tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post8690924970785385002..comments2023-06-28T22:58:28.247+10:00Comments on Sixth In Line: My mother: an anemone buried in the sand.Elisabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-74993846643220140172011-10-27T23:29:11.347+11:002011-10-27T23:29:11.347+11:00I can't claim the credit here, Popps. One of m...I can't claim the credit here, Popps. One of my artistic daughters created this image. As far as I know she superimposed peeled back images from texts over my photo, which her husband had taken at a book launch. My daughter wanted to acknowledge the disparate nature of my many selves on the blog.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-69856429115260585782011-10-27T23:17:57.604+11:002011-10-27T23:17:57.604+11:00Hi, It's Popps, it seemed fairer to have this ...Hi, It's Popps, it seemed fairer to have this part of teh conversation on your blog because right now i wanted to ask you about your photo.<br />It looks like folded bits of paper that you have added, or maybe envelopes - is it/are they?poppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08976320013870023366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-9004990740375719162011-10-21T20:41:34.568+11:002011-10-21T20:41:34.568+11:00Hi Galen. It's good to meet you here. I'm...Hi Galen. It's good to meet you here. I'm glad my story meant something for you.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-68035544014126381462011-10-21T14:26:03.226+11:002011-10-21T14:26:03.226+11:00Elisabeth...
Your story was very moving.
Thanks fo...Elisabeth...<br />Your story was very moving.<br />Thanks for stopping by....GalenG-Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14968807697181554781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-24001772882326404192011-10-18T22:03:56.514+11:002011-10-18T22:03:56.514+11:00Thanks for your kind words, Windsomebella. It'...Thanks for your kind words, Windsomebella. It's good to see you here. And what a lovely blog name you have.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-10827818428087252442011-10-18T22:02:36.310+11:002011-10-18T22:02:36.310+11:00And your comments, Tracy are also such a treat to ...And your comments, Tracy are also such a treat to read. You think so deeply on these topics and always come up with such vital perspectives. <br /><br />I think the idea of detachment as a necessary life raft in desperate circumstances is wonderful but as you say its shelf life is limited. It can save you, a life raft, but it cannot sustain you long term.<br /><br />Thanks, Tracy.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-32763329914944775972011-10-18T21:59:31.548+11:002011-10-18T21:59:31.548+11:00It is a vivid image, Ajuga, isn't it? I can i...It is a vivid image, Ajuga, isn't it? I can imagine bright red crimson tendrils against yellow sand and translucent blue green water. Quite a contrast to the disappearing tendrils under the pale yellow sand.<br /><br />Thanks, Ajuga.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-78646689805478172252011-10-18T21:57:06.413+11:002011-10-18T21:57:06.413+11:00I think those promises we make to ourselves, Kath,...I think those promises we make to ourselves, Kath, are rather like efforts at distracting ourselves from whatever pain or suffering we must contend with at particular times. So I'm glad the promise of Pilates worked for you.<br /><br />Thanks, Kath.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-63740077362653100192011-10-18T21:55:00.880+11:002011-10-18T21:55:00.880+11:00It's funny how we can read the experience of d...It's funny how we can read the experience of detachment in different ways, Punk Chopsticks, and, of course, there are degrees. <br /><br />The surgeon's cold clinical detachment can be useful at times however much we might hate his/her awful bedside manner but a serial killer's detachment is positively chilling. <br /><br />There is a time and place for everything I suppose, though not for murder. My metaphors here are getting me into trouble. So I shall stop. <br /><br />It's good to see you here, Punk Chopsticks, and many thanks for sharing your thoughts.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-45785459947650462822011-10-18T21:46:10.136+11:002011-10-18T21:46:10.136+11:00I'll try to continue somewhere down the track,...I'll try to continue somewhere down the track, John from Penal colony, but it may take a little time. I'm not sure where the next burst of inspiration might lead.<br /><br />Thanks, John.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-64484605253904825502011-10-18T21:44:39.384+11:002011-10-18T21:44:39.384+11:00I like the idea of detaching ourselves to get a lo...I like the idea of detaching ourselves to get a look at us and then spending time to re-attach all the pieces, Steven. <br /><br />It seems a very Steven-like way of considering our human condition.<br /><br />Thanks.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-85890140791065493122011-10-18T21:42:25.771+11:002011-10-18T21:42:25.771+11:00I'm glad the Pilates ending worked for you, Je...I'm glad the Pilates ending worked for you, Jeanette, you on your recumbent bicycle. They amaze me, those bikes. <br /><br />Don't you ever fear getting squished under the wheels of some of those four wheel drives that can't see small cars let alone bicycles, especially those that lie flat on the ground?<br /><br />Enough said. I'm being flippant here. <br /><br />Now more seriously, I'm grateful for your thoughts. The religiosity of some AA talk bothers me, but extreme forms of religion bother me anywhere, extremes in any form , the ...isms and the ...ologies also bother me. <br /><br />But I believe AA, Al-anon and Alateen can help and if they can keep people sane and help others to overcome a destructive addiction then it's all for the good, notwithstanding the side effects.<br /><br />Thanks, Jeanette.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-77352376115792762192011-10-18T21:35:21.911+11:002011-10-18T21:35:21.911+11:00I'm glad it resonated for you, Pat. It always...I'm glad it resonated for you, Pat. It always intrigues me within the blogosphere how different pieces of writing impact on people in so many different ways.<br /><br />Thanks Pat - the weaver.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-18743263535532167162011-10-18T21:33:26.055+11:002011-10-18T21:33:26.055+11:00They live on in us, Laoch, those parents of ours, ...They live on in us, Laoch, those parents of ours, however hard we try to grow beyond them, but it is not all bad, at least I don't think so. We get some good stuff too. <br /><br />Thanks, Laoch.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-588122861902613982011-10-18T21:31:55.431+11:002011-10-18T21:31:55.431+11:00I agree, Susan, 'if acknowledgement and intros...I agree, Susan, 'if acknowledgement and introspection are not part of the legacy' then it is far less likely that people will make much progress beyond the damage inflicted by alcoholism in one shape or form. <br /><br />I'm not so optimistic as to imagine that things can get much better in relation to our need for help from as many quarters as possible in this regard, if we cannot ask for it and take it when offered.<br /><br />Thanks, Susan.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-16584839740735891602011-10-18T21:28:27.789+11:002011-10-18T21:28:27.789+11:00It's not so surprising that you were a bit det...It's not so surprising that you were a bit detached with your children, River, as you say given that your mother left you when you were seven. It is a way of coping, I suspect with unbearable pain, and we all need to cope as best we can especially if we're seven and have no mother to fend for us. <br /><br />I admire your ability now to go on, in spite of it all. I don't think I could have done so well losing my mother at seven.<br /><br />Thanks, River.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-78649580675532123792011-10-18T21:25:00.726+11:002011-10-18T21:25:00.726+11:00Today I looked at the church I had in mind when I ...Today I looked at the church I had in mind when I wrote this piece, Jim, and I find it was not exactly as I have described but it's not the one in this picture you offer either. <br /><br />There must be another church further along the road whose name I do not know. Al-Anon meetings are held in St Columbs though, the one in your picture. <br /><br />I don't always get my descriptions completely right, but as you say this church could be one of many here in Australia as in Scotland, and as elsewhere throughout the western world.<br /><br />As for groups, I spend a lot of time in them. Different types of groups and my favourite groups over the years have always been writers' groups. I simply relish the opportunity to share my writing and to listen to other people both read and talk about theirs. <br /><br />To me these days it's one of the most pleasurable activities of my life alongside the actual writing, which can be very painful at times but at other times is also exhilarating, depending on my state of mind. <br /><br />More often when I write I feel neutral, neither good nor bad, especially once I bat the internal critic from off my shoulder. I know now that I need not feel good in order to write. I write in spite of how I feel. it seems to me the way to go, at least it is for me.<br /><br />As for detachment, that's about the gist of it, I write regardless of how I feel. I try to detach myself from the process.<br /><br />Thanks again, Jim.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-56002498025332384092011-10-18T21:13:49.095+11:002011-10-18T21:13:49.095+11:00I try to write from a state of detachment, Judy, t...I try to write from a state of detachment, Judy, though I don't always succeed. Perhaps detachment is not the right word here. Maybe it's more to do with trying to find images for emotions without putting the emotions into more direct words. It's not easy, and I fear I fail more often than not, but I keep trying.<br /><br />Thanks Judy. I'm glad that for you I succeeded to some extent.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-49893894439732970342011-10-18T11:13:25.385+11:002011-10-18T11:13:25.385+11:00Powerful and beautiful. Refined honesty.Powerful and beautiful. Refined honesty.winsomebellahttp://winsomebella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-35540401951825298572011-10-18T11:13:07.410+11:002011-10-18T11:13:07.410+11:00Powerful and beautiful. Refined honesty.Powerful and beautiful. Refined honesty.winsomebellahttp://winsomebella.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-77576083638940621742011-10-18T09:27:33.696+11:002011-10-18T09:27:33.696+11:00I think of detachment somewhat like a life raft. I...I think of detachment somewhat like a life raft. If you have no other choice, if it is your survival that is on the line, if it's detachment or die... then by all means, choose detachment. None of us can be in another's shoes and judge what we need to do to survive, to get up the next morning, to make it through one more night. At times life is an unbearable hell. I cannot blame those who choose detachment.<br /><br />But detachment, much like a life raft, is not sustainable. Growth will not happen, relationships will not be nurtured, and no one flourishes under detachment. So there's a time and place, and it is meant to be a temporary thing.<br /><br />For someone to use detachment and cling on to it long after the danger has passed... that's like living in a life raft, on the shore, for the rest of your life. Your movement is constricted and you never quite see the reality that you are safer than you once were. It is indeed, burying yourself in the sand.<br /><br />Fantastic post as always, Elisabeth. Your blog is such a joy to visit (even as you tackle the hard subjects.)<br /><br />Much love.Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477498671080132176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-17416925696486165822011-10-18T01:53:59.391+11:002011-10-18T01:53:59.391+11:00The imagery of the anemone buried in the sand is b...The imagery of the anemone buried in the sand is beautiful and so moving. I could see it in my mind.agujahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15857809123531088629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-43556886671503320312011-10-18T00:54:25.310+11:002011-10-18T00:54:25.310+11:00Beautifully rendered as usual, Elisabeth even thou...Beautifully rendered as usual, Elisabeth even though I also feel so very sad for how your mother's detachment cost you and your siblings far too much.<br /><br />I also love the 'pilates' promise at the end. We always make those kinds of promises and rewards to ourselves in every situation, don't we?Kath Locketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09677312773827236567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-935947875541370002011-10-17T23:30:13.931+11:002011-10-17T23:30:13.931+11:00Detachment: Gosh, I practically grew up with the w...Detachment: Gosh, I practically grew up with the word (and still am putting up with it) there was a lot of resentment to my parents at first, but after a while I came to realize it didn't mean they didn't love me. In fact, when you're not attached to anything, i guess thats how you practice unconditional love with no strings attached (pun intended).<br /><br />Of course, detachment can't be mistaken for cold and apathy.Punk Chopstickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384444438981628779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28133718.post-84039063238420252552011-10-17T20:57:07.216+11:002011-10-17T20:57:07.216+11:00Hits all the right notes for all the right reasons...Hits all the right notes for all the right reasons. Pray, continue.Penal-Colonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04578228230659521795noreply@blogger.com