A Cottage by the Sea
  • Home
  • On My Mind
  • Quotes
  • Secrets of an Old Woman
  • A Solitary Traveler
  • Compassionate Reading
  • Comfort food
  • Books
  • Suggested reading
  • Poems
  • About me
  • About me and my blog

New Year's Eve plans~

12/31/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Things are settling down out there; the traffic is manageable, the supermarket thinning out, the New Year has arrived in Australia and is coming our way. Those of us staying home this evening are looking forward to silence and simplicity, and maybe some solitude. Those going out are preparing for a joyful evening with friends. Tomorrow when we all wake up, it will the first day of 2013 regardless of how we spent the final evening of 2012.

     Most of us have planned these two days carefully for our pleasure. But not so the  friend I visited today in the hospital. Tests, personal care, monitoring, medicine, all for his benefit, but clearly he’s not in charge of his New Year’s Eve plans this year. He is, however, in charge of his attitude, and he knows it. If having a positive attitude was the only criteria for dismissal, he’d be on his way home or off to a party. In fact, he’d never have ended up in the hospital in the first place.

     So here’s a toast to my friend in the hospital, and to those around the globe who are not in charge of their New Year’s plans.


0 Comments

Stillness in the cemetery~

12/28/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
This afternoon I took our granddog for a walk  to the local cemetery. There was a lovely stillness there, a certain aliveness among flowers, Christmas trees and other decorations that loved ones had left in remembrance. Then there were the always-present the American flags bestowed by the VFW. People have died, but they are alive in memories. I found this to be just the place to go for silence, solitude and simplicity on a clear end-of-December day.

0 Comments

AmeriCares gratitude~

12/26/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
I received this card from a long-time friend. Here’s a portion of the message.

“During this season of thanks and giving, and in recognition of your compassion for those in need, AmeriCares has received a contribution in your name to help with our Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. This thoughtful gesture was made by ­­­­­­­_______________. “

     Gratitude is one of those ideas out there in the universe these days. But how to be grateful in the midst of so much plenty? Excess spending and gift giving doesn’t feel neutral anymore; it sets my gratitude back a few notches. But the thought, and actual giving, behind a card like this moves gratitude forward.

     And, here’s a bonus. Although I don’t know anyone directly effected by Hurricane Sandy, I’ve fallen in love with the little boy on the cover of the card. That’s got to be good for the universe.


1 Comment

Holiday gratitude~

12/24/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
How does one maintain silence, solitude and simplicity on the day before Christmas, (or Chanukah, if that is what you celebrate)? Well, I don’t even try, and I believe that it is that very giving up that makes it possible for me to find it. Now, I must admit that this holiday season is calm as far as my hostessing is concerned. Family and friends have that role this year. But I am cooking, and this morning I experienced some lovely, peaceful moments while sautéing vegetables for a Moroccan couscous dish. Gratitude embraces silence, solitude and simplicity at this time of year .

0 Comments

We Remember Them~

12/21/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Iona Abbey
Tomorrow friends and family will gather to remember and celebrate the life of Edie Murray. As we come together I’m sure that we will acknowledge the services taking place for the victims of the Newtown tragedy.

    One of Edie roles while on staff at the Iona Abbey and as director of Wayside Hospice was to plan and lead the services of remembrance. The following poem/prayer was always included. How appropriate it is at the time.

We Remember Them
 

In the rising of the sun and its going down,
We Remember Them.
In the bowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We Remember Them.
In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring.
We Remember Them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer,
We Remember Them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn.
We Remember Them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We Remember Them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We Remember Them.
When we are lost and sick of heart,
We Remember Them.
When we have joys and special celebrations we yearn to share,
We Remember Them.
Sp long as we live, they too shall live, for they are part of us.
We Remember Them.

~From the Jewish Book Of Prayer~


0 Comments

Surfing in the present moment~

12/20/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Yesterday the beach belonged to the surfers. At one time I counted twelve black dots among the waves and more were parking their cars and suiting up. As I walked along I envied these people who had chosen such a vibrant way to stay in the present moment, their bodies alive and pulsating with every wave, every dip, every roll. My body did what it could to participate vicariously—my best for a moment in the NOW.

0 Comments

The sun will come out tomorrow~

12/19/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Let the sea roar and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it,” says the psalmist and that’s the way it was when I arrived at the cottage yesterday afternoon. The wind wasn’t howling; just the sea, high tide waves rolling in, fog obliterating the homes across the bay. Somehow it felt comforting. I had no choice but to snuggle into my little cottage by the sea, snuggle and feel protected. Our world has been in an uproar since last Friday morning; a simplistic, idyllic scene would have felt dishonest. But our world has also been comforted, and even protected, by the outpouring of candles, flowers and teddy bears, and by the heartfelt prayers of our president, Christian clergy, Jewish rabbis, Islamic leaders, and from everyone who has shed a tear. As Annie once sang, “The sun will come out tomorrow.”


0 Comments

The Names~

12/17/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last Friday morning I wrote about watching the sunrise from the deck of the cottage and about walking the beach at low tide. A simple, silent, solitary kind of time for me. Today I am consumed by those twenty-six names that President Obama spoke at last evening’s Interface Service in Newtown. I’m doing my best not to talk about it; not to avoid the reality, the sorrow, the anguish, but so I can sit in silence with the victims, their friends and families, the responders, the town, the country, the world. We all have a role in this grieving, and I believe that mine is silence.

0 Comments

From the deck

12/14/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture

Yesterday I did what this blog is all about. In the cottage I sat in silence, solitude and simplicity. Same thing while walking the beach.
     Then this morning, while watching yet another sunrise from the outside deck, I called ‘good morning’ to my neighbor. A typically congenial conversation about the weather followed-- I can only describe it as a kind of silence. Let me explain. In the four years that I’ve been coming here the only  exchange I’ve had with these neighbors was when early on I introduced myself while passing them on the sidewalk. Since then, as we’ve come and gone, I’ve tried to make eye contact. Nothing. It has felt like the air has been filling up with ‘silent noise.’ But no more. The noise of silence is gone, hopefully to be replaced by a  silent morning wave.

     Today I return home to a more noisy, social and complicated life. No complaints. I’m very grateful for the two worlds I live in.



0 Comments

Beach etiquette and dogs~

12/12/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’m trying to figure out the winter rules for conversation and sociability on the beach.  I thinking about this because here at the cottage (and on the beach) I’m into silence and thus conscious of  all the sounds around me. Undoubtedly the standards for summer are entirely different, but here’s what I observed yesterday at low tide on a warm afternoon.   

      When walking along the sidewalk on the way to the beach, the rules are clear. Any or all of the following are acceptable: nod, raise your hand as in waving, say hello, offer a one-liner on the weather. On the beach, the rules are different, probably because everyone is so spread out. But even within talking distance, the most anyone gets or gives is a nod or wave. That is, unless dogs are involved, and then all rules and etiquette are off. Owners feel perfectly free to let their dogs bark at you or jump on you, and are more than willing to converse with you (about their dog, of course).

     Yesterday (sorry no pic) a lady explained to me that she’s trying to get her new, very tiny, dog to be friendly. “I hope you don’t mind that he’s jumping on you. Since I’ve been letting him ‘meet’ people, he’s not as shy. I’ve only had him a week.”

      My role in this etiquette is to rave (as in wonderful) about the dog. “Looks like you have winner.”

     Thank goodness the Emily Post of dog etiquette doesn’t say I have to linger and talk. And thank goodness there’s something about the beach that keeps everyone moving, especially dogs.                       


0 Comments
<<Previous
    Contact me: bobbifisher.mac@mac.com

    Categories

    All
    3rs
    3S's
    Aging
    Andre Dubus Iii
    Ann Patchett
    Anticipation
    Art
    Assisi
    Barbara Kingsolver
    Being Alone
    Beyond Words
    Boo
    Books
    Cantice Of The Sun
    Celebrations
    Choices
    Churches
    Community
    Cor
    Cottage By The Sea
    Cottage Day
    Courage
    Curiosity
    Dad
    Dalai Lama
    Death And Dying
    Depression
    Desiderata
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
    Donald Hall
    Dr Alex Tang
    Edinburgh
    Eleanor Lerman
    Emily Dickinson
    Environment
    Esther De Waal
    Faith
    Field Trip
    Florence
    Fo
    Follow Your Bliss
    Food
    Friendship
    Frugal
    Gifts
    Giving And Receiving
    Gratitude
    Health
    Heart
    Hermits
    Hope
    Impermanence
    Independent And Close
    Inspire & Affirm & Encourage
    Introvert
    Iona
    Ireland
    Italy
    James Hollis
    Jane Austen
    Jan Sutch Pickard
    Joan Chittister
    John Dear
    John Masefield
    Joseph Campbell
    Katherine Paterson
    Knitting
    Li
    Lonely
    Longing
    Love
    Marsha Sinetar
    Mary Oliver
    Max Ehrmann
    Meaning
    Memories
    Mom
    Moving
    Museums
    My Day
    Nature
    Nina Sankovitch
    Now
    Oliver Herford
    Pamela Dalton
    Paris
    Passion
    Paulo Coelho
    Peace
    Philip Koch
    Place
    Play
    Prayer
    Present Moment
    Quiet
    Rachel Carlson
    Radical Compassion
    Read
    Reading
    Resolutions
    Restlessness
    Retirement
    Richard Rohr
    Rita Golden Gelman
    Robert Kull
    Rome
    Routines
    Rumi
    Sankovitch
    Scotland
    Seen In A Draper's Shop
    Service
    Silence
    Sim
    Simplicity
    Skye
    Sol
    Soli
    Solitude
    Soul Work
    Space
    St Catherine Of Siena
    St. Francis
    Stress
    Susan Gain
    Tenzin Palmo
    Thanksgiving
    The Uncommon Reader
    Thomas Keating
    Thomas Merton
    Three Sieves
    Time
    Travel
    Tru
    Viktor E. Frankl
    Walking
    Wonder
    Writi
    Writing

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.