human life that they cannot be separated out and yes, we only grieve what we love.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good time in Holland and got to spend time with your grandbaby. Babies are a balm for the soul.
I will remember this, "I am the happiest and saddest person earth" always. It is the underpinning of the times we are living in. Have you ever listened to Kate Wolf's "These Times We're Living In," here's a link. One of our favorites.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNacOVmerhU
Beautiful photos, Sabine.
Great pictures. Lovely sentiments. There were many years when my daughter and her family lived in Florida and Tom and I lived in New York, so we only saw them quarterly. It was my happy time. But I could never shake the sadness knowing I would have to leave them and go back home.
ReplyDeleteCatching up. The Holland photos are great and I also liked the September set. It's dry and hot here - we need rain.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is sublime. Those little feet.
ReplyDelete