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Friday, 6 September 2013
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Five things that matter to me:
What really matters in life? This is my list of the five top 'things', not objects, not material possessions:
1. My body is a temple: I do believe that in order to appreciate life and live it to the fullest, we need to take good care of our bodies. Good health is not about following fad diets but being sensible and taking responsibility. Mental health, as the ancients understood long before us, is connected to what we eat. I eat like a peasant- simple, unrefined, unprocessed food and where possible, seasonal produce. I walk a lot with my hound to keep the pounds off and eschew gyms. I don't want to be so lean that I freeze in the winter and frankly, life is too short to be obsessed about anything, including our weight.
2. Be able to tell a good joke: laughing is a precious remedy to banish the blues. I laugh a lot, mostly at myself. The day I'm too miserable to tell or laugh at a joke is the day I know that something is seriously wrong. A sense of humour is a sign of well-being, plus it's free.
3. Be a good person: religion is not terribly popular these days and I won't talk about my beliefs but surely, we can all aspire to be good, kind and empathetic towards each other? I got rid of the TV many years ago because a) the standard of programs was getting more and more inane and b) reality TV makes me cringe and kind of breaks my heart - it celebrates cruel, nasty behaviour and anyone who considers that entertainment is frankly, slightly deranged. It also affects one's thinking on a subliminal level and I prefer to be in control of my brain.
4. Value life: why hurt anyone or anything knowingly? I fish spiders out the bath every morning and they willingly hitch a ride onto the saucer I lower towards them (they've figured out the alternative). I used to throw them out into the garden until one day, a spider that had been left behind and was still in the bathroom, literally pursued me angrily- you see, I'd thrown out his mate. Now I merely move them elsewhere in the bathroom and they decide the rest.
5. Less is more: possessions, money, things, the latest fashion, trends, keeping up appearances, are all meaningless. Life is an illusion. Contentment, the biggest prize of all, is inside our heads.
Photo copyright SvD.
1. My body is a temple: I do believe that in order to appreciate life and live it to the fullest, we need to take good care of our bodies. Good health is not about following fad diets but being sensible and taking responsibility. Mental health, as the ancients understood long before us, is connected to what we eat. I eat like a peasant- simple, unrefined, unprocessed food and where possible, seasonal produce. I walk a lot with my hound to keep the pounds off and eschew gyms. I don't want to be so lean that I freeze in the winter and frankly, life is too short to be obsessed about anything, including our weight.
2. Be able to tell a good joke: laughing is a precious remedy to banish the blues. I laugh a lot, mostly at myself. The day I'm too miserable to tell or laugh at a joke is the day I know that something is seriously wrong. A sense of humour is a sign of well-being, plus it's free.
3. Be a good person: religion is not terribly popular these days and I won't talk about my beliefs but surely, we can all aspire to be good, kind and empathetic towards each other? I got rid of the TV many years ago because a) the standard of programs was getting more and more inane and b) reality TV makes me cringe and kind of breaks my heart - it celebrates cruel, nasty behaviour and anyone who considers that entertainment is frankly, slightly deranged. It also affects one's thinking on a subliminal level and I prefer to be in control of my brain.
4. Value life: why hurt anyone or anything knowingly? I fish spiders out the bath every morning and they willingly hitch a ride onto the saucer I lower towards them (they've figured out the alternative). I used to throw them out into the garden until one day, a spider that had been left behind and was still in the bathroom, literally pursued me angrily- you see, I'd thrown out his mate. Now I merely move them elsewhere in the bathroom and they decide the rest.
5. Less is more: possessions, money, things, the latest fashion, trends, keeping up appearances, are all meaningless. Life is an illusion. Contentment, the biggest prize of all, is inside our heads.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
You can catch me on the Huffington Post
Delighted to say that I'm on the Huff Post now and will be every week - and all because of you, dear readers. Many thanks for dropping by this blog and getting it noticed!
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/samantha-van-dalen/
Photo copyright S van Dalen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/samantha-van-dalen/
Monday, 2 September 2013
Best to draw the curtains
This photo was taken two nights ago quite late as it was getting time to go to bed. Imagine the sensation of this staring back. For a moment it appeared to be an alien in a spacesuit. Then some sort of angel descending from heaven. Then a very large insect.
For your interpretation, here is ....mothman.
Photos copyright SvD.
For your interpretation, here is ....mothman.
Talk to me
There has been a spectacular crop of fruit this year due to our highly unusual warm, dry summer. The blackberries are very early as a result so instead of October they are ready now, large, ripe and juicy and everywhere. If you know where to look near the woods, blackberry brambles are heaving with fruit and it is very easy to help oneself as the bushes grow quite low to the ground.
Wild fruit foraging is a great way to build up one's immunity and to make friends. Fruit ripened in the sun is sweet and full of vitamins, plus when eaten as soon as it is picked, is full of vitality. I scoff several berries daily on my walks with the hound.
The English can be very reserved but in fact are quite shy. Nothing brings people out of their shells more than inviting them to talk about themselves. Foragers are usually in love with nature and are solitary types who enjoy their own company but ask them if they're picking those berries to make jam and out will come their great grandma's recipe. If you've got half an hour and are happy to listen, you will have instantly made a friend.
Everyone wants to talk and stave off loneliness. It is poignant to see elderly men and women taking a daily stroll in the woods, who seem distant and trapped by their memories but given the chance want to shake off those faraway thoughts and embrace the present moment. And there are those who prefer to avoid reality. One such gentleman who I had never met before, struck up a conversation recently as we crossed paths with our hounds. He immediately launched into the crux of the matter by saying he was about to have radiotherapy for his cancer and he had begun to hate his wife and old age and everything in between, even his dog. But there are blackberries aplenty, the sun is shining and ...
Photo copyright SvD.
Wild fruit foraging is a great way to build up one's immunity and to make friends. Fruit ripened in the sun is sweet and full of vitamins, plus when eaten as soon as it is picked, is full of vitality. I scoff several berries daily on my walks with the hound.
The English can be very reserved but in fact are quite shy. Nothing brings people out of their shells more than inviting them to talk about themselves. Foragers are usually in love with nature and are solitary types who enjoy their own company but ask them if they're picking those berries to make jam and out will come their great grandma's recipe. If you've got half an hour and are happy to listen, you will have instantly made a friend.
Everyone wants to talk and stave off loneliness. It is poignant to see elderly men and women taking a daily stroll in the woods, who seem distant and trapped by their memories but given the chance want to shake off those faraway thoughts and embrace the present moment. And there are those who prefer to avoid reality. One such gentleman who I had never met before, struck up a conversation recently as we crossed paths with our hounds. He immediately launched into the crux of the matter by saying he was about to have radiotherapy for his cancer and he had begun to hate his wife and old age and everything in between, even his dog. But there are blackberries aplenty, the sun is shining and ...
Sunday, 1 September 2013
Your happy memories 09/01 | Blog talk radio
This week I read from my book, Maestro. You can listen to the archived show by clicking here:
Your happy memories 09/01
Why not join me every week as I continue to read from the book- a riveting story of love and redemption. You can always catch up on the bits you missed by listening to the archived shows!
Maestro
by Samantha van Dalen
A London high flier rents a country cottage and is drawn to her landlord, a mysterious artist suspected of killing the cottage's previous tenant.
Sara burnt out by her career and relationship-weary, holidays alone near a remote English village where her presence sets off a chain reaction that compels her to investigate a twenty year old enigma - a case closed for lack of a corpse or witness. Sara follows a trail of circumstantial evidence leading to her landlord, Gillane, an artist who surrounds himself with secrecy. Reckless or refined? Gentle or jackal? Who is this man? Why is she drawn to him? Maestro is a story of souls: attracted by need, repelled by fear, choosing to live in isolation yet searching for connection. Maestro plays an intoxicating melody- when the music stops, who will be left without a chair?
Your happy memories 09/01
Why not join me every week as I continue to read from the book- a riveting story of love and redemption. You can always catch up on the bits you missed by listening to the archived shows!
Maestro
by Samantha van Dalen
A London high flier rents a country cottage and is drawn to her landlord, a mysterious artist suspected of killing the cottage's previous tenant.
Sara burnt out by her career and relationship-weary, holidays alone near a remote English village where her presence sets off a chain reaction that compels her to investigate a twenty year old enigma - a case closed for lack of a corpse or witness. Sara follows a trail of circumstantial evidence leading to her landlord, Gillane, an artist who surrounds himself with secrecy. Reckless or refined? Gentle or jackal? Who is this man? Why is she drawn to him? Maestro is a story of souls: attracted by need, repelled by fear, choosing to live in isolation yet searching for connection. Maestro plays an intoxicating melody- when the music stops, who will be left without a chair?
Easy to please
The birds have been very active this year and thankfully, although the official line is that wild birds are in decline, the numbers appear to be prolific where I live. Birds are like people - easy to please once their requirements are uncomplicated. This bird bath that you see in the photo below is in fact an old hanging basket and an old plant saucer. Total cost: £0. Blue tits, sparrows, blackbirds, pigeons, all drop by for a wash. I change the water every day. Birds wash to remove parasites and grime from their feathers but also for the fun of it. First the birds sit on the edge of the saucer, then they sip a bit of water (to make sure it is indeed water), then they gingerly step in. Once inside the saucer there is much flapping about, and one gets the impression that it is sheer Heaven for our feathered friends. Birds are very sociable with their own kind or those of similar size. Sparrows and blue tits play happily together in the water and do not object to sharing their bath with as many as will fit in it!
All animals have a sense of fun and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that vivisection must be an excruciating and terrifying ordeal for animals. For those of us connected to the natural world, it is heartbreaking to think of animals suffering for us. I watched my father die a long and painful death from Parkinsons Disease and although drugs mask the symptoms of the illness, nothing can prevent the inevitable. My father died anyway despite the hundreds of drugs he took and for which thousands of animals must have been dealt an awful end to their own short lives.
It takes little to make the birds happy- a drink of water, a bath, some food. Perhaps we humans can learn to reduce our expectations and the demands we make on others, including the animals we expect to die in order that we may 'benefit'.
All animals have a sense of fun and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that vivisection must be an excruciating and terrifying ordeal for animals. For those of us connected to the natural world, it is heartbreaking to think of animals suffering for us. I watched my father die a long and painful death from Parkinsons Disease and although drugs mask the symptoms of the illness, nothing can prevent the inevitable. My father died anyway despite the hundreds of drugs he took and for which thousands of animals must have been dealt an awful end to their own short lives.
It takes little to make the birds happy- a drink of water, a bath, some food. Perhaps we humans can learn to reduce our expectations and the demands we make on others, including the animals we expect to die in order that we may 'benefit'.
Photo copyright SvD.
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