I have been home for a couple of days and have processed a few things and have a pretty good idea of some of the best things that I came away from this trip to England with and I am grateful.
-I understand with even more conviction that the British Isles is the place where magic truly does originate. And London is some sort of a magic portal. Whether it is scoring the perfect seat in the house for a midnight play at the Globe on the spur of the moment or having an old friend be in London at the same time as me so that we can exchange love and hugs or having a couple approach us and offer us a free day pass on the Underground that they will no longer be using, London and England just seem to come up with just the perfect thing to make me feel at home and loved.
-Life is just full of surprises. I was to see four shows while attending the summer school with the Shakespeare Institute and there was only one that I was rather dreading, The Jew of Malta. Well…guess which of the four shows ended up being my, hands down, favourite? Yep, that dreadful Jew. And it didn't even have anything to do with the fact that the play uses my name, which leads me to my next ah-hah…
-It is super fun to have your name used by actors onstage! I have a name that lends itself to having that happen and I discovered what a thrill this is for me. I have read my name in the works of Shakespeare and of course Ben Jonson (he wrote a whole play titled with my name) but there is just something that makes me feel like a little kid at Christmas to hear my name from a great actor.
-I was reminded, yet again, that I have every right to an opinion and that I have done the work involved in being able to critique whatever show I may see, even a RSC production. This is not easy for me to remember, I sometimes lack the confidence to feel as though I can question anything like a director's choice or an actor's performance, but I was reminded repeatedly over the past two weeks that I have earned the right to my opinion.
-I saw that previous generations have done some really stupid things in the name of practicality and I was quite frustrated with some of the people who have gone before and the silly choices they made. Then I began to wonder what a few generations down the line will be saying about me and us…
-Finally, I was reminded that I really must not judge a book or people by their cover. The most interesting and intriguing people can come in quite plain packages and it is such a shame at what we may miss out on because of those snap judgements. (I hope people remember that when they have to look at me!) I was grateful to wrap up my time there in our last night in Stratford with a couple of gems that Erin helped me to get to know who are brilliant women who have worked hard to be strong and aware women and I am so grateful for the time I was able to spend with them and for what they gave to me, not the least of which was to make me feel welcome.
Thank you Erin. Thank you England. Thank you to the RSC and the Shakespeare Institute. I am so much the richer for all that I was able to experience. What a privilege.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Do Hard Things
My brain is so full. It has really been one of those days when I see so clearly that what I don't know is infinitely so much larger than what I do know that I despair in ever knowing even a fraction of what I want to know.
I learned so much today but one thing that kept coming through clearly to me was that the world is really only changed or improved by those who are willing to do hard things. I live in a world where I do not have to do hard things. I am privileged and spoiled and that means that I have a great deal of responsibility and it is up to me to find hard things to do and then do them. So many of the truly hard things have been done by those who have gone before and I am a product of all of that sacrifice and I need to take great care to not take this lightly. Just as the tour guide in the crypt at St. Paul's reminded me repeatedly, "Try always to remember how these people around you contributed to who you are". William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, all of the Early Modern Theatre authors did a very hard thing. The playhouses of their day were places of radical political thought and expression. The works of these men were revolutionary and in some cases semi-illegal. This is part of the reason for the authorship struggles for at least some of the plays. Some plays were controversial enough as to be "vagabond plays". (Vagabond, broken down, means vague in your bond, in other words, nonspecific in the assignment of an author to protect said writer.)
We all need to do hard things. I NEED TO DO HARD THINGS. I find myself more than a little bit ashamed and embarrassed at how readily I have stood on the backs of so many others who have done hard things. I've been willing to enjoy the fruits of hundreds of years and generations of people who willingly did hard things. I don't know how to remedy this slothfulness quite yet (refer to my blog on slothfulness for a full understanding of why I use that word) but I am asking. I fear the answer, but I am asking.
I learned so much today but one thing that kept coming through clearly to me was that the world is really only changed or improved by those who are willing to do hard things. I live in a world where I do not have to do hard things. I am privileged and spoiled and that means that I have a great deal of responsibility and it is up to me to find hard things to do and then do them. So many of the truly hard things have been done by those who have gone before and I am a product of all of that sacrifice and I need to take great care to not take this lightly. Just as the tour guide in the crypt at St. Paul's reminded me repeatedly, "Try always to remember how these people around you contributed to who you are". William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, all of the Early Modern Theatre authors did a very hard thing. The playhouses of their day were places of radical political thought and expression. The works of these men were revolutionary and in some cases semi-illegal. This is part of the reason for the authorship struggles for at least some of the plays. Some plays were controversial enough as to be "vagabond plays". (Vagabond, broken down, means vague in your bond, in other words, nonspecific in the assignment of an author to protect said writer.)
We all need to do hard things. I NEED TO DO HARD THINGS. I find myself more than a little bit ashamed and embarrassed at how readily I have stood on the backs of so many others who have done hard things. I've been willing to enjoy the fruits of hundreds of years and generations of people who willingly did hard things. I don't know how to remedy this slothfulness quite yet (refer to my blog on slothfulness for a full understanding of why I use that word) but I am asking. I fear the answer, but I am asking.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Insiders
Okay, this post really isn't about insiders, per se. I am just being silly since yesterday's post was titled outsiders and this post is about quite the opposite.
Let me start by saying that we did see Othello tonight and yes, the rumors are true, BOTH of the male leads are men of color. I am overwhelmed by the performance and my heart is full and I am still processing so that is all I am going to say at this point about this production other than to wish, with all of my heart, that it were possible for all of you to see it. It is an amazing effort and it is always fun to watch and play the "which episode of Doctor Who did I see that person in" game.
So…insiders as opposed to outsiders. I learned today that I get a serious high when I get to hear the really down and dirty scholarly stuff concerning Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I would have thought that I would have been more interested in the actors and directors that is really proving not to be the case. The woman who opened the day (Professor Laurie Maguire of Oxford) offered an amazing lecture this morning. What made it so delightful is that she had experienced a powerful ah-hah during last night's performance of Volpone and she had deviated from the planned syllabus to present her new understandings to us. What she offered was an understanding of the fact that Volpone is an inversion of the story of Othello, produced shortly after Othello made its initial appearance. I will not bore you with these comparisons, nobody who is reading this really cares. But what came alive for me is the friendship/competition that William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson enjoyed. They really did push each other and play off of each other and caused each other to stretch, grow, and improve. These two men have always been important to me but they came alive in a new way today. I am really grateful that they had each other. They were very different men from different backgrounds but they really did appreciate one another and I look forward to the day when I can kiss Ben Jonson on the cheek, for his own work but really for his tremendous efforts to make certain that the world received the works of Shakespeare in a grand folio so that these works can still be changing lives today. I think he will understand…
I have also enjoyed watching two adorable British women who attend the Shakespeare school every summer together and have for many years. They befriended Erin last year and warmly accepted me as well this summer. They have been friends for most of their lives and have chosen the theatre and particularly Shakespeare as the common ground to keep their friendship alive even though they now live in different parts of the country. Erin and I spoke of how marvelous such a lifelong friendship is and what comfort and stability it brings. As we were speaking of our two friends, we were also observing a table of women who were seated near us in the restaurant where we were eating dinner. These women were obviously a group that gets together quite often to enjoy drinks and chatting. But at one point in the evening they turned to a bit of gossiping and I felt uncomfortable for those women of their group who were not with them that evening and wondered at how they would feel if they knew what was being said of them. I know that this is personally a HUGE fear of mine, that people are not really saying nice things about me once I leave the room. I won't dwell on this but it made me think as my day seemed to be so centered on friendships and inclusion that we need to make certain that we are not engaging in disparaging discussions of others when they are not present.
I am grateful for so many friends and right now I am especially grateful for Erin and her patience and her quiet humor and strength. This has been a delightful and comfortable trip and I am so blessed that I have Erin and others in my life that I can travel with and learn and grow with and be liked in spite of my many foibles.
Let me start by saying that we did see Othello tonight and yes, the rumors are true, BOTH of the male leads are men of color. I am overwhelmed by the performance and my heart is full and I am still processing so that is all I am going to say at this point about this production other than to wish, with all of my heart, that it were possible for all of you to see it. It is an amazing effort and it is always fun to watch and play the "which episode of Doctor Who did I see that person in" game.
So…insiders as opposed to outsiders. I learned today that I get a serious high when I get to hear the really down and dirty scholarly stuff concerning Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I would have thought that I would have been more interested in the actors and directors that is really proving not to be the case. The woman who opened the day (Professor Laurie Maguire of Oxford) offered an amazing lecture this morning. What made it so delightful is that she had experienced a powerful ah-hah during last night's performance of Volpone and she had deviated from the planned syllabus to present her new understandings to us. What she offered was an understanding of the fact that Volpone is an inversion of the story of Othello, produced shortly after Othello made its initial appearance. I will not bore you with these comparisons, nobody who is reading this really cares. But what came alive for me is the friendship/competition that William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson enjoyed. They really did push each other and play off of each other and caused each other to stretch, grow, and improve. These two men have always been important to me but they came alive in a new way today. I am really grateful that they had each other. They were very different men from different backgrounds but they really did appreciate one another and I look forward to the day when I can kiss Ben Jonson on the cheek, for his own work but really for his tremendous efforts to make certain that the world received the works of Shakespeare in a grand folio so that these works can still be changing lives today. I think he will understand…
I have also enjoyed watching two adorable British women who attend the Shakespeare school every summer together and have for many years. They befriended Erin last year and warmly accepted me as well this summer. They have been friends for most of their lives and have chosen the theatre and particularly Shakespeare as the common ground to keep their friendship alive even though they now live in different parts of the country. Erin and I spoke of how marvelous such a lifelong friendship is and what comfort and stability it brings. As we were speaking of our two friends, we were also observing a table of women who were seated near us in the restaurant where we were eating dinner. These women were obviously a group that gets together quite often to enjoy drinks and chatting. But at one point in the evening they turned to a bit of gossiping and I felt uncomfortable for those women of their group who were not with them that evening and wondered at how they would feel if they knew what was being said of them. I know that this is personally a HUGE fear of mine, that people are not really saying nice things about me once I leave the room. I won't dwell on this but it made me think as my day seemed to be so centered on friendships and inclusion that we need to make certain that we are not engaging in disparaging discussions of others when they are not present.
I am grateful for so many friends and right now I am especially grateful for Erin and her patience and her quiet humor and strength. This has been a delightful and comfortable trip and I am so blessed that I have Erin and others in my life that I can travel with and learn and grow with and be liked in spite of my many foibles.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Outsiders
Well…I survived my first day of summer school with the RSC. It was not intimidating as I feared it might be and the only real problem was when someone said something that was so intriguing to my brain that my brain ran away with that thought and I suddenly realized that I had missed a whole chunk of a lecture or discussion because I was lost in the pathways and dark alleys that my up one of my thought meanderings.
The theme of this summer's productions with the RSC is "outsiders". The four shows are Volpone, Othello, The Jew of Malta, and Merchant of Venice. It is an intriguing if dark line up. I am grateful that the final show that I will see will be Merchant as that one does not feel so dark to me, even though it is hardly filled with sweetness and light. I did not love tonight's production of Volpone. It is only fair to admit that I don't love this play anyway and I did actually love the man who played Volpone, Henry Goodman, but as a whole I did not really care for the direction that they took. On a side note, I love studying about Ben Jonson the man, he was an uber fascinating fellow and I don't particularly care to study about the life of William Shakespeare, his life is rather a bore compared to Jonson's. But good old Will certainly writes circles around his buddy Ben. Ben Jonson's themes are good and he tells a good story but the words just don't soar the way that William Shakespeare's works do.
The part of the day that really set me to thinking was when the two actors that play Othello and Iago addressed us and answered questions and offered their insights. They have made the surprising choice of casting an African to play Iago. If you know the play at all, you understand what an upheaval in dynamic it is to have both Othello and Iago be men of color. As Lucien, the man who is playing Iago addressed us concerning the opportunity to play the character that is (in my opinion) the most evil of all of the Shakespeare villains, that is when my mind really set to wandering. I won't take you where my mind went, but I can tell you that I may be seeing Iago through different eyes when I see the show tomorrow evening. I loved what Hugh (the man playing Othello) had to say about race and I want to leave off my blog with his words and a few thoughts because they are still resonating with me.
"Race is no guide to character or virtue not has it ever been. Race is a social concept, not a concept of science."
We are all outsiders in some way at times in our lives. And in nearly all cases, this is due to a social concept, we are not outsiders in a scientific way, so that means that none of us need ever remain outsiders. I journaled today those ideas that I cling to that cause me to be an outsider and I am now working to be more aware and conscious that, just like race, those things are not what guide my character or virtue and so I need to take ownership and remove these things that make me feel outside or alone and in so doing, cause those around me to no longer see me as an outsider. This likely doesn't make much sense, my brain is mush, but I challenge you to take on removing whatever it is that you are holding onto that makes you feel as though you are on the outside and change your mindset so that you can have acceptance and peace, first with yourself and then from others.
The theme of this summer's productions with the RSC is "outsiders". The four shows are Volpone, Othello, The Jew of Malta, and Merchant of Venice. It is an intriguing if dark line up. I am grateful that the final show that I will see will be Merchant as that one does not feel so dark to me, even though it is hardly filled with sweetness and light. I did not love tonight's production of Volpone. It is only fair to admit that I don't love this play anyway and I did actually love the man who played Volpone, Henry Goodman, but as a whole I did not really care for the direction that they took. On a side note, I love studying about Ben Jonson the man, he was an uber fascinating fellow and I don't particularly care to study about the life of William Shakespeare, his life is rather a bore compared to Jonson's. But good old Will certainly writes circles around his buddy Ben. Ben Jonson's themes are good and he tells a good story but the words just don't soar the way that William Shakespeare's works do.
The part of the day that really set me to thinking was when the two actors that play Othello and Iago addressed us and answered questions and offered their insights. They have made the surprising choice of casting an African to play Iago. If you know the play at all, you understand what an upheaval in dynamic it is to have both Othello and Iago be men of color. As Lucien, the man who is playing Iago addressed us concerning the opportunity to play the character that is (in my opinion) the most evil of all of the Shakespeare villains, that is when my mind really set to wandering. I won't take you where my mind went, but I can tell you that I may be seeing Iago through different eyes when I see the show tomorrow evening. I loved what Hugh (the man playing Othello) had to say about race and I want to leave off my blog with his words and a few thoughts because they are still resonating with me.
"Race is no guide to character or virtue not has it ever been. Race is a social concept, not a concept of science."
We are all outsiders in some way at times in our lives. And in nearly all cases, this is due to a social concept, we are not outsiders in a scientific way, so that means that none of us need ever remain outsiders. I journaled today those ideas that I cling to that cause me to be an outsider and I am now working to be more aware and conscious that, just like race, those things are not what guide my character or virtue and so I need to take ownership and remove these things that make me feel outside or alone and in so doing, cause those around me to no longer see me as an outsider. This likely doesn't make much sense, my brain is mush, but I challenge you to take on removing whatever it is that you are holding onto that makes you feel as though you are on the outside and change your mindset so that you can have acceptance and peace, first with yourself and then from others.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Hamlet was slothful, who knew?
First of all, let me clear up some old business. In last night's blog, I posted that I was distraught over a number of things not the least of which was that the curmudgeonly book seller was no longer in business. Well, I WAS WRONG! I was merely looking on the wrong block. I will be seeing him tomorrow…
Had a wonderful day here in Stratford upon Avon. Got to see Anne Hathaway's cottage which really isn't Anne Hathaway's cottage, but that's another story. What matters is that I walked where Anne and William walked. Got to try a eighteenth century recipe for a chocolate meringue tart. It wasn't very good, but I can say I tried it. I walked around 15,000 steps. I met a woman who could be the British counterpart to me. I will be getting to know her a bit better as classes begin tomorrow so I'll keep you posted. But mostly I just got to spend the day in the burgh of the Bard and that is magical.
The real thing I want to talk about is something that I learned in the studies I took upon myself to prepare for this week of instruction with the Shakespeare Institute and the RSC. Not a surprise that I turned to the ever intriguing Michael D.C. Drout and he did not disappoint. In listening again to his course titled How to Think: The Liberal Arts and Their Enduring Value, I came upon a passage that totally blew my mind. In speaking of the importance of cultural literacy he brought up Hamlet. He opined that few people today understand why Hamlet is (or was, back in the day) nearly always dressed in full black. He explained that people in Elizabethan times understood that this meant he was a character that represented sloth. Sloth? Yep, he then asked if we were all puzzled by this because Hamlet doesn't come across as lazy in the least? Well…sloth, when it was designated one of the seven deadly sins was not the way we use the word today. It didn't mean simply lazy, there was a deeper connotation. It meant being someone who is so bogged down in seeing their sins and the sins of others and has reached a point of hopelessness because the see no way to be cleansed of the sin that surrounds them that they fail to do what the Lord would have them do, they become so weighted down that they cease to function correctly and productively until they just stop trying to do good and give themselves completely over to darkness or despair. WOW! I can see where I have really fallen into the trap of this very real and deadly sin of late in my life. The longer I meditate and ponder on this one the more I realize that God is just smirking at me because he got clever again and used the literature that speaks to my heart to soften my heart and force me to own my mistakes. I am not quite certain how to dig myself out of some of the despair and angst, but I am choosing to own that while I have made this mess, there is totally a way out and I can get past this particular valley in my life and find myself up on a peak again if I will just take that ownership and run with it.
Thanks God! Thanks Shakespeare! Thanks to all of you who still love this slothful Cynthia!
Had a wonderful day here in Stratford upon Avon. Got to see Anne Hathaway's cottage which really isn't Anne Hathaway's cottage, but that's another story. What matters is that I walked where Anne and William walked. Got to try a eighteenth century recipe for a chocolate meringue tart. It wasn't very good, but I can say I tried it. I walked around 15,000 steps. I met a woman who could be the British counterpart to me. I will be getting to know her a bit better as classes begin tomorrow so I'll keep you posted. But mostly I just got to spend the day in the burgh of the Bard and that is magical.
The real thing I want to talk about is something that I learned in the studies I took upon myself to prepare for this week of instruction with the Shakespeare Institute and the RSC. Not a surprise that I turned to the ever intriguing Michael D.C. Drout and he did not disappoint. In listening again to his course titled How to Think: The Liberal Arts and Their Enduring Value, I came upon a passage that totally blew my mind. In speaking of the importance of cultural literacy he brought up Hamlet. He opined that few people today understand why Hamlet is (or was, back in the day) nearly always dressed in full black. He explained that people in Elizabethan times understood that this meant he was a character that represented sloth. Sloth? Yep, he then asked if we were all puzzled by this because Hamlet doesn't come across as lazy in the least? Well…sloth, when it was designated one of the seven deadly sins was not the way we use the word today. It didn't mean simply lazy, there was a deeper connotation. It meant being someone who is so bogged down in seeing their sins and the sins of others and has reached a point of hopelessness because the see no way to be cleansed of the sin that surrounds them that they fail to do what the Lord would have them do, they become so weighted down that they cease to function correctly and productively until they just stop trying to do good and give themselves completely over to darkness or despair. WOW! I can see where I have really fallen into the trap of this very real and deadly sin of late in my life. The longer I meditate and ponder on this one the more I realize that God is just smirking at me because he got clever again and used the literature that speaks to my heart to soften my heart and force me to own my mistakes. I am not quite certain how to dig myself out of some of the despair and angst, but I am choosing to own that while I have made this mess, there is totally a way out and I can get past this particular valley in my life and find myself up on a peak again if I will just take that ownership and run with it.
Thanks God! Thanks Shakespeare! Thanks to all of you who still love this slothful Cynthia!
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Would Shakespeare like change?
I did not post many photos today. Well, I did post a couple from London but then I got sad as we wandered around Stratford-upon-Avon and saw so many things that were not as they should be, in my mind, and now I am going to vent so that I can sleep and try again tomorrow.
We walked down what was one of my favourite streets in this quaint town and I learned that the curmudgeonly used bookseller is gone, the Windmill has been bought out by a crummy franchise and is serving a canned menu that I can find anywhere in England and so I can no longer get that garbanzo bean/beetroot salad that was to die for, and there is a wall up around New Place with all sorts of written promises on said wall that in the Spring of 2016 we will have a new exhibit that will allow us to see Shakespeare the man at home more clearly. Erin is correct in that I should wait and see what they put there, I know she is right in my mind. But my heart is really pissed off. I cannot even put into words what happened to me when I saw that wall around New Place. It is one thing to be filled with rage at that idiot who, back in the day, tore down New Place in hopes of keeping the Shakespeare nuts away (what a twit, fat lot of good that did). It is quite another thing to consider something else aside from a grassy expanse and gardens being in this place. I desperately don't want some glossy building with pieces of what may have been Shakespeare's cannabis pipe in a glass case. So, what do I want? I want New Place to be exactly what it was one my last visit. I want to go to the exact same bench that I sat in before when I had such a powerful meditation. I don't want any change. I am not gonna get what I want and so I am sad and feeling rather quarrelsome.
I am also wondering how Shakespeare would feel if he were in my shoes. He had a rebel side, he took old stories and changed them, radically in some cases. He would probably laugh at me and my angst. But I am not Shakespeare, I am more of a Christopher Wren or a William Blake. I tend towards mysticism and I want or even need to be able to touch and be in and absorb old places. The day began with Eucharist under the dome at St. Paul's and that was glorious. As was visiting the tombs of some of my patron saints, Wren, Blake, and Donne. I suppose I need to end with the some of the words from the man associated with the oldest piece I saw today. After St. Paul's burned down in the Great Fire of 1666 and Christopher Wren began work to replace it with something equally if not more splendid, he sifted through the ashes and the one monument to survive the fire was that of my old friend, poet and Dean of St. Paul's, John Donne. This monument now stands in the south aisle. I suppose that to close and put my quarrelsome self to bed, some of John Donne's words are applicable here I suppose…
"Contemplative and bookish men (and women) must of necessity be more quarrelsome than others, because they contend not about matter of fact, nor can determine their controversies by any certain witnesses, nor judges. But as long as they go towards peace, that is Truth, it is no matter which way."
I am not contending with matters of fact here, I am contending with matters of the heart and soul and so I will say my prayers and work, as dear Mr. Donne suggest, towards peace and truth and try and to keep my eye on the big picture. But for tonight I am sad and I will ask for dreams of New Place just as I remember it.
We walked down what was one of my favourite streets in this quaint town and I learned that the curmudgeonly used bookseller is gone, the Windmill has been bought out by a crummy franchise and is serving a canned menu that I can find anywhere in England and so I can no longer get that garbanzo bean/beetroot salad that was to die for, and there is a wall up around New Place with all sorts of written promises on said wall that in the Spring of 2016 we will have a new exhibit that will allow us to see Shakespeare the man at home more clearly. Erin is correct in that I should wait and see what they put there, I know she is right in my mind. But my heart is really pissed off. I cannot even put into words what happened to me when I saw that wall around New Place. It is one thing to be filled with rage at that idiot who, back in the day, tore down New Place in hopes of keeping the Shakespeare nuts away (what a twit, fat lot of good that did). It is quite another thing to consider something else aside from a grassy expanse and gardens being in this place. I desperately don't want some glossy building with pieces of what may have been Shakespeare's cannabis pipe in a glass case. So, what do I want? I want New Place to be exactly what it was one my last visit. I want to go to the exact same bench that I sat in before when I had such a powerful meditation. I don't want any change. I am not gonna get what I want and so I am sad and feeling rather quarrelsome.
I am also wondering how Shakespeare would feel if he were in my shoes. He had a rebel side, he took old stories and changed them, radically in some cases. He would probably laugh at me and my angst. But I am not Shakespeare, I am more of a Christopher Wren or a William Blake. I tend towards mysticism and I want or even need to be able to touch and be in and absorb old places. The day began with Eucharist under the dome at St. Paul's and that was glorious. As was visiting the tombs of some of my patron saints, Wren, Blake, and Donne. I suppose I need to end with the some of the words from the man associated with the oldest piece I saw today. After St. Paul's burned down in the Great Fire of 1666 and Christopher Wren began work to replace it with something equally if not more splendid, he sifted through the ashes and the one monument to survive the fire was that of my old friend, poet and Dean of St. Paul's, John Donne. This monument now stands in the south aisle. I suppose that to close and put my quarrelsome self to bed, some of John Donne's words are applicable here I suppose…
"Contemplative and bookish men (and women) must of necessity be more quarrelsome than others, because they contend not about matter of fact, nor can determine their controversies by any certain witnesses, nor judges. But as long as they go towards peace, that is Truth, it is no matter which way."
I am not contending with matters of fact here, I am contending with matters of the heart and soul and so I will say my prayers and work, as dear Mr. Donne suggest, towards peace and truth and try and to keep my eye on the big picture. But for tonight I am sad and I will ask for dreams of New Place just as I remember it.
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