Category Archives: Contemplations

Did I exist before reading a book?

A mother's diary, Books I read, Contemplations, Favorite quotes, Memories

I can’t imagine my life without books. I rarely go out of the house without a book.

Yesterday I’ve downloaded an app allowing to read books on my mobile. So even if I go out without a book but have my mobile with me, I am still not book-less. A very nice trick.

I read in several different books during the day. Some I use for reference, some I read for pleasure, some for both work and pleasure.

But I can hardly imagine that I ever existed a day long without holding a book in my hands. These days definitely were present in my life, but fortunately I can’t remember them.

First I copied love of others for books. In my toddler years I imitated my father in reading. I took his books and pretended reading by holding my index finger against the text and making some unintelligible sounds. I was reading. Then I was eager to read what my elder sister read. I envied her in many things. So I repeated her in many ways. Including reading. I picked the books she did. And this is when it hit me. Literally. You can find the story on how I grew dependent on reading here.

Whatever the format, books are incredible creations and creatures, which have lives of their own.

My dependence on them grew so strong that at some point I wanted to create some of my own. And this is what I am doing. Reading and writing books. And I am having a blast. One of the dependencies, which I hope will never lose grasp on me.

Today looking into my notes with favorite quotes I found the following wise words about books from a hilarious and intelligent little book “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett, featuring a queen who falls in love with books.

So here are the quotes:

“Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not.”

“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”

“You don’t put your life into your books. You find them there.”

Alan Bennett “The Uncommon Reader”

Pictures: Niklas back in the beginning of 2012, when he was a few months and a year old, happy about a big thick book Mama have ordered for her work.

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The importance of laughter

Contemplations, Favorite quotes

Summer. Vacation. Family visit. Lots of laughter.

Words by Audrey Hepburn:

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

This couldn’t have been said any better.

Picture: An amazing ability of a small child. To laugh a mere minute after waking up.IMG_0369

A thesaurus prompt – Wisdom starts with a W

Contemplations, Writing exercises

I always had a weakness for thesauri and “explanatory”, as they referred to in Russian, dictionaries.

Now being a writer I understand why. Thesauri uncover the secrets behind words and show, which of other words are their allies and which are their opponents. And the dictionaries with explanations for each word give often brilliant examples of their use.

Some time ago I read about an idea to use dictionaries and words within as writing prompts.

So I decided to try this out for the post today.

I opened one of my compact thesauri on page 290 and came to letter W. The words on it made me curious to try something with them. And as I was contemplating what I could write, I realized that the word “wisdom” also starts with a W.

Thus it is decided, I will attempt to write a wisdom out of the words I found on page 290. Here are these words:

– wary, wash, washout, waspish, waste, watch, watchful, watchword, watery, wave, waver, wax, and way.

Thirteen words. A very suitable number to add up to a new wisdom. 🙂

So here it comes:

I watched myself as I made waves with wary movements. Each of my moves wavered the watery cocktail of my life, which lacking taste at the beginning turned quickly into wax, the liquid of fun washed out in an instant. First I was waspish about this washout, but then I stepped back and found fun observing my human behavior. As I came back to the present moment I discovered the sense of my way. Nothing that occurs is wasted. I don’t need to be watchful and expect attacks or failures. No watchword is needed to open the door to an exciting and extraordinary life. All it takes is to see that it is already happening.

Picture: As I woke up from my reveries during breakfast yesterday, I discovered this beautiful view of our developing garden.

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For a good laugh

Books I read, Contemplations, Discoveries, Favorite jokes, Favorite quotes

I have several books with quotes, jokes and “Brain Droppings” as the title of a book by George Carlin name them.

This book is one of the quirkiest, funniest and sharpest of this kind I have found so far.

Here are five of George Carlin’s brain droppings I’ve discovered in this book today (and which made me laugh, as well as also stop and think), with some of my brain droppings on the side:

“A laugh is a smile with a hole in it.”
That made a hole in my smile.

“I never liked a man I didn’t meet.”
Did this make you frown and then laugh?

“Always do whatever’s next.”
Obvious, isn’t it? No more questions in the future.

The Rule No. 11 from “Rules to live by” is simply hilarious and makes daydreaming, of which I often blame myself, sound all the more attractive 😉 :
“Always remember, today doesn’t count. Trying to make something out of today only robs you of precious time that could be spent daydreaming or resting up.”

“The nicest thing about anything is not knowing what it is.”
True. As soon as we think we know it, this anything looses its sparkle for us. But if we notice that it interests others, we suddenly see it in a different light, since we didn’t know it could be interesting for someone else except us. So, it’s new and unknown again.

Pictures: I discovered these after waking from two different day dreams (And in case you ask, or maybe not – yes, I did make an “Aw!” sound and water the second).

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Relativity of the impossible

Contemplations, Discoveries

Ambitions and agendas drive us forward, make us motivated and are necessary for the progress. In our hurried times our agendas become overcrowded, overloaded and over the top. We even create agendas for agendas. And then we moan about not being able to relax or don’t have the time for free time. At least the voice of my internal radio plays this moaning “song” regularly.

A judging “song” follows.

And you know what I discover again and again? It’s all natural! Even my sweet little daughter Emma has agendas and as soon as she gets what she wants (for example Mama’s scarf) she disregards this very thing she wanted a second ago and wants the next thing (Mama’s locket on a chain, which Mama forgot to take off).

And then there is a “song” about impossibility and hardship of life. The life does appear hard, and quite often. Even when the dreams come true. The wonderful thing is to realize that the “life-is-hard” is just an angle we see it. At another angle it can appear completely differently.

So let’s experiment and find angles at which life is simply fun.

Picture: Who said, it’s impossible to wear many hats at the same time? My son Niklas proves the opposite.

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Question: Do you remember the last time you were in rage or on the verge of tears and then in the next moment laughing (maybe through tears) and wanting to dance (or jump, or similar)? Who or what helped you to switch your life from impossible to wonderful?