Inspiration

Objects with Meaning #11 – Tardis number 2

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There must be a Tardis number one floating about somewhere in my clutter. This is a part of a series of photos of objects (complete with spelling errors!) that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Objects with Meaning #10 – Jasmine Tea

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 2 Comments

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This is a part of a series (complete with typos!) of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Quote Challenge – day 3

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 5 Comments

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Day 3 of the quote challenge. I was nominated by the fab Laurie from the great blog Meditations in Motion, where she writes very thoughtful on a range of subjects. When I started this challenge I wasn’t sure that I would mange it, but I think I have done ok. I think this was one of those instances where it has been good to try something new.

Here are the rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you.
  2. Post a quote for three consecutive days.
  3. Nominate three bloggers each day to do the same

Todays nominations are:

  1. Blue Velvet Jacket – this is a thoughtful blog that covers a range of interesting things.  She recently wrote this lovely post about a pair of pearl earrings as her ‘objects with meaning’, which I liked very much – get over there to have a read.
  2. LA of the blog Waking up the Wrong Side of 50 – I really like the witty posts on this blog, which are combined with some thoughtful posts on gratitude. A great read.
  3. Suzanne of the blog Being in Nature – I discovered this blog relatively recently and have really been enjoying her thoughts on ‘being in nature’.

Today I wanted to quote from the book Empathy: a handbook for the revolution by Roman Krznaric (which I think is now available under the far more boring title Empathy: why it matters and how to get it – I think I liked the other title better but there we are). It’s a long one, so bare with me…

‘The idea of collective empathy is especially relevant today because it counterbalances the highly individualistic focus of modern self help culture, which tends to view the search for happiness or wellbeing as a personal pursuit concerning our own ambitions and desires, rather than one that involved working with others towards common goals. Yet thinkers going back to Aristotle have recognised that we are social animals, and that joy and meaning in life grow, in good part, from being immersed in something larger than ourselves. Human beings thrive on ‘we’ as much as ‘me’.’

So I really liked this section in this book as it spoke very clearly to thoughts I have been having about the social mess our highly sophisticated society appears to have got itself into. While being quite introverted, and craving solitude on a frequent basis, I also believe that the work we put into building rich relationships with people close to us is an important foundation to wellbeing. In my day job I work in mental health research, and while I don’t want to get into reviewing the science here, there does seem to be a growing consensus that social isolation and loneliness are harmful to us. The job we have then, collectively, is to build a society that supports connection more that it supports commerce. I don’t think it is shopping that will set us free.

Objects with Meaning #9 – Assorted Corks

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 3 Comments

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This is a part of a series of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 
Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Quote of the day Challenge – Day 1

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 9 Comments

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I have been nominated by the lovely Laurie of the blog Meditations in Motion to take part in the Quote a day challenge. I have been reading Laurie’s blog for a little time now and really like how she writes and what she writes about, particularly her accounts of the long distance running she does, which I personally find very inspiring. I wish I could be the kind of person who runs, but every time I try to do so I injure something. I am thinking I should consult with Laurie for some tips.

I think this is the first time I have been involved in any kind of blogging challenge on this blog, so this is a bit of an adventure for me. It is also, being a challenge, challenging. Here are the rules:

 

  1. Thank the person who nominated you.
  2. Post a quote for three consecutive days.
  3. Nominate three bloggers each day to do the same.

I am a bit concerned I am not going to be able to nominate enough bloggers as I’ve been a bit shy in making friends on here, and have a fairly developed sense of anxiety about imposing myself on people. I’ve also never been that big on ‘inspirational’ quotes – so will try to pick things that may have a peculiar meaning to me. But I will give it a go. Today I would like to nominate:

  1. Mrs Craft of the blog Craft and other Crazy plans. I love the way Mrs Craft writes about her projects, and her allotment – plenty of lovely creative stuff here.
  2. Scar of the blog Scar. This is a great mix of art, literature, and eating out in London. She was also the first blogger to take on the idea of writing about her own ‘objects with meaning’ which I liked very much, in this post here.
  3. A new blogger, and blog at Smwiddio. I have been watching the development of this one with interest and look forwards to reading more.

My quote for the day is this from the writer of the Game of Thrones series George RR Martin:

“We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”

I really loved this quote when I read it in one of his books and it has stayed with me for some time. I think it speaks to my sense of what it means to be human, and the complexity that comes with building relationships with other humans. This is the stuff of life that sustains us, but it is not always an easy task and cannot be done without the occasional (some times more than occasional) heartbreak.

 

 

Objects with Meaning #8 – Glass Lantern

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 3 Comments

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This is a part of a series of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Objects with Meaning #7 – Hand-bound leather notebook

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

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This is a part of a series of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Objects with Meaning #6 – Vintage Replica Pearls

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This is a part of a series of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Reasons to be grateful #5 – walking in the woods with my best one

/ The Magpie at Midnight / 6 Comments

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One of the things I’ve been doing with this blog over that last few months is trying to keep track of some of the things I am grateful for, following this post about gratitude. I thought it would be fun to build up a little collection of doodles to capture these. Finding the time to do this has been a bit challenging, but I have enjoyed thinking about what to draw.

Over the last few weeks we’ve had some unpredictable weather here in the UK, swinging rapidly between spring sunshine and flurries of winter snow. We’ve been lucky enough to have time to go for 2 really nice walks in the woods, in between the snow showers and rain. I find being in the woods particularly relaxing and refreshing, and love the curving unruly forms of nature. A few weekends ago we came across some beautiful mosses, which were intricate in form and all kinds of vivid greens.

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My fiancé (still getting used to calling him that) frequently have our best, most thoughtful conversations while out walking and not distracted by other things. It is often in the woods where we discuss what we would like to do together in the future, or scheme to create a joint project. So I am grateful to have that time and space with him whenever possible. I also find that when I am walking I have some of my best ideas. I think there is something about the rhythm of walking that may make different connections in my brain in comparison to just sitting in front of a screen or with some materials. So I am grateful for that different kind of ‘head space’ too.

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Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.

Objects with meaning #5 – Jade Dog

/ The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

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This is a part of a series of photos of objects that have meaning to me. Want to know a little more about the origin of this project? Have a read here.

Fellow magpies, what objects have meaning for you? If you would like to join in and tell the story of your own objects with meaning have a read of this post, or post in the comments below.

 

 

Like what you see? I also make art. You can things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying.