Commonplace book

 

Commonplace book

 A commonplace book is a notebook or journal which records things of interest.  These may be quotations, ideas, observations, written or drawn. My commonplace entries are entirely quotations. If I could draw, I would include pictures – I see them in my mind’s eye but am incapable of translating them into sketches. How I envy those who have artistic skills!

Anyway, today I was looking at the last pages of my commonplace book, Y and Z.  Under Y I had written Yadah, for which I had the definition, ‘to acknowledge the nature and work of God.’ Looking it up today, I discovered that it is a Hebrew word encompassing praise, confession, gratitude and worship.

I had also written ‘yada, yada, yada’, which is an informal phrase used in a similar way to ‘et cetera’ and ‘blah, blah, blah’ and sometimes indicative of boredom or irritation with a conversational gambit. It’s not an expression I use but I think it’s quite colourful. 

For Z, I had a Zen proverb – ‘Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.’ Very true!

Zen can be an adjective or a noun. As an adjective it means relaxed but I don’t know anyone who uses it. Its use as a noun is more familiar. Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of a Chinese word, ch’an, meaning thought or meditation. Zen is a Buddhist sect that originated in China. Practitioners do not believe in reincarnation or worship Buddha, although they acknowledge him, but seek enlightenment through meditation.

I like the rocking chair analogy. I like rocking chairs but it is almost impossible to sit in one and not rock. We have had ours for decades and it has borne the teething attentions of many toddlers, puppies and kittens. It may one day be restored to its former glory but for now it is battered and bruised. There is no point in owning something and not using it and I don’t believe in banning young ones from touching furniture.

Inspiring Words Week - Serendipity

Yiota from 'shells and bells showers and flowers' has invited who wishes to join her in her 'Inspiring Words Week.'

At the risk of pejoratively being called 'Pollyanna' I have chosen one of my favourite words

Serendipity

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines it thus:

serendipity

/serrndippiti/
  • noun the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
  — DERIVATIVES
serendipitousadjective
serendipitouslyadverb.
  — ORIGIN from Serendip (a former name for Sri Lanka): coined by the English politican and writer Horace Walpole (1717-97), after The Three Princes of Serendip, a fairy tale in which the heroes were always making fortunate discoveries.
The following quotations come from my own 'Commonplace Book' as did my quotations yesterday. I have discovered them in many different places. 

'We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world.'Buddhist saying

'The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.'
Hippocrates ca. 460BC – ca 370BC

'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.'Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel 1904 – 1991)

'I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.'Rita Rudner 1953 –

'Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.'

John Ruskin 1819 – 1900

'A house without a cat or dog is the house of a scoundrel.'Portuguese proverb

'In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.'Friedrich Nietzsche 1844 – 1900

'God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars.'

Martin Luther 1483 – 1546

 'The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart.'
Mencius 372 – 289 BCE (most accepted dates) Book IV

'Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.'
Koran

'Butterflies are self-propelled flowers.'
R A Heinlein 1907 - 1988

Take a quotation . . . #2

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

I have often quoted the first part of this verse from Proverbs but never the second. It came to mind yesterday for no particular reason. Is it a function of growing older that I am remembering, unbidden, things from my younger days? Oh dear, does this mean my short-term memory is shutting down along with the rest of me?

I exaggerate of course. I am strong and healthy and thankful for it when others my age - and younger - are severely compromised by poor health and reluctant joints and muscles. Mindful of the truism that things atrophy and die if not used, swimming, walking and cycling are all part of what passes for my routine. Brains also need exercise and to this end anything which stimulates interest must be investigated. Since I started blogging in February this year I have learnt such a lot, some of it rather mundane – for example, how could anyone enthuse about downloading a camera chip or inserting hyperlinks? I did! I have also researched spiders and butterflies, moths and wild flowers. In the past these things interested me but I had rarely recorded them and so often did not retain the names and knowledge. Now the electronic scrapbook called jabblog is my Commonplace book. I keep a personal quotation book too – an eclectic collection garnered from many sources and written in a large address book. At its commencement it posed the minor question of whether to cross-reference or not. I decided not – I have a tendency to over-complicate matters and then they become abstruse. Of course the corollary is over-simplification – oh, decisions, decisions!

I have also learned much from other blogs and been privileged to peek into the lives of people of all ages and persuasions across the planet. Thus my world expands and new knowledge brings fresh opportunities for research through books and the Internet, all of which must be used carefully. It's not enough to read information from one source for it may be incorrect. For example, one veterinary guide I possess claims categorically and completely inaccurately that epileptic seizures occur only during sleep and never when the animal is active. Another book, published in 2009, states that Ocicats are not registered in the UK – that is, the breed is not recognised by the GCCF (Governing Council of the Cat Fancy) Not true!

To return to the quotation: some people maintain that an argument allows the expression of different points of view. For these people an argument is a discussion or a debate. Other folks declare that it is good, maybe even necessary, to 'clear the air' of misconceptions, misunderstandings, grudges. For them an argument is a row or, less commonly in Great Britain, a fight. Yet others hold the view that hot tempers give rise to hasty wounding words, the sting of which lasts long after the original altercation, putting the lie to the old saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.'

I am not confrontational. I hate arguments. Moreover it makes me feel physically ill to see people haranguing each other. I don't know that my 'soft answers' turn away wrath – it's more often the case that 'silence is golden.' This is not to say that I don't express my displeasure or grievances – I do, when the heat of the moment has passed. (Goodness, there are so many clichés springing to mind today!) Rather, I prefer to state my opinions calmly and quietly in the expectation that they will be heard and understood. I could never be a politician! I'd be reduced to a shivering wreck on the stump but as I have no ambitions in that respect I shan't worry about it.