Tuesday, May 30, 2017

One Another


I prefer to say that no one is better than anyone else. But, if I were to say that I am better than you or you are better than I it would be in our regard and how we deal with humanity. How we treat one another would be the deciding factor. -

Woke to this thought 5am this morning.

Heart and Mind

Street art under the highway; Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

The Truth About Your Heart


Your heart will fix itself.
It's your mind you need to worry about.
Your mind where you locked the memories,
your mind where you have kept pieces of the ones that hurt you,
that still cut through you like shards of glass.

Your mind will keep you up at night, make you cry,
destroy you over and over again.

You need to convince your mind that it has to let go...
because your heart already knows how to heal.
-Nikita Gill

I just love how all the colour of her thoughts and creativity are flowing from her head and her heart.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Kundera and The Unbearable Lightness of Being

All photos from walking tour of Bilbao, País Vasco - Basque Country 
At another time in my life I would have cringed to reference Sparknotes and Wikipedia in a book or film critique, but since the subject is so weighty, with philosophical quotes and dealings of the ancients, I gave myself full license this time. Not to mention the most insightful critique of all I found, written by Reason and Meaning; Philosophical reflections about life, death, and the meaning of life.
Regarding my own commentary, be sure to read to the end to understand why after discussions and political debate I ended up wondering how much Kundera plays devil's advocate and toys with his reader, and found his book to be a classic in philosophical thought regarding the meaning of life.


The Unbearable Lightness of Being opens with a philosophical discussion of lightness versus heaviness. Kundera contrasts Nietzsche's philosophy of eternal return, or of heaviness, with Parmenides's understanding of life as light. Kundera wonders if any meaning or weight can be attributed to life, since there is no eternal return: if man only has the opportunity to try one path, to make one decision, he cannot return to take a different path, and then compare the two lives. Without the ability to compare lives, Kundera argues, we cannot find meaning; where meaning should exist we find only an unbearable weightlessness. The uncertain existence of meaning, and the opposition of lightness and heaviness, the key dichotomy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, sets the stage for the entire novel.
- Sparknotes



Kundera uses Friedrich Nietzsche's doctrine of the Eternal Return to illustrate Lightness. Eternal Return dictates that all things in existence recur over and over again for all eternity. This is to say that human history is a preset circle without progress, the same events arising perpetually and doomed never to alter or to improve. Existence is thus weighty because it stands fixed in an infinite cycle. This weightiness is “the heaviest of burdens”, for “if every second of our lives recurs an infinite number of times, we are nailed to eternity as Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross.” At the same time, it is necessary for any event to occur in the cycle of events exactly as it has always occurred for the cycle to be identical; consequently, everything takes on an eternally fixed meaning. This fact prevents one from believing things to be fleeting and worthless.

The inverse of this concept is Kundera's “unbearable lightness of being.” Assuming that eternal return were impossible, humankind would experience an “absolute absence of burden,” and this would “[cause] man to be lighter than air” in his lack of weight of meaning. Something which does not forever recur has its brief existence, and, once it is complete, the universe goes on existing, utterly indifferent to the completed phenomenon. “Life which disappears once and for all, which does not return” writes Kundera, is “without weight...and whether it was horrible, beautiful, or sublime...means nothing.” Each life is insignificant; every decision does not matter. Since decisions do not matter, they are "light": they do not tie us down. However, at the same time, the insignificance of our decisions - our lives, or being - is unbearable. Hence, "the unbearable lightness of being." On the other hand, eternal existence would demand of us strict adherence to prescripted rules and laws; a sense of duty and rigorous morality.

"What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?" Kundera notes that this is not a new question. Parmenides posed it in the sixth century BC. He saw the world divided into pairs of opposites: light/darkness, fineness/coarseness etc. One half of the opposition he called positive (light, fineness, warmth, being), the other negative. We might find this division into positive and negative poles simple except for one difficulty: which one is positive, weight or lightness? Parmenides responded that lightness is positive, weight negative. Kundera then questions "Was he correct or not?" The lightness/weight opposition remains the most ambiguous of all. Kundera then asks, should one live with weight and duty or with lightness and freedom? In Nietzschean terms, weight is life-affirming in that to live with positive intensity is to live in a way you'd be prepared to repeat. The emptiness of Sabina's life in 'The Unbearable Lightness Of Being', and that she wanted to "die in lightness" — which is to say that she is indifferent to her life — shows that she would not want to repeat her life and would not accept an eternal return. - Opinion piece, Wikipedia




While some might find Tomas' sexual appetite and exploits edgy, daring or on the contrary, maybe even repulsive, I became bored and tired quickly of them. By the end I found his going-ons really unpleasant and distasteful, maybe even as much as Tereza and maybe because of her. I suppose this is due to two reasons. One, I abhor waste and wastefulness and experiencing sex in such consumeristic excess is a total throw away of possibilities, of feelings, loyalties, personalities, friendships, all qualities of humanity and even basic decency. Secondly, said consumerism is entirely void of any nobler or higher emotion. This isn't something to be argued. Maybe for some it's fine, but it's not my idea of anything valuable in life.  The plot, in and of itself, therefore, didn't provide a great read.

What I did find thought provoking and worthwhile was the philosophical journey and even certain application of Nietzsche's premise and its inverse. In Milan Kundera's work we delve into the the study of how life can't have meaning if we're unable to study it from the far end. In other words, if we can't study our lives looking backwards, from the point of view of our death. Instead, in real time, when we must make our most important decisions how can we absolutely know if they are right and wrong if we can never practice what it is to choose well for ourselves, and what choices could be bad and even disastrous? How, therefore, can morality be attached to our choices? This is the deeper, more meaningful essence and redemptive element of the novel. It poses questions about the heaviness and lightness of life. And in the end, many, myself included might decide that while lightness, or lives free as the air we breathe, might be tempting, it might not be the most desirous choice after all. We might decide the light is insignificant, void of meaning and decide that it's simply unbearable and choose heaviness, together with meaning and purpose, instead. Still, in conclusion, not I, nor most lectors will be able to answer simply by the end of this read. That's what gives this book cause for deeper reflection and true value.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Messenger of the Sea

Santander, Cantabria
A mermaid, like Triton, messenger of the sea, announces her ship's arrival, a majestic image combining mythology and the ceremonial practice of blowing the conch shell like a horn dating back to ancient times and continued in many present day traditions. In the Canaries, the "bucio" was used by the native Guanches, who held up a giant conch and blew it symbolically to the four winds when beginning and ending important social and religious events. A beautiful visual of this is when, in the film, A Walk in the Clouds, the Mexican matron of the Aragon family nobly stands in the middle of an enormous wine barrel like an Aztec queen, blowing on a conch to initiate the stomping of the grapes. It's a cinematographically stunning scene. When Triton blew his conch he had the power to calm or raise the waves, an image that stirs the heart and mind.
#Cantabria #sirena #mermaid #shankha #conchshell #triton #gastropod #aztec #quetzalcoatl#walkintheclouds #Canarias #guanche #bucio#mythology #canaryislands

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Our Lady of Castrotierra


Enrique was out of bed before dawn and off to gather and lead his group of Cosamai "kids" to join the short pilgrimage to Castrotierra to accompany La Virgen, Our Lady of Castrotierra, from Astorga back to her home church after her visit to our city, an event that usually occurs every seven years. I journey with the crowds the last time, but stayed behind today with University work to do. So sleepy I snuggled back into the covers after kissing Enrique good-bye, read the news and dozed off until I was reawakened by lovely singing in the street below. Thousands of people slowly walking down our street, ahead, behind and carrying the Virgen of Castrotierra on their shoulders. This is after all a place of strong tradition.

Photos - Lucía de la Luna, Astorga Redacción 

Photos - Victorina Alonso Fernández


Sunday, May 7, 2017

Día de la Madre


Feliz Día de la Madre! Spanish Mother's Day comes a week earlier than in the States. It always leaves me blue, as if one Mother's Day weren't bad enough, I have two. But, the sun came through the clouds, and with its reappearance I noticed seedlings on the balcony pushing through the soil, sparrows visiting on the rail, swallows flitting and a festive feeling by all who passed below on the street. Before I could send a couple notes to loved ones, the doorbell rang and a winsome precious young woman held multiple gifts and letter of love for me. I can see her hand holding up my package. It seems she's whole-heartedly adopted me and I've undeniably become her God-mother; spoiled in her adoration. Love isn't always where you're looking. And if you're not careful you might miss the beauty right before your eyes. This was a beautiful day. 

Friday, May 5, 2017

Balcony Gardening May


Balcony Gardening in Northern Spain is an impossibility at worst and a challenge at best. Cruel and unexpected frosts and snow can suddenly freeze any uncovered plants and damage tender new growth that might emerge after the frigid winter. Most people in the north don't make any great effort to grow greenery on their balconies, leaving the streets somewhat hostile looking in comparison to their southern neighbours.

It's already May and I persist stubbornly. If I can't get the plants and flowers to grow now, there won't be any for us to enjoy the short summer.
Soaked sweet pea seeds from last year and a few new ones I purchased to plant the following day.


Only a few have raised their heads two weeks later. The temperatures are just too variable with some serious cold weather in between.


A stick of a hydrangea has survived the winter, seems to like its new glazed pot and is leafing out beautifully.
The chrysanthemum became spindly and so I tied it with twine. It's from All Saint's Day two years ago, sometimes gets infested with black aphids and seems like it's going to die and then is like the Resurrection Lily and reappears all over again.

Gelatarium Astorga





We returned from our holidays and look who we found when we got back! It's true, the long drab grey winter is over and proof of that is that Liana has reappeared with the finest Italian ice-cream this side of ol' Italy!




É buono.. é buono...