Quotes to Preserve Your Muchness

Note the mask and gloves; Pietro Longhi (btw, a family ancestor)

Susan here - and here we are, a full year into making our way through this peculiar time on Planet Earth. And today I'm bringing to the blog a refreshed assortment of quotes and thoughts and pretty pictures to help us as we go along. 

In our family, all the adults have been vaccinated now, which is a very good thing. And we are still being just as careful as before, mostly staying home, not seeing much of family and friends beyond the virtual, and staying masked and distanced when we do venture out. One of our sons is still treating covid patients in a major hospital, and that's a dose of reality that keeps us all aware. My husband I both work at home most of the time, and being dedicated introverts, that's just fine with us -- and a year later, we’re not climbing the walls quite yet.

But now and then, the stress and the strangeness of it creeps in, and I’m turning more and more to things that help me relax, stretch, clear the mind, fill the reserves.

“You used to be much more … muchier. You’ve lost your muchness,” said the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

And I don’t want to go there, nor do you. Let’s all keep our muchness as we navigate our way through this Fire Swamp (while blithely mixing metaphors). I hope you are faring well, and finding your own way through the swamp.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes – and some favorite images – that I hope will brighten your day.

Ramon Casas, Jove

 “Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.”
--Jane Austen, Emma

 

Abbot Handerson Thayer, Angel Waiting

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all –

       --Emily Dickinson

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering." –A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Charles Perugini, Girl Reading, 1878

“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” —Hermann Hesse

"Peace is always beautiful."

-- Walt Whitman

 

 

Georges De la Tour, Magdalene

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." --Helen Keller

"Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness."
--George MacDonald

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." -- Saint Francis de Sales

 

“Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?”
“Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet was comforted by this. – A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

 

"I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then." – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Frederic Lord Leighton, Painter's Honeymoon 1864

"Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing higher, nothing stronger, nothing larger, nothing more joyful, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth."  Thomas a Kempis

 

“Just always be waiting for me.” -- James M. Barrie, Peter Pan

 

John Duncan, Tristan and Isolde

 

 

"All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."
--Julian of Norwich 

 

“True love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops. Everybody knows that.”
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

 

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”
– Charles M. Schulz

 

What are you doing to make your way through the perils of the Fire Swamp? And what are some of your favorite quotes? 

 

 (Gif credits, first here and second here)

Comments

[Mary M.]

Loved the last one. Instead of Scarlet Ohara's "Tomorrow is another day!," Charles Schulz might have said, "Tomorrow is today!" He would have been right, and that is indeed somehow comforting. Why worry? It's already here, and it's okay.

[Quantum]

Loved this collection of quotes .... thanks!

However bad it seems now, I try to remember that it could always be worse.

For example, astronomers predict that if a supernova were to explode within 30 light years of us, a mass extinction would be possible. Supernovae occur every 100 years in the Milky Way but fortunately the chances of occurrence in our part of the galaxy are about once every 100 million years so best not to worry too much!

My favorite quote is from the Psalms: Be still and know that I am God

[Mary T]

Love this piece. There were a couple of quotes that were new to me and a couple I've heard before and just didn't remember.

My favorite is Pooh and Piglet - "Suppose a tree fell .... Suppose it didn't." I tend to be dark, but I am always looking for the light.

Lovely post.

[Katja]

One of my favourite quotes is from Erich Kästner, who is best known for his children's books, but was so much more:
"Auch aus Steinen, die dir in den Weg gelegt werden, kannst du etwas Schönes bauen."
Roughly translates as: "Even from stones that have been put in your way, you can build something beautiful."

And another one of his: Wer Bücher schenkt, schenkt Wertpapiere.
Which is a sort of pun on the word "Papier / paper) in German, a literal translation doesn't do it justice.

[Margot]

Wonderful post and I love the illustrations you chose as well as the quotes. I love Pooh and the gang and like them I can often do absolutely nothing for a little bit of time and it feels good.
I look forward to reading more quotes that others share here.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Wonderful quotes, Susan! I particularly like knowing that the world won't end today because it's already tomorrow in Australia. *G*

[Amy J]

Love this - and may have to queue up the Princess Bride to watch again soon.

This one in particular strikes me from your post: "Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." -- Saint Francis de Sales

I find that harder and harder to do as I work from home, but it inspires to try.

[Janet Gahagan]

Henry Ward Beecher wrote:
Every tomorrow has two handles.
We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or
the handle of faith.

[Kareni]

What a fun post, Susan! I rather like this:

"When I get a little money I buy books and if any is left I buy food and clothes." quote by Desiderius Erasmus

[Teresa Broderick]

Great post and I enjoyed these quotes. I have to say I love Kareni's quote above. It's exactly how I feel:)

[Sue McCormick]

I do actively use Scarlett's "I'll think about it tomorrow" and I DO indeed pull it out and think about it each day until I a working plan; tabling and re-examining beats worry every time!

My other one is from Narnia: The Last Battle "Further up and further in" which means to me that we are meant to continue to learn and that the learning will help up grow.

[Kathy K]

Thank you for these quotes. I especially loved the Julian of Norwich. And, as always, the pictures you put with the quotes are inspiring.

[Amy J]

Ahh, nice!

[Cynthia]

Thanks for the lovely post. If you have not seen or read any of Charlie Mackesy’s work, please do look for it. You can find him on Instagram. His book is a collection of his wonderful, soothing, and inspiring work: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. I have given several as gifts recently.

[Lynda X]

I try, most of the time unsuccessfully (I am an extremely talented worrier), to remember Twain's "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

I suspect that George Burns's definition of happiness applies to a lot of people these days: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”

[Anne Gracie]

Actually, Mary Jo, I'll just point out that it's really yesterday in the USA.

[Lil]

I'm having trouble being terribly upbeat these days. There is one quote that I saw attributed to Audrey Hepburn: "Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm."
Other than that, I keep going back to Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, and the worst are full of passionate intensity."
I'm afraid that's a bit of a downer.

[Annelie Hopfenmueller]

Loved your text and the Quotes. Good for the soul in these times.

[Janice Jacobson]

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
--Luke 8:17 (NIV)

I've been trying to practice patience, and not panicking over little things (of which I could tell you expensive tales). Also trying to have faith that some part at least of normal life will return - for example, I will soon be able to watch Dodger games without getting creeped out because there are no fans in the stands and the stadium looks empty, and people will no longer get that avaunt! avaunt! look when they see someone coming towards them, causing them to make a holy circle around the oncomer to avoid them. I can see why some think these are end times - we haven't been through something like this in our lifetimes (though our parents and grandparents have) and we're not ready for it. But we are learning.

The one uptick in this past plague year has been that I have been reading quite a bit more and ranging further afield. True, I have never finished Was & Peace, and likely never will, but I have found both new and forgotten books to occupy my mind. I have also learned that I can live without TV news. I recommend both to all.

[Maggie Craig]

Thank you for this lovely post. I'm going to try to be more Winnie the Pooh than Piglet! I thought I was (mostly) taking this in my stride. However, in the last few weeks it's all caught up with me. Need to regain my muchness.

A poem which comforts me is Kathleen Jamie's Lochan. 'When all this is over I mean to travel north...'

For those who might not know a lochan is a small loch.

Kathleen reads the poem herself here:

https://poetryarchive.org/poem/lochan/

[Mary M.]

All I really need is "Patience, grasshopper."

[Lil]

Yesterday someone sent me this one: "Breathe, darling. This is not your whole life. Just a chapter."

[Karin]

Lovely illustrations to go with the quotes!

[Sue McCormick]

Somehow or other, the first time through, I missed the quote from The Princess Bride. My husband doesn't remember it either, so thank you for calling this to our attention.

[Kareni]

It was funny to read this post and then see that I'd already replies! It was definitely fun to revisit those quotes and pictures.

One question ~ if Charles M. Schulz had lived in Australia, what might he have said?

[Annette N]

Thank you for the lovely post and the wonderful quotes. I am saving a few of them for the signature line on my email. The pictures are lovely.

You have done a lovely thing for us.

I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.

[Pamela DG]

What a wonderful collection of images and quotes. As for how I am faring a year into this pandemic. I turned off the news and am meditating more. Removing people who are continually negative and posting nonsense from my SM newsfeeds has reduced the stress significantly. Reading has always been my salvation when the real world become overwhelming. WenchWerks have been a Godsend this year.

[Alice Mathewson]

I was going to suggest Charlie Mackesy too - it is a wonderful book - just what is needed to counteract the doom and gloom in a gentle and reflective way. I also like 'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need' by Cicero. I have been fortunate to have both (the latter a Kindle as the public library closed) and would have been sunk otherwise