Saturday 5 March 2011

The Times newspaper called it, 'a thing of heart-stopping beauty', it's been a long time since I watched a film that left me still thinking about it the next morning.  'A Single Man' is about love.  About grief and fear and growing older, yet also about being alive in the moment.

How lax we are, how we forget to cherish the little things encountered every day, small moments encapsulated. They seem gilded within and time-stopping just for a fraction, just for a thought, just for that fleeting flash. The hushed silence of falling snowflakes, Spring sunlight upon ivy, a solitary duck flying low calling out, a kaleidoscope of vibrant flowers, the look in another person's eyes. We need to remember...to remind ourselves to catch hold of those treasures, to awaken to them.  Living is so slippery, so ephemeral, things pass us by in the batting of an eyelash, the glimmer of a sunbeam, the fading of a rainbow. This morning I wrote in a notebook I keep, 'Our lives are so transitory, I need to write down those small moments just as they happen - even if I only write one word, or one line.  If I enclose those fleeting seconds here in ink they can't slip away from me.  They're here, held for a while longer, until the book is destroyed.  Yet, even then...should they by chance have made it to another mind they survive and move onwards maybe to help someone else who was in need of a reminder that we should live our lives as if this were our last day, like George the main character in 'A Single Man'.  We need to remember we are only here for this moment.....and this moment..........and this moment. 

In the words of Alan & Marilyn Bergman, written for James Newton Howard's song, 'Places that belong to you.'                              
 "Tomorrow may never come, for all we know."

11 comments:

WOL said...

I will definitely have to check out the film you mention. Colin Firth is a favorite actor.

You are so right about "stopping to smell the roses."

This is very germane: http://www.kalimunro.com/If_I_Had_My_Life_To_Live_Over.html

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I have got to see this film! So many people have told me how wonderful it is. And of course, you and I share a love of all things Colin!!

Debra said...

A Single Man is now on my must-see movie list. Did you happen to see The King's Speech? I haven't, not yet. Now there are two Colin Firth movie to watch.

Paragraph two of this post is just pure poetry Jane… the stunning imagery you present, one beautiful scene after another.

And not just the images of fleeting moments, but the power of truth behind your words.
“How lax we are, how we forget to cherish the little things encountered every day, small moments encapsulated…. “

This is one of the most quote-worthy posts I’ve read in awhile now!

Unknown said...

Thank you for visiting my blog.. and I have spent a happy time visiting yours. It is wonderful. I have become a follower..and I will be back.

Half-heard in the Stillness said...

WOL : Thank you for the link I read the poem and found it intensely moving, especially with reading it in the knowledge of when and how it came to be written.Terribly jolting and sad!

Dear Pamela, I know you will enjoy it, it's so stylish and beautifully done (not least in that ...Colin of course!) x

Dear Debra, I am so touched by your words, I can't describe how much it means to me. I have always wanted to write, but when I was growing up to be a writer meant living in a garret and starving. Parents weren't too keen on the sound of that as you can imagine, so...I buried it! x

Hello to you Joan, I loved your blog I smiled all the whilst I was reading! I'm already a follower and glad you find mine worthy too!

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

This is on my movie list for sure.
Colin has traveled such a magnificent journey but his portrayal of Darcy shall always be my favourite...
Thanks for letting us know.
Susan x

June said...

I felt this post deeply today, so deeply that I had to read it twice. Everything you have said here is how I try to live everyday. I didn't always...nor would I have had it not been for the birth of a child that others (and me) call impaired. I have found however, that most of the time I am the one with the impairment, as he only feels joy. He lives joy, and it has changed who I would have been had I never known him. Something I've always felt lucky for. (Did you know his syndrome was named for the British Dr. who discovered it? I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Harry Angelman at a conference on Angelman Syndrome in Florida.)

I also loved the post before about you being the Jester. If there is one thing I have sensed about you, it is that you are a very wise and kind person, and someone whom I know I would want as my best friend if I lived next door.
sending hugs to you from here

Christmas-etc... said...

Yes, "tomorrow may never come..." - and for some of us it won't - but eternity is waiting to welcome all. What lovely flowers!

So neat that you visited The St. Nicholas church in Malta!

Have a nice week! And thanks for your lovely comments about little Edward!
Ann

Half-heard in the Stillness said...

Big thank you's to 'Miss Maddie's' and Dear June and Ann! x

Graciel said...

jane,

for all the wonderful comments you have left for me, i thank you deeply. they've meant the world. :)

and your post, with gorgeous flowers and needful movie recommendation,is just what i needed to hear today. i, too, read it twice.

thank you. for all of it.

much love,
graciel

Virginia said...

What a wonderful reminder of how we should live our lives!
Thank you.
V