Be happy .... be obliged ....
This post began with reading a Thanksgiving article in last Sunday's edition of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press under the headline, "What first-graders are thankful for in 2021." Mostly, the kids "seem to appreciate people who spend time with them."
Me, too ....
The most-used words from the kids were, in descending order: "family, mom, love, friends, God, dad, school, play and food."
With a few modifications, those could be on my list, too. So, I asked myself, what am I thankful for in 2021?
My own "dumb luck" probably envelopes my appreciation of my existence in the sense of thankfulness: For being born into the family I was; in the country, region and town I was; at the time in a historical context I was. On a scale of having had a "charmed life," I would give mine a "B" or a seven.
On my blog, I frequently refer to myself as Fram the Fortunate and use "Old Norse" references such as "gold-luck" and "woman-luck" and "health-luck" and "weather-luck" to describe the road I have walked. I have had two terrific wives and have three cool kids. There is nothing more beautiful than a blue sky with billowy clouds and nothing more wonderful than a nap in a meadow on a sunny, breezy afternoon.
Although I am a devotee of "Bitter (Ambrose) Bierce" and skeptical about many things, I am essentially glad to be alive and to experience so much of life and living. What else is there to do with life other than to appreciate / to study / to learn from it?
Returning to art and artists, my thankfulness comes in the form of being able to enjoy the paintings of individuals like Monet and Vasnetsov and Caravaggio / sculpture by Michelangelo and Rodin / books from Homer and Hemingway and Durant / music by Bach and Mercury .... well, you get my drift .... be happy .... be thankful, baby ....
8 comments:
A lovely post, Fram. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I was hoping to see some paintings from Carvaggio and, Vasnetsov and music from Bach But instead you came up with wonderfulpost and music by these bands(love the hair of the singer heh heh we used to cut it like this)
Good post and i am glad you define your self as a happy person.Happiness love is been overated..I think, I may be happy one or two days in the week the rest is just work ans shitty things-but life never ment to be easy!
Ask any body!
Love actually come and goes..But the memories sometimes is better then the reality it was..hmmm..
I think it is good you read and learn the wisdom of the norse saga
Tro ikke på andres råd
Lykkelig er han
som har hos seg selv
ros og vett her i verden;
onde råd
kan det ofte komme ut av andres bryst
I am glad you did this post
Be happy Always !
Anita
I have been trying to think of witty and wise words to respond with, Kelly, but I will settle for offering a sincere thank you ....
I also send wishes for a healthy / safe / enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend for you and for those you love ....
Thank you, for visiting me and for writing to me .... later ....
Under each of those categories, Anita, I could easily list many/many/many names, of which Snorri Sturluson is among my very favored, both for the life he lived and for the material he wrote. The wisdom of the Old Norse is among the greatest. I have been randomly going through "The Poetic Edda" today.
The "4-Skins" (aka 4-Sknns) essentially is/was a working class London band popular in the early 1980s. I just stumbled onto the lads a few days ago and was impressed by vocalist Gary Hodges and how good the band sounds performing covers of marvelous "hit" songs.
As I have noted many times, it is my belief that happiness is momentary, lasting anywhere from seconds to days to years, but coming and going, never-the-less. And, happiness itself is a word that means different things to different people. To me, it mostly is a blend of contentment with who I am, where I am, what I am and gladness to be alive. Moments of intense joy, for instance, are few and far between.
The American version of Thanksgiving is rather unique, and by no means universal. I sort of favor it over many other holidays for that reason, and think it is a good time to reflect upon what is right and wrong about ourselves as individuals.
Thank you, Norwegian girl, for stopping by and for writing to me. Later ....
I like this nature painting a lot. Magnificent!
Akseli Gallenkallela's paintings of Karelia and the Kalevala come to mind.
When we don’t take everything for granted, we can be grateful.
Appreciate what we have at the moment.
When we feel grateful, we gain positivity, strength, and health.
I enjoy music. Thank you!
Yes, I see what you mean, Liplatus, especially in the sense of the panel paintings, with each section portraying a different segment of life. I was not acquainted with Akseli Gallenkallela and did a bit of research. The expressions on the faces of some of his characters and the positions/postures of their bodies also reminded me of Frederick McCubbin and of the words in your post: "Kaikella on merkitystä, eikä sattumia ole."
I noted the lives of the two painters overlapped to a degree and am left wondering if the men were influenced at all by each other's work. It is possible more research could answer that question ....
I also agree with your statement: "When we feel grateful, we gain positivity, strength, and health." With each passing year, I feel more gratitude for being alive. Whatever else life might be, it truly is a gift to be utilized and enjoyed.
By the way, I will have another post going up December 1 .... but, in a manner of speaking, forewarned is forearmed: The focal point of the piece is a handgun.
Thank you, Liplatus, for coming and for writing a comment. Take care, be safe and I will be at your new post momentarily .... later ....
Fram, eu fiz alguns comentários nas suas postagens mais nenhuma apareceu. Não sei o que houve... Na primeira e na segunda postagem.
Seus comentarios devem estar me bloqueando kkkkk.
Sorrisos pra você.
I have my blog set so that any comments posted a certain amount of time after an actual publication require approval. My failing is that I have a tendency to rarely/rarely/rarely look to see if there have been any "late" comments. This means I did not realize you had made a comment until minutes ago, when I came to schedule an abbreviated piece for Christmas Day.
I hope you realize I never would ignore you even for a moment, Smareis. My apologies ....
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