" 'The best thing for being sad,' replied Merlyn, 'is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn. Learn why the world works and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.'
This is the trick [...] There are too many self-help guides that say: get fit, lose weight, make friends, find a hobby, revamp your wardrobe. Clear the clutter to clear your mind. Eat right - and right is always avocado, chia and other whatnot - to 'improve your mood'.
Better that they should say: feed your mind. Learn something, read something, see something new: a painting, a church, a bird, a rose garden, a park, a monument, a castle moat white with swans and hidden perch, a mews of hooded merlins, an elephant with ivory tusks and a palanquin throne on his back. Fill your thoughts with the world and what wags it. Plant roses so that thistles may not grow. Be as curious as you were as a child, as curious as the Wart, helping himself to Merlyn's breakfast and gasping: 'Oh, I love the mustard-pot! Wherever did you get it?' "
Laura Freeman quoting T.H. White's The Once and Future King in The Reading Cure: How Books Restored My Appetite.
Yes... Wisdom...
Posted by: CC | 20 February 2018 at 06:55 PM
Indeed.
Posted by: Cornflower | 20 February 2018 at 07:24 PM
Wonderful and true.
Posted by: Sam | 21 February 2018 at 02:22 PM
Something for us all to keep in mind.
Posted by: Cornflower | 21 February 2018 at 05:02 PM
I was going to send this to Freda but I spotted her in your sidebar so feel sure she will have seen it.
But good for me to have seen this just now so thank you.
Posted by: Lucille | 21 February 2018 at 06:44 PM
Great minds, Lucille - I was thinking of Freda as I wrote the post.
Posted by: Cornflower | 21 February 2018 at 06:57 PM
Oh my gosh. You don't know how much I needed to read this excerpt today. Thank you for brightening things up! I'm off to learn something. :-)
Posted by: Liz | 13 April 2018 at 10:33 PM
Excellent!
The best of luck with it, Liz!
Posted by: Cornflower | 14 April 2018 at 09:02 AM