“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward”
– Spanish Proverb
I was lying on the grass in the Botanical Gardens and was trying to remember the last time I’d done it. And I couldn’t. I also must say it was Monday so it was probably the first time in many many years that I was lying on the grass on a Monday. With a book in hand.
Despite having nowhere to go really and nothing much to do except for catching a ferry quite a bit later, I could not relax. I was on a week-long break that I took to be with myself, and the main purpose of it was to breath deeply and slow down, clear up the house and the head. To be outside a bit more and work on my vitamin D intake. I was imagining myself spending hours watching the clouds, daydreaming, and enjoying the slow pace of life that all of us city-dwellers are so desperate for.
I lasted exactly one hour. Then I jumped up and walked briskly to the Art Gallery of NSW.
Does anyone else find it difficult to stop and do nothing?
I do know the way to get out of that everyday spin routine, and it works for me perfectly. Books. They make me slow down. They take me on a journey, they inspire. And I always have a pile of new reading material next to my bed.
So in the last four or so weeks I have enjoyed these beautiful books:
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough – I did read it when I was around sixteen, and couldn’t remember a thing except the fact it was about a poor family from New Zealand that moved to Australia. So it was on my re-read list for a while, and after finally getting my hands on the paperback edition (somehow it was out of stock everywhere except for the Sydney Airport newsagency) I was completely consumed by the story. What an epic. I am sure I will come back to it again and again (isn’t it nice to read your favourite book again – it’s like coming home again after a long journey). Confession – I bought the DVD of the original series too. It is now in my ‘to watch’ pile.
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – I found it via recommendations on Goodreads. It did not disappoint. A New Yorker, writer, wife, and mother of two young daughters realized that the time was whooshing past but was she really happy? So she embarked on a year-long journey of trying to turn her attention what really matters in life, working on a separate aspect of happiness every month. I absolutely loved Gretchen’s self-depreciating humour and raw honesty, and was able to see myself in many of her stories too. A very enjoyable and easy read with a fantastic message to all of us who cannot just lie on the grass and relax.
A Year of Mornings 3191 Miles Apart – another Goodreads find. This book (and the story behind it) just blew me away. An accidental meeting online of two women, one living in Portland, Oregon, and another in Portland, Maine resulted in amazing artistic collaboration, their blog http://3191milesapart.com/ being one part of it. For a year, these two women took a picture every morning and then shared them on their blog. They would not know what the other one would photograph that morning, but the diptychs were always full of harmony and mystic connection. And then this book was published. There is not much text but there are plenty of photos which makes going through the pages a perfect morning meditation, and being another reminder to stop and notice the beauty of little things around us. Loved this book, and it is now a permanent fixture on my bedside table.
Photobox – this book is a brick. And I love it. I found it in Dymocks and it was quite reasonably priced (has anyone else noticed that books are getting slightly cheaper in retail or it’s just me?). A collection of hundreds and hundreds of iconic photographs from the birth of photography till now, divided by genre, beautifully printed, each photograph accompanied by a story behind it, and a quick bio of the artist. It is timeless. I know it will take me forever to finish it, but I am in no hurry – I am savouring it page by page, often going back and forth. An endless source of inspiration and awe. I highly recommend it to any photography lover.
So, the spring officially starts tomorrow, it is Friday, and life is good. Happy reading!
