Meandering

I am indebted once again to Barbara, who often visits here, and who comes across the most fascinating articles, and sites which I have missed. This morning Barbara pointed me to a review of the book East Wind Melts the Ice by Liza Dalby. You can read the full review here, but the quote that Barbara highlighted for me is in connection with the Japanese prose style adopted by the writer; called zuihitsu, it means "following the brush". As Liza Dalby explains, "you let yourself be open to following a meander in which one subject calls to mind another, and that in turn may lead to something unexpected."

The book itself is of the genre saijiki or "a year's journal", mixing personal experience, natural phenomena and seasonal categories - much like this blog. I woke up this morning wondering what today's post would be about; although I had a possible subject in mind, I don't plan much ahead - this site is supposed to be a spontaneous and faithful record of domestic life chez Cornflower, after all, not something contrived and staged! However, I had the strong feeling that I should read my email, drop in on one or two blogs and see if a topic suggested itself; then there was Barbara's message and link to the review, and here is the resulting post: meandering indeed.

I took these pictures yesterday when the afternoon sun was streaming in through a very old pane of glass whose irregularities create these almost watery images. It seems appropriate to use them to illustrate this fascinating subject of open-mindedness and tangential thinking. I like the idea of being able to 'take the path which offers itself', either in a small piece of writing like this, or on a larger scale, and of one thing leading to another. There are always links and connections - although we aren't always able to see them - so we ought not to feel stuck, or blank.

And the next time I need inspiration, I'll remember to 'follow the brush' and see where it leads.

Thankyou, Barbara!

Comments

[Peter the Flautist]

Caustics! Optical Cat approves!

[Catherine Mary]

Thank you and Barbara for the tip on Dalby's book. I find the idea of "following the brush" very interesting. I've read Dalby's book on geishas and would recommend it as more than a 'peak' into Japanese culture.

[Melissa!]

I am always intrigued with the root & progression of conversations & thoughts. In fact, when my vanagon stereo was out of comission I ended up enjoying the silence - it allowed my thoughts to flow on their own instead of being guided & responding to the music on. Now that my stereo is fixed, more often than not I keep it off.I'll look for that book soon!
Lovely pics & words as usual!

[Lisa W]

My thoughts "meandered" to your blog as I was hanging out clothes today. Hope you're enjoying your day Karen!

[Knitt]

I just adore the pictures. It's like coming to a place of serenity each time I visit your blog. Thank you again.