Winston Churchill former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Nov. 30, 1965 - Jan. 24, 1965)

     "A man can wear out a particular part of his mind by continually using it and tiring it, just the same way as he can wear out the elbows of his coat.  There is, however, this difference between the living cells of the brain and inanimate articles:  one cannot mend the frayed elbows of a coat by rubbing the sleeves or shoulders; but the tired parts of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts.  It is not enough merely to switch off the lights which play upon the main and ordinary field of interest; a new field of interest must be illuminated.  It is no use saying to the tired 'mental muscles' -- if one may coin such an expression -- 'I will give you a good rest,'  'I will go for a long walk,' or 'I will lie down and think of nothing.'  The mind keeps busy just the same.  If it has been weighing and measuring, it goes on weighing and measuring.  If it has been worrying, it goes on worrying.  It is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendant, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded.
     "A gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion;  the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.'  It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition.  The stronger the will, the more futile the task.  One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp.  And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.

"The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man."

[Tomorrow:  Churchill's wisdom on new interests and hobbies.]

~ Winston Churchill, PAINTING as a pastime, The Right Honourable WINSTON S. CHURCHILL O.M., C.H., M.P.  Odhams Press Limited, Ernest Benn Limited, 1948/ Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ltd.

In EMILY CARR'S  HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS

"Casually, you would think the world very still this morn, but really, when you consciously use your ears, there's quite a bustle and stir.  One is so lazy about life, about using our senses.  It is easier to jump into the luxurious vehicle called Drift and go nowhere particular, then wonder why we don't get anywhere.  There's smells ~ they have to fairly knock us over before we heed them.  They are such a delicate joy, and we miss three-quarters of it because we don't tune our noses in.  Fussy enough about taste because our stomachs are so demanding, we take sight for granted and only half use it, skimming along the surface.  Nor do we listen in to the silence and note all the little, wee noises like the breezes and insects.  Good heavens, the row there'd be if you could hear the footfall of all the ants!  And then there's feel.  We don't get one one-hundredth what we should out of feels.  What do we bother about the feel, the textures of things alive, and things made, and things soft, and hard, cold and hot, smooth and rough, brittle and tough, the tickle of insects, the touch of flesh, the exquisite texture of flower petals, the wind's touch, the feel of water, sleep pressing our eyelids shut  We accept all these things, that could so immeasurably add to our life, as a matter of course, without a thought, like animals do.  In fact animals seem to get more out of their senses than many people, yet we are supposed to have minds and they not."

Thought for Today ~


"Nothing is more essential to our lives than stories ~ the only things of equal importance are food, shelter, human love and some kind of religious activity."
~ Hugh Hood (1920 - 2000) Canadian novelist, university professor, quoted by John Metcalf in sixteen by Twelve.  Made Officer of The Order of Canada.


"I don't believe that those stories should be recorded by anybody except us.  I don't think that you have any right to come into my community and tell my stories for me.  I can speak for myself.  I share them with you, and you can read them.  And if you come into my circle, and I tell you the stories, then you should respect that you're invited into the circle."~ Maria Campbell.  Metis storyteller and writer, interviewed by Hartmut Lutz in Contemporary Challenges:  Conversations with Canadian Native Authors (1991). Author of seven books, award-winning playwright.


Source: FAMOUS LASTING WORDS Great Canadian Quotations,  John Robert Colombo, Douglas & McIntyre.

"The newspapers have to have bad news, otherwise there would be only ads, or good news.  Without bad news we could not discern the ground rules of the environment."

~ Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1989) Canadian communications pioneer, "Address at Vision 65" (1966).



[Source:  John Robert Colombo's FAMOUS LASTING WORDS Great Canadian Quotations, 2000, Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.]

"What the. . .!"
 

"What to make of this?"

Charlie visits the bookshop ~

"Maybe we can play. . ."

Come back again, Charlie.

Thought for Today ~

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
~ John F. Kennedy

"Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock."
~ Sigmund Freud

"Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
~Robert F. Kennedy

Let's hope . . .

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

Join us in The Neat L'l Bookshop on Thursday, January 15 at 1:00 p.m.  Laurie Miller, author of "The Avro Arrow" will read and present the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.  Everyone welcome ~ coffee pot's always on. . .