(Source for book: https://a.co/d/0aOjDD87)
This week, I read a cute little journal that chronicled the year 1996 in Wormingford, England. It is a tiny parish community, and even to this day, it only boasts a population of 450 people! For this reason, it was delightful to read about the quaint and quiet life out in the village.
There is something very comforting in getting to witness a simplistic way of life, a life that is not tainted by the chaos and disorder of the modern world. In fact, the author even states himself:
"There is nothing to compare with lavish simplicity."
Because of this, I would like to share some of my favourite quotes and imagery from this novel. Please, take a moment to relax and indulge in the simple things of life...
"The proto-Christmas card has arrived, Frans de Momper's 'Village in Winter." (Lovely Christmas scenery is brought to mind at the recollection of old Christmas cards. In fact, I went to look this card up; it is absolutely beautiful!)
"'People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.'" (I think this is one that this community can agree on! Books can take us to endless universes...)
"The consolatory and healing nature of quietness pours through the Scriptures. Be still, be still. ... But how enchanting it can be when quiet is present."
"Reading has always been my way to the Way, always my way of knowing anything."
"Savouring the darkness -- few are able to indulge themselves in such a taste these pitilessly lit nights and days." (Night owls can appreciate this one. There can be something very magical and whimsical about nighttime...)
"The snow has arrived and has settled in. It came down via the coast and smells faintly of the sea." (Something very enchanting about this sensory depiction; sea-smelling snow...)
"There has never been so much light in the world as we have now, such instant dismissals of darkness."
"... myrrh and frankincense for Christmas, just one drop of either on the hot stove filled the house with a rich and moody scent." (Another sample of sensory text that makes me feel some type of way... I did not know these scents could be used in an oil diffuser!)
"How glad one is to discover an artifact from childhood reprieved by time."
"'How quiet it is!' I tell myself when I am away from home, missing what those who come to see me cannot hear." (A bit of sad imagery, where one yearns for the familiar while abroad somewhere new)
"I am a child again and the worst words in the world are being said: 'No, you cannot go out!'"
"'Never was grief like mine.'" (I feel as though this line is a double entendre. Grief is unique in the sense that everyone feels it differently, because there are multitudes of grief, but no one will ever experience every individual's grief. How, then, can it be accurately measured?)
"Silence speaks to the priest. ... Is this where God hides / From my searching?"
(Source: https://stockcake.com/i/priest-praying-solemnly_1243986_1025095)
"'What a mercy God had taught us how to write.'" (Writing: one of the greatest joys of life)
"All is changed, all is new. The spring has come."
"... we should find significance in all that we do."
"Generally, one has to be over 40 at least to be a character. Characters under 25 are known as nuisances." (A very interesting way to meet the criteria of being a "character!")
"... with the elegant Athenians in the address. We don't have Athenians in the congregation every day." (This part shocked me because it appeared during a time when I was following the Athena Strand case. In all of my 30 years of reading, I had never come across the word "Athenians" until this book)
"The question is, when ... did I stop talking to myself and start talking to Christ?"
"How good they are to each other during this darkening." (As autumn encroaches, the author observes how the community take care of one another in spite of adversity)
"'Ask for the old paths, the good way. ... So far you have asked nothing in My name: ask and you will receive.'"
"How could he be so joyfully affirmative when he must have witnessed Civil War horrors? Well, how could he? I had no answer." (The answer was that he had found God)
"God needs not only to see His face but some of His intelligence reflected in us."
"'But I am comforted in the fact that the creature cannot rise higher than his Creator.'"
"One cannot always tell when something wonderful is going on."
"I have always loved waiting. Not too long, of course. ... neither late or early, so as not to spoil the waiting with anxiety or prevent there being a wait at all." (Yes, there is even something wonderful to be found in the subtle art of waiting. My Nana used to tell me, "Patience is a virtue; find it, if you can. Always in a woman, but never in a man!")
"'What a memory you have!' some of the villagers say, but without envy. Better to forget things." (Something very bittersweet in how this is described...)
"'It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.'"
"... then goes to her window to see 'such a glory of stars, solitary, unfrequented, secure, and yet transient, that I cried out, "In wisdom hast Thou made them all," and slept again, comforted by that enormous transience.'" (I love this nighttime imagery. Despite how vast and scary the dark may be, remembering how insignificant we truly are beneath the Milky Way really puts things into perspective)
(Image created using an AI art generator on NightCafe)
"Our hunter-gatherer is the newsman and what he brings home to us is far more than we can cope with." (I love the metaphor of the news being the modern hunter-gatherer. In a world where we are bombarded by tragedies, I think this one will resonate with everyone...)
"'They are better than the pictures -- they take me out of myself.' ... clouds were much neglected. She meant as natural objects which had the power to get the spirit moving." (Something very magical about cloud-watching, especially when done for extended periods of time)
"To outlive one's children, 'that's not right,' as we say in Suffolk."
"A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it."
*"Living well is the best revenge." (I am practicing this one on a daily basis!)
"She lived in ceaseless amazement at the nerve of things." (If this quote doesn't describe me to a tee 😂)
"There is a lot of illness, many difficulties, so much practical love and unmentioned care." (In reference to the villagers taking care of one another as the colder seasons approach)