Food for Thought or Not

"How we spend our days is how we spend our lives."

 Annie Dillard 

Lately, since I fell October 24, I've been thinking, reading, sleeping, and looking at life from a couch or chair. When I think of thinking I'm most often reminded of the cliché  "food for thought." Then I laugh. Something inside of me examines this line differently than my school teachers. If I eat then it is often followed by sleep, so why would anyone eat food in order to think? However, when I play golf I find myself eating snacks for energy, so why not say "food for energy"? The adult version is to ponder an idea totally but I like to look at things aslant to keep my mind active and laughing about word choices. 

Thinking about other people's thoughts intrigues me. When I think with my emotions I find myself talking to God about the war in Ukraine, the women in Iran, and will this younger generation build bomb shelters like my father did in 1961. From there I ask "why" people are so selfish, so mean spirited, and then the voice in my head yells, "Stop." 

I like her voice, she is the strong woman in me. She knows that there are millions of loving caring people, who everyday step into help others. My neighbors recently cooked a church meal for 125 people. We know that most young people today set goals, help others, and are intelligent well-rounded individuals, who do not make the headlines.  

Currently, making me think differently are the sprakkar women who live south of the Arctic Circle in Iceland. The wife of the President of the country, Eliza Reid, made headlines a few years ago when she wrote an article claiming that as the wife of the President of Iceland she was not her husband's handbag. She maintains her own identity as an outstanding woman.

While rereading The Little Prince I collected the thought about the value of the lamplighter whose planet was turning faster day by day, so that now he had no time for rest. (So many interpretations of this line.) His planet made a complete turn every minute and he had to light a lamp and put it out every minute.  He had no time for rest and yet what he loved most was to sleep. As there was no solution the little prince deduced that the lamplighter was unlucky. "That man would be scorned by all the others; by the king, by the conceited man, by the tippler, by the business man. Nevertheless he is the only one of them who is thinking of something else besides himself." Other readers saw the lamplighter as focused only on his work and not someone who could be a friend. Isn't it fascinating to read or listen to other perspectives on a person, place or event without making a judgement? 

 

What I perceive about The Little Prince does not begin to touch the language nor experiences of other writers who expound on the meaning of this 96 paged book written eighty plus years ago. I thought perhaps he was lonely, yet curious about life.

Not an allegory of war, rather, a fable of it, in which the central emotions of conflict—isolation, fear, and uncertainty—are alleviated only by intimate speech and love. But the “Petit Prince” is a war story in a very literal sense, too—everything about its making has to do not just with the onset of war but with the “strange defeat” of France, with the experience of Vichy and the Occupation. Saint-Exupéry’s sense of shame and confusion at the devastation led him to make a fable of abstract ideas set against specific loves. By Adam Gopnik The Little Prince--a War Fable

The Little Prince is an honest and beautiful story about loneliness, friendship, sadness, and love. The prince is a small boy from a tiny planet (an asteroid to be precise), who travels the universe, planet-to-planet, seeking wisdom. On his journey, he discovers the unpredictable nature of adults. The Little Prince-a Children's book

The Little Prince teaches that the responsibility demanded by relationships with others leads to a greater understanding and appreciation of one's responsibilities to the world in general. The story of the prince and his rose is a parable (a story that teaches a lesson) about the nature of real love. The Little Prince

The beauty of the internet allows me that wide open rabbit hole, where my mind ventures about from one planet to the next. 

While I relaxed and allowed my body to heal, I read profusely: all magazines up to date; blogs and online stories I follow, up to date; one book a week or more instead of one book a month, done; quotes copied into my journal for guidance, done. Miles walked, not touched!

Once a week I read Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper.  She begins with her essay "I've Been Thinking...."

This week she wrote: "I love to walk, and I especially love to walk in nature. I love to listen to the sound of birds, and if I am lucky, the water in a nearby creek. I notice the trees, the sky, and the air as I meander about..."

I love to walk and be a part of nature, too, and so I let her words speak for me. (Click on the blue links to read more.)

I love cartoons for their perspective on life and words.

Christmas will be here soon and this year we celebrate our season of love with all of our children and their families. My mind will not be on writing and reading as much as it will be on "Thoughts for food" that I can prepare in advance or easily. Now to focus, but on what?