The Muses we understand from Part 1 of this article are the daughters of the future and the past, and more specifically of memory, light, truth and beauty; they are essential for the ‘good life’, and we understand as well that because they are goddesses, they cannot be summoned by human will, but they canContinue reading “Poetry and the Muses Part 2”
Tag Archives: beauty
The Meaning of Life
We have this double problem, don’t we? The first is: what is the meaning of life? That’s pretty tricky to answer; and if that weren’t enough we have the compounded problem here in the West: we are not allowed to ask that question, or at most we are expected to skirt around it. Why isContinue reading “The Meaning of Life”
Quiet Gardens and our Life
I have long thought that it would be a good idea to teach young and old people through metaphors, then at least they might understand something and be in a position to act on that understanding. Instead of which we barrage people with facts and figures and often useless data masquerading as educational material. Also,Continue reading “Quiet Gardens and our Life”
Two Plus One Reasons to Write Poetry – #3
People write from their ego and produce not-poetry; people write to heal themselves and this is good and meaningful; and thirdly, and more famously, people write poetry because they write poetry and produce art. And a number key factors come together when this happens. First, the third desire – for beauty – comes into playContinue reading “Two Plus One Reasons to Write Poetry – #3”
Two Plus One Reasons to Write Poetry – #2
The second primary reason to write poetry is to heal, oneself first of all, and others secondarily, if they able to read your words and take strength from, and identify with, your situation. Healing and poetry have been soul mates from the beginning: the god Apollo was the god of healing and the father ofContinue reading “Two Plus One Reasons to Write Poetry – #2”
The Works of Man and the Works of God
Often it is difficult, superficially, to distinguish between the works of man and the works of god. By god here I don’t necessarily mean – although I don’t exclude either – the God of religion or of a particular scripture; I mean the god whose presence we detect when we sense true inspiration and genuineContinue reading “The Works of Man and the Works of God”
The Beauty and the Banal
Today my wife and I visited the Southampton City Art Gallery and had a wonderful time; it’s a place, if you like art, I strongly recommend you visit: http://www.southampton.gov.uk/s-leisure/artsheritage/sotonartgallery/. The Burne-Jones Perseus collection is absolutely fabulous (and fabulous in the real sense of the word from fable) and reminds me of the essential characteristic ofContinue reading “The Beauty and the Banal”
How Nothing Creates Performance and Beauty
I was with some friends the other day, including Ginny Richards, and she had just played the piano superbly well. We were discussing how it is that some people play the piano – or instrument or sing – so expressively, and others, who may be technically proficient, make it all sound so dead. There isContinue reading “How Nothing Creates Performance and Beauty”
The Mapping Motivation Series 