I suppose every old scholar has had the experience of reading something in a book which was significant to him, but which he could never find again. Sure he is that he read it there; but no one else ever read it, nor can he find it again, though he buy the book, and ransack every page.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Both of these pieces — the artwork and the quote – are new to me. What a wonderful gift this day!
It’s nice to know you found something new here, Laurie! The quote describes what has happened to me on any number of occasions!
So very true …
It must be a fairly common experience – I used to think I was the only one, that there was something wrong with my brain…
Hi Barbara. The painting tells quite a story. Even though you can’t see her eyes, you know she is intent on every word, because he speaks it …. Jane
To me, being read to and reading to others are two of life’s greatest pleasures – to experience that joy on a summer day on the water and under a tree makes it even more appealing!
It feels like~~even though we may ransack the book looking for what moved us~~perhaps what moved us could only be found in the Moment. Even if we read the same sentence now, it’s a new moment, and perhaps can not speak to us in the same way ever again. (Just a thought?)
I think you are on to something, Kathy. Our perceptions are forever changing as we gradually grow older and look at things from different perspectives. I’ve always thought of these shifts as slow and gradual, but it stands to reason they also happen more quickly, from moment to moment.
I agree with Kathy. I have searched for passages in a book, only to wonder, “what was the significance of those words again?” No amount of searching your soul can make the words have the same impact again, if they were only meant for a particular moment.
That’s been my experience, too, Joanne. And sometimes I think I’ve found what I was looking for but the words are arranged differently than I “remember” them. As Emily Dickinson said in a letter to a friend, “No part of mind is permanent. This startles the happy, but it assists the sad.”