Tag: Mary Oliver

The Light of Life

On By Annika PerryIn Quotations, Writing
‘It is a serious thing/just to be alive/on this fresh morning/in this broken world.’ Mary Oliver

My second of three photo and quote posts begins with another perspective of looking up, this time into the loft canopy of the giant pine trees on the land in Sweden. The sun becomes a beacon through the needles, the sky seeming to stretch into space, into infinity!

‘The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.’ Hazrat Inayat Khan

Meeting friends, picnicking by a lake and exploring a national heritage castle is a perfect way to spend a Saturday! It was wonderful to catch up with university friends at Hever Castle, Kent one warm summer’s day last year. Hever Castle was originally built in 1383. However, it was modernised in the 15th and 16th centuries and became home to powerful families, including the Boleyn’s (Ann Boleyn was the second wife to Henry VIII). The castle provided a stunning foreground to our lazy picnic meal.

‘Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.’ Maya Angelou

The cool mystery of the sunset against the Swedish forest captures one’s imagination, the play of colours tantalising, the dark horizon of the serrated edge of tree tops a stark contrast to the play of blues and pinks!

‘May you arise in the morning, think what precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.’ Marcus Aurelius

Finally, one of my favourite places in Sweden is Fjällbacka and its captivating view from the top of its famous rock. The Vetteberget reaches 74 metres high and the islands of the archipelago stretch out as far as the eye can see. Returning to the small town nestled between the rock and the sea one must first brave and walk beneath the three giant rocks in the King’s Cleft! Read more here! 

Thank you for reading this second of three posts featuring photos and quotations as I am away in Sweden for the next few weeks. Although comments are turned off for this post they will be on for the final one in this series. Plenty of time for you to think of one or more of your favourite quotes and I look forward to reading your thoughts upon my return!

PERFECTION / IMP OF AN IDEA

On By Annika PerryIn Art, Inspiration, poetry, Writing1 Comment

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This is the second of three posts on Bert Håge Häverö (Swedish artist 1932-2014) paintings which I will feature during my holiday break this Easter. These delightful photographs were taken from our company calendar which we gave out to customers many years ago. Never having the heart to throw our copy away I came across this recently and wanted to share the beauty he saw of the Swedish landscape and people. Accompanying the paintings will be various quotations /sayings/poems that have inspired me or touched my spirit. Comments have been turned off for this post.

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‘I am lying on a hammock, on the terrace of my room at the Hotel Mirador, the diary open on my knees, the sun shining on the diary, and I have no desire to write. The sun, the leaves, the shade, the warmth, are so alive that they lull the senses, calm the imagination. This is perfection. There is no need to portray, to preserve. It is eternal, it overwhelms you, it is complete.’ Anaïs Nin

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‘It is a silver morning like any other. I am at my desk. Then the phone rings, or someone raps at the door. I am deep in the machinery of my wits. Reluctantly I rise, I answer the phone or I open the door. And the thought which I had in hand, or almost in hand, is gone. Creative work needs solitude. It needs concentration, without interruptions. It needs the whole sky to fly in, and no eye watching until it comes to that certainty which it aspires to, but does not necessarily have at once. Privacy, then. A place apart — to pace, to chew pencils, to scribble and erase and scribble again.

But just as often, if not more often, the interruption comes not from another but from the self itself, or some other self within the self, that whistles and pounds upon the door panels and tosses itself, splashing, into the pond of meditation. And what does it have to say? That you must phone the dentist, that you are out of mustard, that your uncle Stanley’s birthday is two weeks hence. You react, of course. Then you return to your work, only to find that the imps of idea have fled back into the mist.’  Mary Oliver

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Precious Lives, Precious Poems

On By Annika PerryIn poetry, Writing69 Comments

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At the beginning of October I wrote a post entitled  THE GOOD-MORROW #NATIONALPOETRYDAY  to link in with the National Poetry Day here in the UK. At the same time I asked for your comments about your favourite poem or poems, which one(s) had inspired you over the years. The response was overwhelming!

A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone for commenting – through you I reconnected with some old favourite poems as well as welcoming new ones into my heart.

As the responses kept coming the idea of collating all the suggestions grew on me and I am happy to include the link to a PDF document here. Precious Lives, Precious Poems includes the poems mentioned as well as the people suggesting them. Where possible I have included links to the bloggers websites. Please do take the time to visit them – a rewarding read at each and every one and all lovely people to boot!

I apologise in advance for any mistakes – they will all be mine!

Enjoy and thank you once again. Connecting, sharing, learning is the true joy of this blogging journey.

By the way it is possible to import this document into iBooks, Kindles etc to save it and read at your leisure.

To start reading here is the link again:  Precious Lives, Precious Poems