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A book, said Paul Valéry, helps us not to think, and that is what, deep in our hearts, each of us wants most fervently.
— Mar 18, 2020 01:33AM
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Ilse
is on page 47 of 152
But the heart is small-minded, and the thousands of everyday impediments – leaky dishwashers, plumbers who don’t show up, keys that can’t be found, noisy neighbours – have a greater effect on one’s mood than a morning prayer, a tragic or comforting event in a war zone, the unexpected discovery of a great poem, or an hour of lovemaking, which isn’t enough to dispel the grousing that resumes soon after that hour.
— Mar 17, 2020 04:03AM
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Katia
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Mar 18, 2020 04:15AM
I was just thinking of you, dear Ilse. It was in our news that they closed all your shops but for groceries, medical and the bookshops! The last one really stood out. At least Belgium people are left with the books to buy. Hope all of you are safe. X
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Thinking too much = anxiety. Also monkey mind, as the Buddhists called it. So, yeah. PV's on to something.
Damnright, it's all about feelings. And the feeling create the thoughts ...
Katia wrote: "I was just thinking of you, dear Ilse. It was in our news that they closed all your shops but for groceries, medical and the bookshops! The last one really stood out. At least Belgium people are left with the books to buy. Hope all of you are safe. X"Thank you very much, Katia, I hope you all are safe too, and that the British government stops playing soloslim and start doing what it can to contain the crisis ( I just read this and found it pretty depressing https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...). Yes, all shops are closed down, also bookshops, the ones that stay open are newsagents, food stores and pharmacies - also the local library closed down last week, now however having worked out a system of 'loan on demand', three books per loaner, to be collected at an appointed hour outside of the building (parents had asked for a solution now school children will be at home for at least five weeks and have to stay in the bubble of their families, no friend or grandparents visits). I guess most people understand, but rather would chose café terraces to re-open than bookshops. Empty streets, the atmosphere is quite eerie, also at work, I was the only one working in the landscape office and not at home today. Strange times...take care! x
Ken wrote: "Thinking too much = anxiety. Also monkey mind, as the Buddhists called it. So, yeah. PV's on to something."Magris quoted Valèry's boutade ironically (in a response to the tendency to edit passages in classics not to offend, he criticizes this tendency as fruitless, in his opinion it is good to be confronted with opinions or world views different from one's own, or to see how the past was like). I wonder about the context in which Valéry wrote this, maybe it was meant ironically too, or does he mean turning to books keeps one from having thoughts of one own? I am rather ambivalent on the quote: isn't reading a book inciting thoughts feeding the monkey? On the other hand, reading and concentrating on the feelings of characters can help not to think about your own :-).
Theodor wrote: "Damnright, it's all about feelings. And the feeling create the thoughts ..."So true, Theodor. And thoughts create feelings...Denken macht traurig (George Steiner).
