Category: 3S's - A Cottage by the Sea

Unofficial official New Year's Day

1/7/2019

     The New Year has unofficially officially begun. Usually sometime unofficial comes about before the official time, but not the New Year. Until Epiphany on January 6th, Christmas lingers, and that means last year lingers.
     We didn’t decorate for Christmas, so there is nothing to put away, which is often a sign that the New Year has officially begun. Then there are the New Year’ resolutions. We want to start them on January 1st, but that doesn’t always happen. Who wants to eat raw broccoli without the dip on New Year’s Day?
     I don’t make a long resolution list; I have my usual ones and leave it at that.However, over the past few days a new one, which undoubtedly has to do with my on-going longing for silence, solitude and simplicity, has surfaced. Keep conversations concise…don’t go on and on, and don’t enable others to do so.
Oops, I’d better end this right now!

Silence, solitude, and simplicity in busy times~

11/5/2018

With all the action going on these days—Boston’s World Series win and the midterm elections coming up tomorrow—I’ve decided to take the day for silence, solitude, and simplicity. Reading, writing, meditating, knitting, and visiting some friends who are now spending their days in assisted living facilities.
I tell you this not because I think YOU need to settle into life’s big picture, but because I know that’s what I need.
Memories of wisdom from friends and family help. My mom would be telling me to go out and do something for someone else. A friend recently told me that when she gets up she tells herself, “Let me not make this day about me.” My husband and I, when we remember, start the day offering a couple of gratitudes, one for the world, one for ourselves. Reading, writing, knitting, and meditating always settles me down.
All of these actions touch on silence, solitude, and simplicity; not always out there in my everyday life, but in my heart.

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.

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.

Give yourself a "My Day"

3/16/2018

A quiet day for me here, a day that is turning out to be a “My Day,” at least until we meet friends for dinner. I want everyone, those of us who like silence, solitude and simplicity, and those who always like to be with others, to have a day like this once in a while. On a ‘My Day” there are no outside obligations or commitments. I figure out what to do as the day enfolds.
Per usual, I’m staying home, satisfying my typical pleasures of reading, writing, meditating, walking, and, I must confess, keep an eye on the news. To my surprise, I realize I have just spent a couple of hours reading “Bernini: His Life and His Rome,” by Franco Mormando, purusing “Bernini and the Art of Architecture,” by T.A. Marder, and planning the four days I’ll be in Rome in April, which seems to be shaping into a Bernini visit.

Disseminating peace our own way~

2/15/2018

Nothing seems silent, solitary or simple about the news these days . But of course that’s not the point. I can’t blame school shootings or domestic abuse on my lack of silence, solitude or simplicity because I know it is to be found inside me.
So how do I respond when my mind and heart keep my thoughts on the Florida victims and their families? I shut my eyes and pray God’s peace surrounding them. That’s my Christian way.
If you don’t participate in a faith tradition, I trust you have your own way of settling yourself down and disseminating peace into the universe. Very likely you wouldn’t be following this blog if you didn’t.

Marching, packing and silence~

1/21/2018

     A year ago this weekend I attended the Women’s March in Washington; this year I’m packing boxes in preparation for our move out of our home of 40 years. So, I might ask, ‘Where is the silence, solitude, and simplicity in my life these days?”
     My answer: it is still with me. My mind returns to those cottage-by-the-sea winters where I very intentionally spent the weekdays getting a handle on what silence, solitude, and simplicity meant to me. Although I don’t go to the cottage anymore,, I still spend time alone each day in simple silence in the midst of my current busy life.
    Practice, practice, practice. Silence, solitude, and simplicity are not final goals but ways of being on the journey, whether I’m sitting alone, marching, or packing boxes.

Renewing silence, solitude and simplicity~

1/2/2018

Thank you Betsy Thompson.

     Gratitude is the best way to start anything, be it the day or the year and everything in between. Gratitude is a theological principle and the only way to lead a satisfying, joyful, meaningful life.
     As 2918 begins it is especially important that I renew my commitment to silence, solitude and simplicity. Why? Because we have no running water in the downstairs, which means we have to run upstairs to use the toilet, get a glass of water and wash the dishes. The frozen washing machine isn’t a big problem since we don’t seem to be working up a sweat!
     Silence, solitude and simplicity are never contingent on circumstances, but on one’s state of mind. Silence comes from not complaining about the situation; I’m grateful that I have a home, and, if the heat goes off, we have friends who will take us in. Solitude is available throughout the day, throughout the house, no matter what the temperature or water availability. Simplicity is accessible through our attitude, and by the practical fact that there just two of us here to manage.
betsythompsonstudio.com/

Peace on my last day in Florence~

9/24/2017

My last full day in Florence. My challenge is to stay in the moment, participate fully. As I write, this thought just came to me: when we live in the moment, we experience inner silence, solitude and simplicity. Or, is it the other way around; when we experience silence, solitude and simplicity, we live in the moment. Regardless, something new, call it peace, is created from the two, forming a trinity.

No comment department

8/31/2017

Observed on a truck parked in front of someone’s home today during my walk. I’m trying not to judge, so I won’t comment other than affirm the old adage that a picture’s worth a thousand words, and admit that this disrupts my sense of silence, solitude and simplicity.
We Scoop Pet Poop: Doody Calls.