From The Restory - Conversations On The Journey (197)

Incalculably Diffuse

The Conversation

Elements From The Conversation

The ending of Middlemarch is densely woven with layers of meaning that one can dwell on for a long time. The following authors are good guides that help us make it even fuller and deeper:

Where Eliot speaks of “unhistoric acts”, Robinson in her book Gilead points to meaning that often falls outside the sphere of historians and is not proclaimed in news headlines - meaning that continues to reside precisely in the ordinary everyday.

One of the inconvenient truths of Eliot's quote is this: the people who contribute the most often have no idea they are doing it. There is no strategy, or self-knowledge, or moral achievement in them. Only availability. Our influence is not always the result of what we do, but of who we are.

The last line in Middlemarch remains shockingly honest: “rest in unvisited tombs.” No plaque or statue. Just a trail that continues in other people’s lives. Communities are not built by exceptional individuals, but by faithfulness sustained long enough to carry others.

Music

Due Tramonti in Italian literally means two sunsets. It ties in so nicely with the quote from Middlemarch, that a life sets twice - the first time when it physically ends, and again, more gently, when its influence lives on imperceptibly in others.

It matters. It makes this world and this life livable and meaningful.

Don't stop. Please.

With much love.

George & Matilda

Comments

Vanuit Die Restory - Gesprekke Tussen Reisgenote (154)

Wakkerstroom Klassieke Musiekfees 2025 20 - 23 Maart 2025 “God sprei die hemel uit oor die leë ruimte, Hy laat die aarde hang waar niks is nie. Hy versamel die water in die wolke, en hulle skeur nie onder die las nie. Hy plaas die horison op die see, 'n grens tussen lig en donker. Dit is maar die begin van sy dade, ons hoor net die gefluister van sy woorde. Maar die volle krag van sy dade, wie kan dit verstaan?” ‭‭Job ‭26‬:‭7‬-‭8‬, ‭10‬, ‭14‬ ‭AFR83‬‬ Dit is weer daardie tyd van die jaar! Herfs is oral sigbaar en voelbaar en daar is die geur van kreatiwiteit en voorbereidings in die lug wanneer jy ons klein dorpie binnekom. Hierdie naweek bied ons ons jaarlikse Wakkerstroom Klassieke Musiekfees aan. Wonderlike, talentvolle musikante van oral, tegniese spanne en die mense wat hulle optredes sal bywoon, stroom na Wakkerstroom. Musiek is nie die enigste item ...

Lessons in Sunbirdish (1)

I have no way of proving that God exists. For a long, long time I believed because I didn't think I had a choice. If it is a choice between heaven and hell, you do what it takes to secure your celestial seat. Somehow I never stopped to consider why I so strongly believed in a heaven and hell, but wasn't nearly as sure that there's a God holding the keys to them. Then the sunbirds came. Slowly but surely I am being taught the dialect I need to converse with God. Or rather, to follow on what seems to be a trail that God leaves me. Being just up ahead and beckoning me all the while, it's not a chase after or a search for God, but rather a joint venture with God scouting and reporting back when my spirit runs low on this journey through life. In A Rare Find and Bird on my window sill I touched on synchronicity. I have come to believe that consciously living our moments, awakens us to the fact that there are more things in this life than meet the eyeball. Things t...

Whistle while you work

Drawing by Ron Leishman When last did you whistle while working? When last did you hear someone else whistle while working? Somehow it bothers me that whistling has become an almost absent element in our work. The sound of a person whistling a tune while busy somewhere in the house or out in the workshop conveys something of an underlying happiness, satisfaction and contentment. An enjoyment of the work itself. The tune need not be flawless. Applying more air than sound won’t lead to disqualification, as long as the intention is there. Whistling can even be replaced by singing in all that I’ve said up to now. The same principles apply. The absence of any of these two activities bothers me because it says something about us doing the work and the type of work that we do. Can it be that our type of labour in this 21 st century is not conducive to either whistling or singing? What type of work is that then – draining, stressful, pressured? Or are our conclusions ...

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