Tuesday, December 30, 2014

An Unfamiliar Room


"Entering the new year
is like going into a big and almost
unfamiliar room."
Faith Baldwin
Evening Star



"Having tried to travel light,
I hope I haven't brought the brittle,
broken disappointments with me--
they can cut like glass--
or the faded shopworn things
that should have been thrown out long since."
Faith Baldwin


"But some old things, the good ones,
without which the new-year room
would be very empty,
are the qualities,
emotions,
and attachments we have cherished;
these fit into the room
like a hand in a glove."
Faith Baldwin



"Love and loyalty--
a quality rarer than one thinks--
gratitude,
remembered without embarrassment,
and joy recalled,
without mourning."
Faith Baldwin


"No new room becomes one into which we
can fit with ease
and live with security
if it lacks these."
Faith Baldwin


"It is easier said than done,
this moving only the good memories
into the new room,
compelling oneself to discard the unhappy ones.

But I find as the years go past
and I move from one year's room into another,
that I manage to take less with me
of the things I do not need
and should never have kept."
Faith Baldwin




Shall we travel light
into the unfamiliar room of
2015?

14 comments:

  1. Lovely suggestion...

    From two lovely ladies... You, and Faith...

    Gentle hugs,
    Tessa~

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    Replies
    1. She was a wise woman, Tessa. I admire her so much!

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  2. Dewena,
    Faith Baldwin, such a prolific writer and what an interesting and well put observation on the journey of life.
    For me-I am choosing light. I have spent way too many a year traveling into the unfamiliar room carrying a heavy knapsack, which only hurt my back and wore me down-metaphorically speaking...and actually a heavy spiritual load can be damaging physically as well.
    Thank you for this inspiring post-
    Oh, I meant to mention to you that I so appreciate you leaving a comment on my New Years Post. I actually forwarded the information on taking care of Amaryllis to Wendy at September Violets.
    Thank you too for your input on the hand monogrammed napkins-I am so
    delighted to know this!
    Happy New Year, Dewena!
    Hugs,
    Jemma

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    1. Yes, Jemma, a light knapsack is so much easier!

      And your amaryllis are spectacular! You must have the right touch!

      Happy New Year!

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  3. I just bought my first Faith Baldwin book, "Face Toward Spring"-thanks to your references to her. I'm looking forward to reading it. Happy New Year Dewena!

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    1. That's wonderful, Jan! What a treat it will be. Let me know how you like it, please.

      Happy New Year to you!

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  4. how beautiful this is.
    and amazing once again in its synchronicity with my own post thoughts.
    i've one ready about ' the lightness of enough ' . . .
    but i love faith's thoughts of freeing spiritual weights we carry from the old room's year to the room of the new year in our minds and hearts as well.
    wonderful!
    my wordpress is acting up again. ever since they did their last updates.
    it jumps all over the place as i type. may never get my post up!
    my resolution should and will be technological patience! LOLOL.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tammy, this is a post I'm preaching straight to myself, determined to cast aside any scallawag thoughts that try to clutter up my mind and heart. You hold me to it, Tam! Don't let me get away with petty complaining, and any complaints are petty when I think of the courage some dear bloggers are facing life with.

      I hope you get your post up soon. I want to tackle the job of simplifying my surroundings this year so a dose of your common sense regarding living with only what you need, or love, is just what I'll need.

      Happy New Year, Tam!

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  5. A lovely post for the New Year : ) Faith was a friend of Gladys Tabor? Is that why her name rings a bell? I have to go google that to see if memory serves me right....

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    1. Yes, Deb, they were great friends. I would love to have sat in on their visits.

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  6. My dear Dewena,

    The very first thing that I encountered in this most eloquent and enlightening post, was, of course, the room, itself, and specifically, how the book on display was so perfectly complemented by the crimson on the wall and podium of books, the Oriental blue on the decorative dish, and the creamy whites of the orchid, the lamp and the dove.

    After reading Faith Baldwin's insightful words on the precautionary philosophy of 'new rooms', I wouldn't think twice about stepping into one, if it were as welcoming and beautiful as this, inspiring reflective thought about what direction a person would like their life to move towards, and what 'supplies' they should consider packing on such a journey, realizing that the most indispensable ones, coincidentally, are less heavy on the body, as well as the heart, and ultimately, wonderfully 'weightless' on the mind.

    Thank you for leading us so enchantingly into the new year, via your familiar room, making the journey into the future, an amazing adventure to follow.

    xoxo
    Poppy
    P.S.: I'm right behind you!:))

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    1. Thank you, Poppy! The white orchid was a Christmas present that I asked R.H. for and he found this beauty. I actually keep it in the kitchen window with lots of good light but when I needed something for Faith Baldwin's good book I had to borrow it for the living room to go with the white Toikka bird that was one of two that were gifts from a sister.

      Isn't it amazing how commonsense Baldwin's words are? Shouldn't I have known instinctively that trying to carry forward old regrets just plain does not make sense? As you said, it is the "most indispensable ones" that "are less heavy on the body, as well as the heart."

      Whew! So nice to feel lighter going into this unfamiliar year of 2015!

      See you in the Faith Baldwin line!

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  7. Every time I read Gladys Taber, and she mentions Faith Baldwin I tell myself that I must read her work. I know my library had a lot of her books.

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    1. Nan, I have read a few of Baldwin's novels in years past but it is her books about her own life that I love. They are set up the same as Taber's, month by month.

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