Hope in the soul …

 

I'm sure most of the world would prefer to have peace and quiet to live their lives … Emily Dickinson wrote this thoughtful poem …

White Feather

"Hope is the Thing with Feathers”

Hope is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I've heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea:

Yet – never - in extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

by Emily Dickinson c 1861

Blackbird - who sings so wonderfully
as we move from winter into spring

With Easter at the weekend … let's think for ourselves and look to happier times ahead …

Spring meadow heralding happier times, I hope

as Emily poetically writes …

Hope perches in the soul

Happy, peaceful and understanding times to you all, as we move into the second quarter of 2024 ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Head Space – with rabbit holes …

 

My mojo is beginning to reappear and after Easter it will be back in full glowing hex colours … who put the hex on colour? … is one rabbit hole – I'll leave you to look.

Who Put the Hex in Colour
Streamline Publishing

For me … RGB (colour) triplets (and techie stuff) defeat me before we even start … but I know a few of you understand … or hopefully are as interested in the ephemeral state I seem to operate in …

Another rabbit hole I came across is a news broadcast on BBC Radio4, the Briefing Room – Election specials, discussing big issues of the day in different parts of the world. My hook was about the South African elections to be held at the end of May, which makes it interesting to me … but I may well listen to the others …

Southern Africa

… continuing with friends there and here who visit or live in other local southern African countries – Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia … Africa - a country where a lot of change has happened in the last thirty plus years – historical happenings …

Then again on the Beeb on Wednesday – it was a busy day! - The Social Dilemma popped up … there's a Netflix docudrama, which I'd like to watch – but am not a Netflix subscriber … however I then found this …

Tristan Harris, who used to work for Google as a design ethicist, and Aza Raskin, but who now along with others question the design of social media and its effect on 'us' …

… via the Centre for Humane Technology … its ongoing and future effect on humanity's interests … they envision a world that respects attention, improves well-being, and strengthens communities.

First global AI Safety Summit
held in 2023 in the UK

Who'd have thought my mojo would return via a bubbling interest in Artificial Intelligence … that's what's bringing it (my mojo) to life!

However to bring us back to earth … I was out for supper with a friend who when I mentioned AI to her laughed, as to her she went her midwife way of Artificial Insemination … which set a slightly different tone to my thought process …?!

Sprouting Purple
Broccoli

Thanks for reading … more about Artificial Intelligence to follow …

BBC Briefing Room link ... 

Centre for Humane Technology ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Indeterminate life ...

 

I came across this quote via the recent blog entry 'The Strange Science of Zombie Fungi' – courtesy of Maria Popova's 'The Marginalian':

'A mind not be chang'd by Place or Time' – John Milton from Paradise Lost (Book I, line 234 … if I've counted right!).

"The mind is its own place”

Mother's Day lunch - we'd have had roast
potatoes ... and now my mind is on lunch!

This has been my head space … while I've pottered around chattering away to myself! - happy in my own little way - as I pretend to gear my own self up to being sensible and progressing with things needing to be done. Also sorting a few things out that took forever … patience, at times, is not my virtue ...

No excuse – I've been lazy – which of course now means I'm dithering around trying to catch one of those tails to put some salt on it … perhaps I can actually come back into this world and put muddling through behind me … there's mental hope – but that headspace is another thing!

Blue Tit - enjoying Spring

Anyway after a gloomy International Women's Day and Mothering Sunday (our Mother's Day here in the UK – tied into the Church's calendar – dating back to the 8^th century) … we are still enjoying mists or rain – no doubt the plants are appreciative … certainly the blue tits are filling out, as they chunter around in the lime tree outside.

I remember back twenty five years ago … we had Mother's Day with my my mother, and my brother's MIL, over in Alfriston (where the floods have recently been) … when the Canadian family were over …

John Tenniel's 1890 illustration
for Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland

… there were lots of us … 15 or so … it was so warm we moved outside and had our Mothering Sunday roast lunch in the garden …

I did find some interesting women I wanted to mention and thus rabbit holes I fell into … but I think I'll leave them for another day …

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's portrait
of Swinburne (1862)

I did come across an article on Algernon Charles Swinburne's early work (1857 – 1871): 'The Female Archetypes' … which might make interesting reading for one or two of you …

It's drier and brighter today … thanks for your kind thoughts … and care – I'm just about up and running – by next week definitely …

From a friend's garden - the
hyacinths I gave her a few years ago

The Marginalian - The Strange Science of Zombie Fungi 

Paradise Lost - c/o Poets.org  

Disstheses on Swinburne's 'The Female Archetypes' c/o Louisiana State University  (NB a pdf)

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

WEP Get Togethers # 2 … winter blues …

 

February was not the most brilliant – not helped with lots of that wet stuff, excess wind … too many things that could have been done quickly took forever … which frustrates me to say the least, apart from being so time wasting …

It says it all .... 

March has come in favouring its name … after the Roman god of War … but that was this morning – this afternoon we have blue skies, big whitish cumulus clouds and some sun – bliss … till more tears drop forth from those towering clouds …

Statue of Mars from the
Forum of Nerva, 2nd C 

There's a wormy moon around the 25th March … a way off yet – and who knows what the weather holds or life for that matter … if only … if only … kindness and peace could prevail …

… but the days are getting longer and then the northern hemisphere will have its 2024 heyday for that wonderful period of longer days than nights.

I let the worm rest in its blue-cheese delight

I'm feeling the blues … but also feel the shackles are coming off – and easier days loom ahead … I do intend to sort and clear out the flat – last year with the high blood pressure I felt maggoty and didn't feel inspired to do much – also to get posts ready for the blog …

Daffodil - the flower for March

Denise says let us know what's burning in your heart … my desire to leave the claggish congelation behind … and to enjoy March and the year ahead in an easier more settled state of mind …

This is where my brother lives – it's often flooded around there … and they've been without water, not for long thankfully …

Alfriston - where my brother lives,
and where he gave his niece away, when
she married in the summer

That's it for now – I have lots of other posts to write up – more sparkly than this one … but I'm here and posting # 2 for the WEP Get Togethers … happy days to you all …

PS Could someone let me know what 'the C box' is ... Denise asks that we put the link into the C box ... I'm out of it!!! .... thanks!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories