20 thoughts on “looking at life”

  1. Those lines I know! Yet I think I know them from Judy Collins…

    “I really don’t know life at all” I don’t think life is to “know” but to discover, one moment at a time, and is about the up and downs, the hurt and the joy, that informs and moves us.

    I love the painting !

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeff, you sent me off scurrying to Wikipedia to check it out:

      “Judy Collins made the first commercially released recording of the song in 1968, shortly after Mitchell wrote it, which reached #8 on the U.S. pop singles charts and won a 1968 Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance.”

      The painting made me think of the other lines about looking at clouds from both sides now…

      Reply

  2. Hi Barbara,
    The mystery of life, very true. 🙂
    The first thing that came to mind when I saw the painting, was daydreaming, just laying in the woods, wondering.

    Reply

    1. Yes, that was me as a child, daydreaming and wondering in my enchanted woods… Haven’t had a chance to do that in many many years… Wonder if you did the same?

      Reply

    1. You’re welcome. I used to sing this song often when I was younger – when no one was listening – I knew all the words by heart then but could not carry a tune. Ironically I didn’t really have that many years to look back on…

      Reply

  4. hello, Barbara! I believe there are so many ways of looking at life. We all make it different with our perspectives… but life is still irresolvable from our point of view, such that we cannot grasp absoluteness. W are also so changeable , so diverse, our senses call us, convey messages… that we aren’t simple able to remain on the flatness of knowing life in its full dimensions…

    Reply

    1. So true, all that you’ve said. It’s fascinating (to me) how when I was so young and this song was so popular, all life’s illusions seemed so clear to me. And now, even though life is still a mystery, my point of view has changed drastically, and it’s not life’s illusions I recall, but its simple pleasures and joys…

      Reply

  5. That song reminds me of my childhood. Mom was (and probably still is) a big Joni Mitchell fan. I used lines from the song in a post I did about clouds. Thanks for the little memory this morning.

    Reply

    1. It’s wonderful the associations and memories we have with musicians and their songs… I wonder if you or your mom has heard any of Joni’s more recent work? Her voice seems much deeper now…

      Reply

  6. Hi Barbara,
    That’s a beautiful picture. Life is indeed a mixture of win & lose, and nobody can know life beforehand, its a mystery! I haven’t heard this song, but will definitely search for it. Sometimes I wonder, when we lose we actually have a way to go for it and its not the end, but the fact is we give up. I wonder why!

    Reply

    1. I think with every change, no matter how big or small, we lose and we gain something – it’s the balance of life. We chose the one we focus on…

      “Something’s lost but something’s gained in living every day.”
      ~ Joni Mitchell

      Reply

      1. Oh thank you so much Barbara for sharing the video. I loved it!!! You are such a sweet heart!! 🙂 You gave me a beautiful music to start my weekend!!! 🙂

        Reply

  9. The painting’s so perfect -and exactly what I wish I could do today.

    The song’s one of my favorites from one of my favorite singers.Thanks for the YouTube of Joni singing it – it’s playing as I write this. Beautiful.

    Reply

    1. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to lie in the grass and watch the clouds float by? Could even listen to Joni on the iPod until the battery ran down… Hope you find a few moments like these this summer, Rosie…

      Reply

I welcome and appreciate your comments.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.