9/ 12/ 71. What troubles the small and the great is the difficulty of reconciling their personal dramas with such things as the moon in its course, the strength of the sea… Everyone feels so small, yet his problems shake him with the force of hurricanes. It does not make sense.
— Patricia Highsmith, “Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks: 1941-1995.″ Anna von Planta (Editor). (Liveright, November 16, 2021)
Photo: DK @ Daybreak. 6:24 am, January 30, 2022. 9° F, feels like -2° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT
it shows how tiny we actually are in the scheme of things, that those personal dramas feel incredibly huge.
Such an interesting way of looking at it Beth.
It’s all relevant, isn’t it? Even looking back to the past, you realize that oftentimes the things that seemed monumentous were in fact but a speed bump in the grand scheme of things. Life has a funny way of cutting us down to size at some points and lifting us up at others. ☺️
Yes Lori. That’s it.
Great quote and so clever. It’s the small things that matter, of course.
Wishing you a wonderful week
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
She was that (clever). Thanks Klaus. Have a great week.
Better to suspend thought when looking at the unfathomable beauty of the sky…
Yes!
Infinitesimal has always been one of my favourite words 🙂
I gasped at the photo – beautiful!
Wonderful word Laila, when I can get it out of my mouth without garbling it! Thank you!
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Really needed to read this today!! … “Everyone feels so small, yet his problems shake him with the force of hurricanes. It does not make sense.” — Patricia Highsmith, “Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks: 1941-1995.″ Anna von Planta (Editor). (Liveright, November 16, 2021).
Me too!
I saw that same moon a few days ago but I think the crescent was on the right side of the moon while yours is on the left. It was evening. Don’t know if that makes any difference.
No idea! Fact you noticed is Something!
Such a extortionary image…I stood at the kitchen sink, drinking a glass of water, late last night prompted by the bright moonlight illuminating..,I moved the back-lit kitchen curtain,…the crescent moon so perfect, hanging mid-height in the night sky…/// since I was born under the sign of Cancer ruled by the Moon and the gravitational pull the moon has on the water…I’ve always liked the Moon and the Water…I don’t know who Highsmith is referring to, though I do wonder if the man was born under the sign of Cancer…Cancer feel very deeply and at times I know I’ve felt absolutely gutted…I’ve found that being outside, appreciating the calming effect of the beauty of nature, grounds me…time passes and the depth of what is being mould? over lessens until acceptance -since it is what it is…
What magic your work to string your thoughts to words. Beautiful. Thank you Christie
Thank you, Dave…and all your photos are my favorite…
reminds me of Sayre’s Law: “In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.” and which Henry Kissinger paraphrased as follows: “The reason that university politics is so vicious is because stakes are so small”
LAUGHING. Love this Jim. Thanks.
👍