Decluttering books, for painting's sake

Today is Monday. I've decided to take a breather from my writing pen and painting brushes. Instead, I'm going to clear my clutter especially books. 

Through the recent years (span of twenty), I've been letting go books, still buying some, but much less than I've been donating or giving away to charity and friends. 

Decluttering books can be difficult, as I've often stopped dead in my tracks when I see something I used to love but no longer do. All kinds of emotions come into play. This time I'm mainly decluttering because I want to allow myself to create a space for my current interest: watercolour painting.

The above artwork is one of my earliest doodles. Lately, I've been having fun with colours, one great therapy whilst in lockdown due to Covid-19 delta variant.    

(c)  October 11, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

My pen breaks my silence

 

 

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by series of small things brought together." - Vincent van Gogh 

similarly,

"Great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm." - Thomas J. Watson.

It's now mid-afternoon. My fourth cup of green tea. 

Could it be because it's Tuesday? A beautiful day. Outside beckons. I don't need essentials, and with statewide lockdown, we are empathically ordered by our state health officer to stay home. Fine.   

This thought came to mind. I have no idea who said it but I'm quoting it any way: "Unlike city buildings, bridges always retain evidence of the structure. We can still feel the tensions, the pressures."    

Since this morning and until my pen broke my silence a moment ago - it's now mid-afternoon - I've felt empty and silent. My silence at last was broken as my pen quieted the unexplained whisperings in my heart.  

So this entry. 

There is a time of silence before anything creative is born.  There is silence in the mind before we discover an idea, distracted or not. We need a home, a nest of silence - where we can be quiet, at peace with ourselves.  

I don't know with you, but my best ideas come out of these quiet moments. Most of the time. Something I call my "stillness nest".   

Tomorrow, a new beginning.

 

(c) 17 August 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

My Butterfly

        Listening Pleasure

"When a man has a yearn to be free, He will sail to the end of the sea.
I won't be gone too long but while I travel on, Just fold your wings and wait for me"  

- Danyel Gerard, Butterfly -

"Butterfly" is a pop song, written and recorded by the French singer-songwriter, Danyel Gérard in the late 1960s. It was initially a hit in the French language.

In the early 1970s English language words were written, and Gérard recorded it again in the U.S. Later, he also did German, Spanish and Italian versions. "Butterfly" was a very popular song internationally, selling over seven million copies. Many other musicians recorded it, both in instrumental and vocal versions.

Video links: 

Butterfly English version.  YouTube, uploaded by jakethepen. Accessed August 13, 2021.  

Butterfly French version with lyrics. YouTube, uploaded by RomanCestMoi. Accessed August 13, 2021.

On Reflection...

Butterflies are powerful representations of life. They are not only beautiful, but also a metaphor representing spiritual rebirth, transformation, change and hope. 

 

For the butterfly's metamorphosis from the common, colorless caterpillar to the exquisite winged creature of delicate beauty, it has become a metaphor for transformation and hope; across cultures, it has become a symbol for rebirth and resurrection for the eventual triumph of the spirit over our physical confinement.

Lyrics (English)

You are bright as a night full of moon

Butterfly you have left much to soon

You have found you have wings and now you wish to fly

Please don't go, oh please don't say good bye.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

In your mind there's someone far away

And you'll miss all the fun if you stay

You believe that love is elsewhere to be found

But you're wrong, it's here, just look around.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

Look around, look around and you'll see

Better loved then by me you won't be

And if you fly away you break my heart in two

Please don't go -- I'm so in love with you.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

https://lyricstranslate.com

Fell in love in the wink of an eye
With a girl who was called butterfly
She said she loved me so
She could not let me go
But still I had to say goodbye

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Never fly in the heat of the sun
Fold your wings when the long day is done
Stay home and wait for me till I get back and then
Counting the minutes one by one

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

When a man has a yearn to be free
He will sail to the end of the sea
I won't be gone too long but while I travel on
Just fold your wings and wait for me

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Source: muzicum: Danyel Gerard, Butterfly, English version (1975)

You are bright as a night full of moon

Butterfly you have left much to soon

You have found you have wings and now you wish to fly

Please don't go, oh please don't say good bye.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

In your mind there's someone far away

And you'll miss all the fun if you stay

You believe that love is elsewhere to be found

But you're wrong, it's here, just look around.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

Look around, look around and you'll see

Better loved then by me you won't be

And if you fly away you break my heart in two

Please don't go -- I'm so in love with you.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

https://lyricstranslate.com

Lyrics  (French)

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais

 

Tu me dis loin des yeux, loin du cœur
Tu me dis qu'on oublie le meilleur
Malgré les horizons
Je sais qu'elle m'aime encore
Cette fille que j'avais surnommée

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais

 

Notre amour est si grand, oui si grand
Que le ciel y tiendrait tout dedans
Malgré ce que tu dis
Je sais qu'elle m'aime encore
Cette fille que j'avais embrassée

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais (encore une fois et-)

 

Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Près de toi je resterais (une dernière fois)

 

Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Près de toi je resterais

 

Ça va venir, hein

Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais.

 

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ralph Bernet / Danyel Gerard / Howard Barnes

Butterfly lyrics © Penny Farthing Music, Arlovol Music, Moebetoblame Music, Crazytown Music, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

 

Resource:

 

Butterfly (Danyel Gérard song). en.wikipedia.org

 

 

(c) August 13, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.  

Musings whilst in lockdown, 10 Aug 2021

 

It's not the things we do. It's the things we have left undone that give us the stress. 

Fill the freedom of the breeze and the music of the green-needled trees. 

Silence. Sometimes there's no need for words nor melodies to hear our searching selves.  

Your songs shall fill me with strength. Your beauty shall fill me with greatness.

Because you're not an enemy, that doesn't make you a friend. 

We experience natural beauty with our senses... and not those preconceived by magazines, catalogues or TV.    

If we have to maintain our integrity,  our true character is not polluted by politics, money, and similar worldly distractions. 

We are very busy building our tomorrows, we forget about today. Life is here! Let's take it... let's think of our dreams and make them happen.   

It's always nice when benevolent acts are also pleasurable. 

 (c) Aug 10, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Solitary Woman

Time just flies - and suddenly you look up and realise you're married to yourself.  

It's fun in the follies of youth, the freedom is liberating. Years pass unnoticed.

Now self-actualised, retired, in the autumn of your life, perhaps late autumn, you find yourself not only alone, but having difficulty meeting-up with a friend or two. Not even before lockdown from Covid-19. Most of the time, you hardly hear from anyone unless you keep in touch first. Why? Not their fault. Friends are busy with their own families, with their jobs (some opt to hang on to jobs beyond retirement age from lack of financial instability). Even so, loved ones and good friends gone one by one - either separated by physical distance, divorce, or death. You find yourself alone, none available over a cuppa for that needed unwinding. 

One day, you feel unwell, you writhe in pain in the middle of the night - you don't know who to call for help. The same scene happens few times. Now that is pitting you against the wall. You've gone too far of your singledom. 

You've been single a long time, solitary woman. 

All your adultlife, you love the independence, the freedom not to worry about stifling relationships, focus on career, your identity intact. One day, you realise you've become "too single". You socialise, join interest groups, hoping to find someone with common interests, not necessarily in mind to start any serious relationship but for good friendships. It's never the same. 

At this point in time, the autumn of your life, most people you meet have their own established social groups, close-knit family circles. You join them for awhile, few weeks, few months. Inevitably, you yearn for the old freedoms. You either feel out of place -  circles with partners, with children, or hordes of relatives in tow. Topics of discussion not really your interest.  You realise you're better off alone, despite your desperation not to be alone.    

The time has come. It's getting late in the autumn of your life. Time to stop wearing blinders, to consider other possibilities. But what? Only time will tell.   

Listening pleasure: 

"Solitary Woman", composed by Ralph Towner, played by Francois Drouin.  YouTube, Accessed July 11, 2021.     

(c) July 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Dante's Prayer

        Listening Pleasure

Video: 

Loreena McKennitt Dante's Prayer with lyrics.  YouTube, uploaded by HaveFaithNH. Accessed July 1, 2021.  This is a very popular song entitled "Dante's Prayer" written by Canadian born Loreena McKennitt.  

 

On Reflection... What the song means. 

I'm featuring this song as it personally speaks to me, enriches. Music or a song has a personal meaning for everyone.  I found a wonderful insight from my collected notes. I can't properly credit his/her name as it was only signed as 'roblel'. Thank you Roblel. 

Roblel, as I will address him (or her), was fortunate to see Loreena McKennitt in concert at Massey Hall in Toronto in the late 90's; that prior singing her songs, she would often relate to the listening audience what inspired her to write it. As best as I can recall, this, according to Roblel, was how Loreena's "Dante's Prayer" song came about. 

Loreena travels the world extensively to find inspiration for her music whereby she exposes herself to different cultures. On the occasion of her inspiration for "Dante's Prayer", she was riding on a trans - Siberian train and indeed reading Dante Alighieri's famous The Divine Comedy. She recounted that since there was no dining car on the train, it would stop at various towns along the way and the riders were given exactly 20 minutes to leave the train and buy food from the locals who lived in the town and would come to the train to greet and sell to the passengers. 

This would have happened perhaps once or twice throughout the day.

There was an attendant on the train, a woman, who would come around and seem grumpy and rather miserable. At first, Loreena dismissed her demeanor as one of culture. 

One time, after Loreena had re-boarded the train having bought food from the locals, the same attendant came by. Loreena stopped her and gave her some of the food she had bought, as a simple act of kindness. The woman remarked with a surprised smile and a countenance that reminded Loreena about the story that she was reading in the Dante's Divine Comedy.

In that moment, Loreena found her muse for the song, thought she would never forget the look of gratitude on the attendant's face, almost certain no one else had taken the time to consider the woman as she travelled back and forth, day after day, and year after year, through the dark harshness of Siberia. 

From that one kind gesture, Loreena McKennitt's song was born: "Dante's Prayer". 

Lyrics

 

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

 

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

 

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and the fire

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

 

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

 

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me.

 

Source: LyricFind

Dante’s Prayer lyrics © O/B/O Apra Amcos

 

 

(c) July 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.  

Solitude: gracious and benign

"When from our better selves we have long
Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop.
Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired.
How gracious, how benign, is Solitude."   

The Prelude by William Wordsworth, excerpt from Book IV, "Summer Vacation," Lines 354-370.

I embrace solitude. It frees my mind up from all the distractions of everyday life. I turn inwards then become renewed. This sense of renewal I can turn outwards again and again ... so everyday life will continue afresh.  

Solitude allows my body to catch up with my mind. It allows my brain to have a rest.

Solitude prevents me from burnout, which occasionally happens when I'm subjected to prolonged, intense, and unresolved stress. 

Solitude enhances my creativity as it frees my mind up from menial distractions and allows it to focus more on what's more important. Exactly why artists - painters, musicians, writers, sculptures - spend a lot of time alone. 

Almighty God doesn't get people out of our life at random. He has plans. 

Listening pleasure:  W.A.Mozart: Clarinet concerto in A major, K.622 with Nadja Drakslar.

 

 

 

(c) June 14, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Today

Let's not be depressed about the past nor worry too much about the future, but focus on today. If today's not so great, tomorrow's a new day. 

 

 Beautiful Relaxing Music • Peaceful Piano Music & Guitar Music | Sunny Mornings by @Peder B. Helland

 

 

Soothing Relaxation. YouTube. Accessed 25 February 2021. 

 

(c) February 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.