Mary C.M. Phillips's Blog, page 13
May 19, 2016
April 21, 2016
Happy Birthday Charlotte Brontë
I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep.
― Charlotte Brontë, Villette
The Joy of Less
I’ve spent the last few weeks de-cluttering my attic. It’s a great feeling. 
A lighter feeling.
Why I ever held on to so much or bought so many plastic storage bins, I’ll never understand. My new epiphany is this: If I haven’t opened a storage bin in over two years, it’s quite possible that I don’t need its contents.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less is now in bookstores and — after only one day — is a bestseller. There must be a lot of people out there with too much stuff. One of my essays is included in the book.
Giving away, throwing away, becoming lighter in various ways (materially and spiritually) feels extremely good! I’m shedding the superfluous and experiencing more joy in having less.
April 9, 2016
“Beware of monotony…”
A new look! I decided my blog needed a little sprucing. Something…fresh.
One needs to switch-it-up every now and then, and I’m happy that WordPress provides a variety of themes for their bloggers. Switching themes (ideas, interests, goals) may also be a healthy way of living one’s life.
Wharton was right…
March 22, 2016
There is no fear in love.
My mantra.
There is no fear in love. 1 John 4:18
Click the link below to listen. Peace.
March 21, 2016
The Layers
I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
“Live in the layers,
not on the litter.”
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes.
* * *
Happy World Poetry Day, Mary
February 22, 2016
Give it away, give it away, give it away now
My essay, Practice Makes Perfect, appears in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less.
Over the last few years, I’ve made a concerted effort to get rid of the clutter. It actually started as a spiritual practice. I had asked God to make things more obvious to me as I was having a hard time making decisions, artistically.
My prayers were answered. At the same time, however, I (suddenly?) noticed that my house had become cluttered. Like so many of us, I had accumulated too much and thrown out too little. Yet, for some reason, it had never bothered me before.
This new sensation was a strong, compelling force and I felt the weight of every item in my house. I wanted to see actual space, not clutter and “pitch it” became my motto.
I spent a year giving things away and selling things on e-Bay and Etsy. It was an arduous task, but gratifying and educational. I learned how to sell online and became a semi-knowledgeable seller of rare books (having to research first editions I’d picked up at yard sales before placing them on Etsy).
What become very clear to me, importantly, was the affect it had on my thought process.
It seemed that less clutter in the house equaled less clutter in my mind. I was able to make better decisions.
Anyway, my story has nothing to do with material items. It has to do with activities. As I mentioned, when I de-cluttered my house, I felt compelled to de-clutter other things in my life. One of them happened to be my son’s activities.
Parents are notorious for cramming kids’ schedules with too many activities (some of you are nodding). It’s not healthy for them….or for us. I mean, who can excel at everything?
I’ll just leave it there as I’ll be writing more about de-cluttering in the next few months as I read through the book (it’s due out in April).
Here’s my advice for now:
De-clutter your house. De-clutter your mind. De-clutter your schedule.
And remember, there is joy in the space. Because, less is truly more.
February 11, 2016
January 23, 2016
Whisked Away: Destiny and the Railway in Wharton
If you’re snowbound today (as I am), you’ll enjoy reading this thought-provoking blog from Red Pickle Dish. Did the rail system in Edith Wharton’s novels symbolize something “BEYOND” a mere mode of transportation?
In both The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton efforts the destinies of her characters in conjunction with the mysterious role of the rail system. Being a relatively recent confluence of industry and commerce, the railway also introduced the idea of traveling at will and at leisure, expanding not just infrastructure, but the understanding of what the possibilities of geography could hold for personal lives.
For Lily Bart, the railway is a conduit of fate.
Early on in the narrative, and throughout, she is whisked away to Bellomont, one of the two major nerve centers of Lily’s storyline, and the hub of all things determinism (in reference to her literal destiny). Similarly, the rail station (Grand Central) is the scene of her alternate destiny, the point where she rediscovers Selden. Because this rendezvous is cast at the start of the novel, Wharton underscores the notion that Lily’s…
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January 15, 2016
The Blinding Power of Pride
Today I’m writing over at Sarah Emsley’s blog about Emma Woodhouse and the blinding power of pride. Join today’s discussion — and future posts — as Sarah and her readers celebrate Jane Austen’s 200th celebration of the publication of Emma (see Emma on sidebar).
