You have the right to arrange your own life

Last night the clocks changed here heralding the start of The Great British Summer. I am so excited by incremental increase in temperature that I could soil myself. The joys of Spring are everywhere – once again my breasts no longer imprisoned beneath 2 inches of knitwear have made their Spring t-shirted appearance and received the ‘Glad eye’ from passing motorists. Couples young and old in love are strolling about hand in hand. The Earth is waking up and it is beautiful.

And so in tune with my celebratory and indulgent mood here are a few things I found delightful this week:

A young couple in that lusty teenage-OMG-nobody-else-has-ever-felt-like-this-before-love.

A couple of advanced years in love. I like to believe they have been married for the last 40 years and still fancy the pants off each other (although I don’t like to imagine any pant removal as such).

"“When I needed to wear glasses, I decided I’d wear glasses. All the better to see you with.”

- Iris Arpel, 90 year old New Yorker, the Grand Dame of Fashion. Her fashion style is maximalist and relies heavily on Tribal jewellery. Adding her to my gromance list.

And finally, words of wisdom in the form of ‘Sharashkas’ by Russian poet Alexander Solzhenitsyn. A fabric print of this has been hung up in my parent’s bathroom for as long as I can remember. It makes for great mid-shit philosophical ponderation:

Sharashkas

You have the right to arrange your own life 
under the blue sky and the hot sun, 
to get drink of water, to stretch, 
to travel wherever you like....

What about the main thing in life, all its riddles?
If you want, I'll spell it out for you right now.



Do not pursue what is illusionary - property and position:
all that is gained at the expense of your nerves,
decade after decade, and is confiscated in one fell
night. Live with a steady superiority over life ...
don't be afraid of misfortune, and do not yearn
after happiness: it is, after all, the same: the
bitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never 
fills the cup to overflowing.

It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold and if
thirst and hunger don't claw at your insides. If
your back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if
both arms can bend, if both eyes can see, if 
both ears hear, then whom should you envy? And why?
Our envy of others devours us most of all. Rub
your eyes and purify your heart - and prize
above all else in the world those who love you
and who wish you well. Do not hurt them or
scold them, and never part from any of them in
anger; after all, you simply do not know: it
might be your last act .....

- Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

There now don't you feel better?