Maria C ’s Reviews > De Profundis > Status Update

Thoughtful sentence, Maria.

I wonder if the contrast is not as simple as it seems.
Joy could be wild, but it is also brave, it dares to appear even when sorrow is still in the corner. It insists on being felt, even if only for a moment. Joy can look différent from what people expect. Pain speaks in a direct way, sometimes more to men.

The thing about pain is that it doesn't care if you're ready or not. It is like an uninvited guest, it doesn't bother to ask if it's a good time. If we could say there is a good time, for pain...

Merci, Maria. Your updates on this really inspire me :)

Ê mesmo isso, Maria querida. Por vezes, o riso não passa duma máscara. Porém, a dor é sempre genuína
Excelente citação
Beijão do coração, adorável Maria ❤️
Cá estou eu de novo e cheia de saudades 😘🌻

Théo wrote: "Thoughtful sentence, Maria.

I wonder if the contrast is not as simple as it seems.
Joy could be wild, but it is also brave, it dares to appear even when sorrow is still in the corner. It insists..."

Bonjour, Théo

Your comments always challenge me. Oscar Wilde also reflects that Bosie, once stripped of his mask of joy and pleasures, had deceived them both and led them off their path.

Joy can be false out of convenience, and that is a tragedy. Pain is overwhelming, but time eventually tames it. And the happiness we all search for can also be false. There comes a moment when we look for a last chance to be happy. But, as a character in Julian Barnes’s latest novel says: “Happiness doesn’t make me happy.” We always want more from love and from happiness. Perhaps we can find moments of happiness for no particular reason, even while knowing that love and happiness are always larger than what life gives us.

Je te souhaite un très bon week-end !

Merci.

Maria wrote: "Ê mesmo isso, Maria querida. Por vezes, o riso não passa duma máscara. Porém, a dor é sempre genuína
Excelente citação
Beijão do coração, adorável Maria ❤️
Cá estou eu de novo e cheia de saudades 😘🌻"

Querida Maria,
Fico feliz por gostares das minhas citações e ainda mais porque sei que já leste esta carta.
Depois de um dia de ausência, já tinha saudades tuas, saudades genuínas.

Desejo‑te uma noite descansada.
Obrigada por tudo.

Beijinhos 😘💕🌺

You say a big thing, Maria.
" Joy can be false out of convenience, and that is a tragedy ". Yes, people pretend they are fine because it's easier than explaining why they are not. They smile because the moment asks for it, not because they feel it.
And that's indeed a tragedy. When joy becomes a mask, that's quite a tragedy. And we all end up playing a role in a play that never ends. And that's exhausting.

That sentence from Barnes' latest book is quite a masterpiece. One could write a whole book, only based on this. The feeling we call " happiness " is too small from what we expect from it.

And yes, there is also the problem of desire. People want certainty and peace, but happiness can't provide all these. It is often confused with comfort. It can hide pain for a moment, but it can not solve it. So, the " happy" feeling is nothing but a pause, tout simplement. Because happiness is not built to last, it rises and falls. Something that moves so quickly can not give the deep certainty people hope for.

Merci, Maria. Waiting for other updates of yours, as deep as your reply :))

Minha adorável Maria, os dias de festa são sempre um pouco cansativos. Foi ,sobretudo, agradável ter estado com o meu irmão que raramente vejo pois vive numa quinta, no Alentejo.
Também eu, estava cheia de saudades…
Beijos mil, linda 😘
Tem um dia feliz 💕🌻

Théo wrote: "You say a big thing, Maria.
" Joy can be false out of convenience, and that is a tragedy ". Yes, people pretend they are fine because it's easier than explaining why they are not. They smile becau..."


Bonjour, Théo

And Julian Barnes goes on to say that “happiness doesn’t make me happy” is both an idea and a criticism of the centuries of fiction he’s been thinking about. Barnes hasn’t always thought about this; it’s just something he’s been thinking about for a while now. And, by the way, Julian Barnes was here in Porto as part of a literary initiative.

Merci.

Maria wrote: "Minha adorável Maria, os dias de festa são sempre um pouco cansativos. Foi ,sobretudo, agradável ter estado com o meu irmão que raramente vejo pois vive numa quinta, no Alentejo.
Também eu, estava..."

Obrigada, querida Maria

Temos sempre saudades, não é? 💕
Eu sei como é pois a minha irmã também vive noutra cidade.
A minha mãe e eu vivemos juntas, felizmente.

Bom fim de semana.
Um gosto receber-te na minha alegre casinha. 🎉
Beijinhos.😘🌺

When I think about Barnes' sentence, though, my thought fly to what his wife was for him. After she died, he said openly that he didn't believe in " recovery ". And I think he believed in continuing, but not in healing. After a great loss, happiness could be possible, but it is never the same thing like before. It is like a dialect -
one you still understand, but no longer speak fluently .

In the end, I'd say there is " before ", and " after". Happiness belongs mostly to the " before".
I think that's why that sentence is powerful - is not pessimism, it is just understanding that after a great loss, happiness becomes a smaller language, still meaningful,
but no longer the one that defines life.

And from one point, " happiness doesn't make you happy " , because happiness is no longer the centre, but memory is.

Merci, Maria. You had such a great opportunity, enjoying Barnes' presence.

Querida Maria, também eu vivo com a minha mãe. Até nisso, somos o espelho uma da outra 💕
É sempre um imenso prazer visitar a tua alegre casinha
Tem um excelente dia, fora e dentro da tua alegre casinha
Beijos mil e mais um 😘🌷

Théo wrote: "When I think about Barnes' sentence, though, my thought fly to what his wife was for him. After she died, he said openly that he didn't believe in " recovery ". And I think he believed in continuin..."

Merci, Théo

Julian Barnes is in a new relationship, and he looked genuinely happy. :))

Franchement, I am very glad to hear this. He really deserves. And to paraphrase him, that's part of his " Levels of Life ":))

Théo wrote: "Franchement, I am very glad to hear this. He really deserves. And to paraphrase him, that's part of his " Levels of Life ":))"

haha...

I think Julian Barnes is referring to that older kind of fiction that used to end happily.

Merci, Théo.

Levels of life are, most of the time, unpredictable. And that unpredictability is precisely what gives them
their danger, but also their
beauty. After all, to love - is to risk. Love is not a contract of safety. Au contraire, it is an act of exposure. The alternative, from my point of view, having a safer life, but colourless. Or an extremely grey one.

Happy reading Maria. ♥

Kealyn wrote: "Happy reading Maria. ♥"

Thanks, Kealyn. Enjoy your reading too. 💐

....so, a poor alternative..

Théo wrote: "....so, a poor alternative.."

... peut-être bien.

Je crois que les notifications marchent affreusement, comme d'hab. Quelle infortune du destin m'est réservée...

Parfois, je me sens comme un Don Quichotte, me battant contre des moulins à vent...

Théo wrote: "Je crois que les notifications marchent affreusement, comme d'hab. Quelle infortune du destin m'est réservée...

Parfois, je me sens comme un Don Quichotte, me battant contre des moulins à vent..."

Pareil… désolée.

Une vie fade, même tranquille, n'est pas la voie
d'un guerrier....

Théo wrote: "Une vie fade, même tranquille, n'est pas la voie
d'un guerrier...."

La guerre et la paix…
Peut‑être que la vie oscille toujours entre les deux.

Toujours. Mais je préfère l'orage d'une vie imprévisible à la douceur mortifère d'un confort sans âme. Je préfère les défis qui obligent à inventer, à lutter, à renaître. Je préfère l'ardeur à la tiédeur. Je préfère la vie qui surprend, à celle qui endort. Une vie grise, ne dispense aucune de ces flammes qui font vibrer la vie.

Je lisais justement du Paul Èluard :

" J'avais à l'origine une mentalité de vainqueur. J'étais un homme nouveau. Je garde devant moi un avenir sans nuages. Et si les soleils dont j'ai joui ont été brisés
par des nuits innombrables, si je n'ai pas connu ma victoire, j'en ai gardé la notion. En dépit de tout, dans le chagrin, dans le danger, dans la terreur, j'ai su dire les raisons noires et blanches
de l'espoir. Ridicule, désarmé, exténué ou désœuvré, je me suis reposé sur demain. Sinon, je n'aurais pu naître. [ ....] Je dure pour me perfectionner. "

C'est peut-être là tout ce que j'ai voulu exprimer..

Théo wrote: "Je lisais justement du Paul Èluard :

" J'avais à l'origine une mentalité de vainqueur. J'étais un homme nouveau. Je garde devant moi un avenir sans nuages. Et si les soleils dont j'ai joui ont été..."

Merci, Théo.

Ma révolte n’est peut‑être pas grandiose, mais j’avance en talons hauts comme une Sisyphe heureuse et libre, à la recherche de désirs simples. Je ne me rends pas : j’apprends chaque jour à résister à l’absurde par l’adaptation et la mémoire, en vivant pleinement chaque lever de soleil, chaque bain de mer, chaque café en terrasse et chaque livre que je lis. J’espère qu’une foule sera là chaque fois que je renaîtrai.

Mª

Alors là-dessus, c'est peut-être le plus beau texte que tu aies jamais écrit, Maria. Le " frère jumeau "
de ta critique de L'Étranger...

Quand je lis cela, je sais que tu es sur la bonne voie. Et je suis heureux de pouvoir t'accompagner.
Heureux de voir comment
tu te tiens, droite, dans ce que tu deviens. Et au milieu de la foule, je te vois marcher sans te perdre. Et moi, je te reconnaîtrai toujours, sur tes talons.

Merci, Maria

Et ce " peut-être bien ", dont tu parlais - ne trouve plus sa place :))

Théo wrote: "Alors là-dessus, c'est peut-être le plus beau texte que tu aies jamais écrit, Maria. Le " frère jumeau "
de ta critique de L'Étranger...

Quand je lis cela, je sais que tu es sur la bonne voie. Et ..."


Merci, Théo

Mon bonheur, mon rire, mon plaisir… ce sont eux qui me font vivre et m’élèvent au‑dessus de moi‑même.

( adapté d’Albert Camus )

Théo wrote: "Et ce " peut-être bien ", dont tu parlais - ne trouve plus sa place :))"


Ah, je fais toujours des erreurs avec la grammaire française. :))

" Au-dessus de toi-même "

Magnifiquement dit...

Au-dessus de toi-même n'est rien d'autre que ce petit caillou..

Théo wrote: "" Au-dessus de toi-même "

Magnifiquement dit...

Au-dessus de toi-même n'est rien d'autre que ce petit caillou.."

Ma petite victoire...

Non, il ne s'agit pas de grammaire. C'est correct.
Mais il s'agit de savoir si cette " alternative " est bien ou pas...

Théo wrote: "Non, il ne s'agit pas de grammaire. C'est correct.
Mais il s'agit de savoir si cette " alternative " est bien ou pas..."

Je faisais de l’humour — mais visiblement, mon humour a un accent portugais. :))

Merci, Théo.

Maintenant, en relisant ta phrase, je ne peux que applaudir. D'une certaine manière, formulé dans un français impeccable, c'est exactement ce que Hemingway écrit dans le motto de mon profil..

Chapeau

Haha ! L'alternative à une vie grise ne pouvait être que hilarante, t'as raison 😄

Théo wrote: "Maintenant, en relisant ta phrase, je ne peux que applaudir. D'une certaine manière, formulé dans un français impeccable, c'est exactement ce que Hemingway écrit dans le motto de mon profil..

Chapeau"

Je vous remercie de votre gentillesse, Monsieur.

Toujours dans votre bateau, Madame :)) 👻

Théo wrote: "Haha ! L'alternative à une vie grise ne pouvait être que hilarante, t'as raison 😄"


Voilà. :)))

Olá, linda 😍
Eis que o fim de semana chegou e por aqui o outono ainda não bazou😉
Recordas-te de eu dizer que o outono veio visitar o verão e trouxe uma mala cheia de nuvens?!
Pois, ele ainda não fez as malas para partir. Ele é o verão continuam a reinar por aí para grande desprazer dos veraneantes e prazer dos habitantes locais que assim não têm que gramar mais confusão
Beijão do coração, querida Maria. Bom fim de semana ❤️💐

Maria wrote: "Olá, linda 😍
Eis que o fim de semana chegou e por aqui o outono ainda não bazou😉
Recordas-te de eu dizer que o outono veio visitar o verão e trouxe uma mala cheia de nuvens?!
Pois, ele ainda não f..."

Querida Maria,

Li agorinha mesmo o teu amoroso comentário. As notificações bazaram, abalaram.
Desculpa a resposta tardia.
Votos de um excelente domingo.
Beijinhos.😘💕

Mais vale tarde que nunca, linda
Beijão do coração e bom início de semana, querida Maria 😘💕