Medieval monks fought acedia, or sloth, while they chanted psalms for hours. Later, nineteenth-century philosophers sneered at ordinary people who found daily life boring. According to Nietzsche, “Is not life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?” According to Kierkegaard, “Boredom is the root of all evil—the despairing refusal to be … Read More
For the generations who’ve grown up with the internet, blogs are old news. Every hip business has a blog; influencers have blogs (or they used to, before they turned to Twitter, Instagram, and vlogs); every activity or interest has a core of people who blog about it. In fact, I started encountering blogs accidentally a … Read More
A year ago this week, I drove away from a much-loved job into a new life of being retired. When I said so yesterday to my husband, he said, “It’s been a year already? That’s gone by fast.” I agreed, but added, “Also very slowly.” He knew what I meant. The travel part of the … Read More
Thoreau writes in Walden (with delightful consciousness of his irony) that he has “traveled a good deal in Concord.” This spring, I too have been traveling a good deal in my hometown. And like Thoreau – and a lot of other people now – I’m doing most of my traveling on foot. Luckily, I live … Read More
I had intended to put a post together about how beautiful New England has been during this pandemic spring. Even those of us who suffer from pollen will agree that May has been lovely. June probably will be, too. But this week it’s hard to focus on anything except the rage and sorrow of our … Read More
One of my favorite sci fi novels, Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, imagines an “ambiguous utopia” (as the subtitle tells us) on a small moon orbiting a capitalist planet. When the novel opens, the society of Anarres is several generations away from its founding by a bunch of rebellious “anarcho-syndicalists” — and still evolving . A … Read More
This pandemic has shown us some very ugly sides of human nature – and also some delightful ones. I’ve loved some of the neologisms, especially “Covidiot” (the twentysomethings who party in large groups) and “quarantinis” (martinis with lemon, honey, and an optional dose of vitamin C). We followed the recipe from the internet (minus the … Read More
Most of the time (the times when I’m not fretting), I’m happily embedded in the mundane. I set the table, enjoying the tulips in a vase and the way they pick up the colors in the place mats and the posters on the walls. Then I walk back into the kitchen to see my husband … Read More
All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare famously observed, “and all the men and women merely players.” (Or, as Sean O’Casey amended it,”All the world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.”) Acting is one of Shakespeare’s favorite metaphors for life – after all, he was a playwright and actor – but he gives … Read More
Today is May Day, the traditional European festival of spring and renewal. Yesterday, while I was out on my daily walk, two geese and five goslings paddled by. Today, under the eaves outside our bedroom window, a couple of Eastern Phoebes are hatching eggs. They’re domestic-looking birds, plump-bodied and unobtrusive in their brown and cream … Read More