“Every human person is inevitably involved with two worlds: the world they carry within them and the world that is out there. All thinking, all writing, all action, all creation and all destruction is about that bridge between the two worlds. All thought is about putting a face on experience.”
– John O’Donohue
My writing has always been informed by my own quest for knowledge and insatiable curiosity, which is the other side of the coin of my greedy consumption of books. Yet, although I have started a variety of blog posts during the course of 2023, I faltered halfway through, leaving various folders on my computer littered with feeble attempts to spend more time in front of my computer. I currently prefer engaging in any chore that takes me outdoors instead of spending endless hours searching for the right words or doing the relevant research to finish the many abandoned half-written blog posts. Writing, I keep telling myself, I will eventually revisit and finish.
So, for 2024, in an attempt to channel my focus into a practical commitment, I’ve decided to write a series focusing on various edible plants I forage for and use, as a way of building a closer relationship with the land I now call home, as well as a post once a month called What’s on my Mind. This, I hope, will force me to write at least two posts a month, allowing me to build healthier writing muscles, which seems to have atrophied slightly. I will place a link to the plant series in my What’s on my Mind post, so that I don’t litter your inbox, and you can skip if you are not really interested in my foraging forays.
We hope to finish our big workshop project by the end of the year, but there are still many building stages left and bureaucratic processes to juggle. Not to mention the cost, both in monetary and energetic terms. Michael is already itching to get things going, despite our resolve to pause building work for winter. I suspect that by the time he visits in February, he will start to drive me crazy again with what needs to happen next. As always, we are cautiously hopeful and will continue to put one foot in front of the other, as we carry on building our dream, no matter what challenges life throws at us. And for some reason, there is an awful number of these at the moment, which often makes me question the sanity of so many choices we’ve made in the process.
January is perhaps the time of year we tend to dwell a bit more on choices and goals, and perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing, except if it makes one slide down a dark hole. That is usually when I remind myself that life is difficult for all of us. That I am no exception, but simply engaging with life in a way in which I am fully conscious of all my emotions and thoughts. Life, after all, is a symphony of emotions and experiences, and for it to create a composition that is rich in nuance, it is wise to acknowledge the joys, excitements, pleasures, and love, together with the fears, doubts, anger, and resentments that are equally part of the human experience and is as important to embrace if we hope to find a sense of peace and equilibrium.
I am definitely not a lover of false positivity, and although I regularly acknowledge and focus on the blessings in my life, I tend to steer clear of the skewed versions of life we are fed in social media and popular culture. Perhaps I am just slowly turning into a grumpy old woman, but I find more and more these days that being around people exhausts me more than ever. I hate the myriad questions people think is the backbone of a conversation, but makes me feel like I am on a witness stand, being interrogated to give up personal details or thoughts I have no desire to share.
A bit ironic perhaps that I choose to blog then, but I love it as a medium, as I can heavily edit what I share. And really, the way I write, is also the way I live, as I prefer to only share with people what I choose to.
A Special Memory or Moment of Joy:
# When a blogging friend from Japan sent me a Christmas card, as well as a postcard of one of her exquisite bird pictures, pure joy rippled through my soul. In a world in which constant and instant connection has become the norm, and the delights of snail mail has long been forgotten, it felt extra special. The words, written in Takami’s handwriting made it more personal and special than if the same words would have been typed out in an email or message.
This transported me back to my days working in South Korea, when snail mail and the occasional, very expensive phone call via a landline, were the only ways in which I could communicate with friends and family. I can remember setting up an email address, but as it was in an infant stage, I couldn’t use it, because no one else I knew had one. And so, I wrote long letters about my life and the culture, which I photocopied, adding a personal note to each person, before sending them off. I lived in one of Seoul’s satellite cities. A working-class neighbourhood with unpolished edges, where hardly any foreigners lived. This turned me into a novelty at the post office. After a couple of months, the clerk mustered up enough courage to ask me if I could record the English sentences in a book, they were required to study in order to learn English, for him. I did so, recording it on a cassette tape, and when I returned it to him, he gestured for me to follow him to the next-door shop, where he bought me a cooldrink. After that, his face lit up every time I walked through the door, even gifting me with an umbrella during one of the holidays, which I used for many, many years after that.
Blogging replaced those long letters I once wrote, and although some family and friends read them, one of the delights are the blogging friends I’ve made in the process.
Notes:
# If you are curious about my foraging forays, read my musings on Chickweed by clicking on the picture.
# I made a short video of a walk Lily and I did after a cloud burst early one morning, so join us to have a look at all the water rushing, trickling, and forming puddles on our saturated land. Something we are grateful for, as the sharka and our wells are full well ahead of summer.
A Portuguese Expression:
Acordar com os pés de fora – this literally means to wake up with the feet outside, and is the equivalent of the English expression waking up on the wrong side of the bed
Written by: Jolandi
Happy 2024 Jolandi. Very interesting to hear about your past experiences in South Korea, I’d love to read more about it if a trip down that particular memory lane is in one of your computer folders…
All the best
Fabrizio
Thank you, Fabrizio. Unfortunately I have nothing half-written about my year in South Korea. I arrived just after Christmas 1999, so I ignored all those fears about Y2K (remember that, or are you too young?). Apart from my letter writing, I kept no diary, so my memories of my time there is scattered all over the place, and the oddest things can trigger some vague memory. Even just finding the places on the map where I’ve been to, is a struggle these days. I think if I have to visit again today, I would find a completely different country. – Jolandi
Loved the tales about your long letters and how they encouraged English. One day we will descend upon you. You have been warned.
Noted, Peggy. 🥰 It will be delightful. – Jolandi
Like you, I also find it very exhausting to be around many people these days. But when I’m talking to someone I’m comfortable with, I can be quite chatty. Your story about your interactions with the clerk at that post office in South Korea is really heartwarming. Things like this remind me that there is beauty even in the most mundane activities, like sending snail mails — I miss them! I hope 2024 will be kind to you and Michael, and I wish you luck with the warehouse project!
Thank you, Bama. You are so right about the beauty that can be found in mundane activities. And actually, if one thinks about it, travel and adventure make up such a small portion of our lives in general that it is beneficial to notice the beauty surrounding us, and delight in the mundane activities of life. It is good to hear that I am not the only one shying away from people. Although, like you, I can be very chatty when with someone I feel comfortable with. And I suspect that you also prefer one-to-one interactions, and avoid groups like the plague. – Jolandi
Happy New Year to you, Jolandi! In my own aversion to false positivity, it has taken me until exactly today to emerge from a long entrapment in the blahs, even as others have crowed about new beginnings and counting one’s blessings. In the back of my head and heart, I’m fully aware of those blessings, but I’ve been all too content to stay mired inside my own troubles, no matter how big or small they might seem to others. And those others have taxed me as they have exhausted you! I think one of the reasons I’ve snapped out of things a bit is that I’ve had a few days to myself …. ahhhhhhh! I need those!
I was such a letter-writer in the old days, and I miss it. I loved reading about your experience both writing and mailing things in South Korea. It brings back memories of my own time living overseas in Madrid.
P.S. What is the little ice-encrusted “thing” in the second photo? I love it!
Thank you, Lexie, and a happy New Year to you too. I’m so glad you managed to get some alone time. Ugh, I hate spending time in the doldrums, even when I know it is inevitable at times. Change, even when we are looking forward to it, or embrace it, can weigh heavy on the soul. Not sure if part of your troubles was connected to your recent move, so I won’t add to the chorus of how wonderful new beginnings can be. 😅 What I will do, is just send you a big, virtual hug.
I can so picture you as a diligent letter writer. And yes, I guess we are of the age of being nostalgic about a time when letter writing also included feeling alone and cut-off from loved ones, which was certainly the other side of the coin for me.
As for the little ice-encrusted thing – it is the little ‘hat’ of an acorn. Not sure what one would actually call it, but I hope you understand. – Jolandi
I loved watching Lily investigating the water in your video! I am pleased your sharka and wells are full already. This is a comfort when we know that summers are getting hotter and dryer. We have had more than enough rain this winter and the ground is saturated.
Good luck with the ongoing bureaucracies, workshop construction and other building projects. I hope your plans to commit yourself to writing regularly work out as you would wish. It is always difficult to fit certain jobs in even when we really want to do them. Often other duties are more pressing or more appealing, depending on our mood or needs. If it doesn’t work out you should never feel too regretful as perhaps the timing was wrong and there are always other opportunities to restart at a later date. I know all this from experience!
I agree absolutely that receiving something through the post can be such a joy. The fact that someone has taken the trouble to write a message by hand or to send a gift just for you is so enchanting!
Best wishes to you and Michael for 2024!
Clare x
I’m glad to hear that you also had plenty of rain, Clare. Water is definitely one of those blessings I count regularly, especially as there are so many parts of Portugal and Spain (not to mention other parts of the world) currently experiencing severe droughts. As for Lily, she adores water, but her hair gets so matted that I have to cut out big clumps, or I should say, I try to, as she gets very upset with me, and I often just end up bleeding.
Thank you for the good wishes and the reminder that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself when my good intentions unravel in the face of chores or duties.
I hope 2024 will have many blessings and joys install for you. – Jolandi
Happy New Blogging Year, Jolandi! I understand how frustrating writing can be sometimes, especially when you don’t have the energy or time to go back and polish a rough draft, or simply complete a post when the inspiration for the original idea has faded. Whatever form you decide to write your blog as, I look forward to reading about your future adventures.
I have a handful of older friends who are not comfortable with computers or using the internet, so I still send them cards with chatty notes inside. I have to admit it’s not as easy as typing an email and hitting the “Send” button—a combination of arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand sometimes makes it difficult to write legibly with a pen, plus it’s not easy to delete a misspelling written in ink on paper! But my friends often respond with gratitude and delight when they receive my cards, which makes the effort worthwhile. Take care!
Thank you, Hangaku. Same for you!
Oh my goodness I hear you with your challenges of writing legibly with a painful hand. Good for you to push through all of that, as it clearly brings an enormous amount of pleasure to your friends. We do sometimes forget all those challenges like dealing with mistakes while writing, when we become all nostalgic, don’t we? I can remember meeting a young woman in her early 20s when I travelled in Jordan, who told me that her and her friends always write one another long letters when they travel, as a way of rebelling against the instant gratification and hollowness of short text messages. I loved that. – Jolandi
Lily playing in the water was delightful. Thank you for sharing all that water and greenness with us. I like your strategy to focus your writing by making a category of foraging. I am always impressed by not just your knowledge of plants, but how you follow through by using them. Good in so many ways.
I still feel like I know nothing, Crystal, but for me writing about something has always been a way of forcing me to sit down and distill my research into something simple that I can remember or understand, and of course use. There is still so much to learn, but it is also a process with the change of seasons, and the accumulation of years, which is part of the fun for me. – Jolandi
Happy New Year, and may 2024 bring you nothing but joy and finished paperwork and projects. I loved reading about your letter-writing. My aunt and I still only write letters back and forth by choice. I enjoy nothing more than sitting with her letter and a cup of tea reading her words. Yes, e-mail is so much easier, but I treasure seeing the handwriting, the stationary, and reading words that feel more personal than a typed note.
Looking forward to reading more blog posts, and following your progress and life on the Quinta. Take care of yourself. Terri
A happy New Year to you too, Terri. Thank you for your lovely wishes. I hope that this year will bring many moments of joy and far less challenges than last year to your life.
I so love that you and your aunt still write letters to one another. What a beautiful and intentional practice. – Jolandi
Your post touched my heart deeply today. Your special memories made me smile with a tear in the eye and a longing for the days without the rush of mobile phones and the pressure that comes with being connected all the time for everything, things as simple as appointments and banking, etc.
I still have and treasure all those photocopied letters and first emails printed and filed away. Including a few small gifts you sent me from time to time.
Looking forward to go foraging with you and take notes.
Hugs from a lovely sunny Galicia, for a change.
Jy moet maar daai briewe en e-posse mooi bêre, want ek moet nog eendag fotostate daarvan maak. Jy is beslis die enigste een wat dit alles gebêre het.
Geniet die sonskyn weer. Hier voel dit soos lente. 🌞
Happy New Year! it’s been a long time and yes I still remember you and hope you remember me too. I don’t have much time in WP either even on YT not often as I wanted to so not earning now with that. I visited Abu Dhabi last July/August last year (stopover) and visited friends. I am glad to see your post today so I come to read and greet you.
Take care!
Evelyn
Of course I do, Evelyn. I hope you are well. Wishing you a wonderful 2024.
I’m also not spending much time in front of my computer these days. Take care, too. – Jolandi
The beginning of a new year, along with the chill of winter, puts me in a contemplative mood, and I always shake my head at feeling as if I am losing ground with all the plans I have. The feeling is amped up because I also feel I am running ragged as I move forward chasing the dreams I have 🙂 As we get older, we realize how little time there is, and time is so valuable to do the things we love the right way. Perhaps this is why some of the more mundane social settings we enjoy when younger lose their appeal. Still, the need to have those social connections is, in a way, even stronger than when we were younger.
The story of the card and postcard from Takami made me smile, as these are the small things that connect us to the world. We share the same timeline regarding the postal service and email/social media. I loved writing long letters to friends and family back when I was in China and receiving letters back would make my day. Words can still move someone, and writing posts and emails gives us much more freedom and access than in the past… but there is a certain romanticism with letter writing, getting comfortable, and writing out thoughts and feelings with pen and paper. I miss this feeling 🙂 Wonderful to read you and the continuing dream you and Michael are creating.
Such wise words, Randall. It is always wonderful to read your contemplations – either as comments or blog posts. – Jolandi
I somehow missed this at the time. Perhaps I was immersed in the house/dog sit and getting my manuscript LOUISA up to the satisfaction on my editor. I have some promising news about that but will wait a bit longer before announcing it to the world. (hint: Not a publishing deal … yet :-))
Somewhere along the way I learned that extraverts draw energy from being around people, while that same situation depletes introverts. Which kind of makes sense, because if someone is doing the taking, then someone must be doing the giving.
Heydy ho, that’s the end of my philosophising.
But your writing is so unique to you, filled as it is with contemplation, introspection and consideration – so I hope you never give it away. I always slow down when I read it – whereas so much of what comes across my desk, even the news on my mobile phone, is sped read – taking in a sentence at a glance. Even the few letters that I now receive never seem more of a diary than a conversation. People seem to have some nostalgia to write them, but when trying to actual act, have lost the art. Probably because less is more in email and text.
Like others, I loved watching Lily tiptoe through the water. She was very adventurous. There was so much! Hope you had your rubber boots. I could feel my sneakers getting wet just watching the video.
warm wishes Gwen
What a kind and generous thing to say about my writing, Gwen. Thank you.
Lily is fascinated by water, and gets very upset if I dare pick her up to carry her over huge puddles when we go for our regular walks in winter. And yes, my quinta boots are waterproof, as so much of our land turns boggy during the rainy season.
I’m glad there is some promising news regarding your manuscript. I for one can’t wait to read your book, so fingers crossed that a publishing deal will come your way. – Jolandi