Blog Archives - A Cottage by the Sea

Gratitude walk~

10/30/2018

I took this picture on my walk this morning. While photographing I was greeted by a friendly and chatty dog, followed from around the corner of the house by the owner.
Me being friendly and chatty: Gorgeous tree…. we must be grateful.... in fact, I’m taking a gratitude walk.
My neighbor being friendly and chatty: That’s why I’m doing in my back yard…. Sitting and being grateful.

Working towards silence~

10/29/2018

House by the road is the best we could come up with. It works well enough and now that the Red Sox are World Champions we can settle into a quieter life. I am a little concerned, however, that the mid-terms will conflict with the silence. On the other hand, I am pretty certain that the world needs silence more than noise right now.

The House on Concord Road~

10/26/2018

As soon as the Red Sox clinch the World Series. I’ll be able to return to silence, solitude and simplicity. Hmm, always an excuse, isn’t there?
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been remembering, admittedly with some nostalgia, my cottage-by-the-sea (CBTS) days. The cottage has been sold, so there’s no going back there, nor do I want to look for another place. That time was then and now is now, but there is something about those five winters by the ocean that I still long for. Not the venue but the calming atmosphere. My conscious desire for silence, solitude, and simplicity began when I starting looking for a cottage to rent, and it was then that I started this blog.
But now is now, and I find myself imaging silence, solitude, and simplicity at this house-at-16 Concord Road (HA16CR). That acronym doesn’t resonate, but I have until the 2018 World Series Pennant is raised at Fenway Park to come up with one that speaks to our lifestyle.

Remembering the cottage-by-the sea again~

10/22/2018

I’ve been thinking about my cottage-by-the-sea, missing those four days in a row with in solitude and silence living in simplicity. When walking this morning, I thought about the early morning sunrises and my walks on the beach, every morning.

Autumn joy

10/18/2018

Moving on, keeping positive, paying sensible attention to the news and getting pretty excited about the Red Sox outfield. However, because I believe that steady sleep routine helps my silence, solitude, and simplicity, I missed the exciting end to last night’s win over the Houston Astros. Not to worry; all exciting plays are waiting for me on my computer.
     I’ve been following baseball since my Brooklyn Dodgers with my grandmother, so I know disappointment as well as the joy. I’ve come a long way, from believing that God was a Yankee fan to knowing that life goes on for me whether my team wins or not.
       Surrounding myself with peace is more important than other victory in the win column. Maybe the Sox will clinch the ALDS tonight, maybe Saturday, or maybe they’ll lose the whole thing and I’ll have to ‘wait ‘til next year’.
    I can’t count on my team shining bright every autumn; sometimes it falls to the ground. But I can rely on autumn leaves each year.
      Enjoy the silence, solitude, and simplicity of this mornings walk.

Another pilgrimage to Florence~

10/12/2018

I stand on the edge of myself and wonder where is home?
Oh, where is the place where beauty will last?
When will I be safe?And where?

     Thus starts “Pilgrim or Tourist,” a poem by Macrina Wiederkehr (posted on Poems on this blog poems). It speak to me because I continue to go back and forth considering whether my pilgrimage to Florence is over or whether I still need to go back and forth from home to Florence. This is what I know!
     I know that my physical and emotional home is where I have lived for over forty years, where I am sitting right now in. It is safe, beautiful, and loving, and for that I am very grateful.
     I know I am not a tourist, at least in the traditional sense, although those tourist elements are always present as I walk the streets, visit churches and museums, and drink cappuccino. I am pilgrim, slowly on the move, luggage light, learning to love the pilgrim in me.
     I know that I long to go to a deep place in my soul and that Florence leads me there like no other place. However, the cottage-by-the-sea offered something similar, which leads me to ask what the two places have in common: Solitude for an extended period of time—four days at the cottage, fourteen in Florence. I go deep when I don’t have to negotiate, chatter or share experiences with anyone.
     There’s much more to discover about Florence, some of which is being revealed to me. This surprises me because when I came home three weeks ago I thought my pilgrimages to Florence had come to an end. But no, I am being compelled to a deeper level, to be again in the silence, solitude and simplicity in that city, walking those streets, visiting those churches and museums, drinking another cappuccino.
     I have an inexpensive ticket to Rome November 30th, returning December 14th. I’ve rented an apartment with a view of the Duomo. One of the secrets of an old woman is that she presses forward even when the odds tell her that the only safe place is home.

Your own facemask first~

10/10/2018

Moving on, keeping positive. That’s me. Yesterday evening I watched just a tad of the news before tuning into the first seven innings of the Red Sox 5 to 4 win over the Yankees to clinch the American League Division Championship. Turning off the T.V. before the stressful ninth inning, gave me a good night’s sleep, and offered joy in the morning as I watched the replay.
What I’ve just written doesn’t indicate that I inspired, affirmed or encouraged anyone but myself. But keeping stress out of one’s life is a form of putting one’s facemask on first before helping. It sets us up for I-Thou, not I-Me. Good start.

Creating an enduring mission statement

10/8/2018

   I’ve had enough of the news. No, that’s not accurate: I’ve had too much of the news. It crept up on me during the Supreme Court hearings. I started listening to news show after news show, watching what I call My Sources. The obsession even seeped in during my time in Florence in September when I was there alone to walk around with God and find peace, joy, and balance in my life.
     Now, once again, thank God, I have returned to what this blog is all about--silence, solitude, and simplicity. In particular, it is silence that I must return to: silence in my head, and silence in public. Although I still have strong opinions and I am still angry about the political scene, I know it doesn’t serve me to keep ranting, because in doing so my opinions and anger run my life, and what kind of a life is that?
    Years ago, through an exercise in The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life, by Laurie Beth Jones, I articulated my life mission: to inspire, affirm, and encourage peace, joy, and balance in teachers.* On my good days I still live this mission for all people, although believe me, even on those good days I forget or miss the mark. However, on the days when I obsess over the news, I fail miserably. Not only do I forget my purpose, but it fades away from who I am, and I become the person I don’t want to be. In its place, all I am able to be is be angry, and when I am angry there is no silence in me.
     Sometimes we have to ask ourselves the most obvious of questions. This is one of those times for me. I am an optimistic, positive human being. Is there any reason I should allow such negativity to seep in and run my life? The answer is NO.

* I wrote about the process I went through in The Teacher Book: Finding Personal and Professional Balance, published by Heinemann. My audience at that time was teachers, but the mission is for all people.

My blog is entering its tenth year

10/6/2018

This blog of mine is about to enter it’s tenth year. Unbelievable, but true. My first entry was in November 2009 as I began going to the cottage-by-the-sea. I was searching for silence, solitude and simplicity, and I still am.
These peaceful ways of being aren’t found once and for all, but become more authentic as we keep our eye on the search. Yes, we slip at times into the chaos of worldly life, but that backslide is challenged and stopped by our commitment to greater forward movement.
The continued existence of this blog is proof that I am making progress toward silence, solitude, and simplicity. Although I no longer go to the cottage, the memories keep the image alive, developing, and growing as I travel to Florence and Scotland, or stay at home with a good book. The sections I’ve added, A Solitary Traveler and Compassionate Reading, attest to this. and am considering adding a new one about aging. Stay tuned.