A new year, new expectations
Quote of the week
The only constant in life is change.
Heraclitus, Greek philosopher
Hello,
Long time no see. I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas holiday and New Year celebrations. On this end it has been rather quiet, due to grief in the family. Martin and I celebrated New Year alone, and we took the train over to Copenhagen for New Year’s Eve to visit Glyptoteket. A glyptotheque is a collection of sculptures, and there are many museums around the world with that name. The name derives from Greek where the root glyphein means to carve, and theke a storing place. The collection consists of art and archaeological objects from Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Etruscan culture as well as Danish and French art of the 19th century. There are some Danish and French paintings and temporary exhibitions, but most of the collection consists of sculptures. I am not overly happy to just look at sculptures, but I must say I changed my mind after seeing this collection. Also the more modern sculptures were great.
The house itself is magnificent, with a built up Roman square with mosaic floors, and surrounded by roofed ails around it, full of Roman statues. Straight on when you enter the museum there is an orangeries full of plants and places to sit and rest your legs. Well needed after going around for 3,5 hours, as we did. After that we walked down to Nyhavn and enjoyed a glass of glögg, looking out over the canal.
On the way home, to a much awaited dinner, since we had had nothing to eat since breakfast, we took the metro to the airport to change to the train. It was just that the next three trains were cancelled, and I saw ourselves celebrating New Year’s Eve in a boring check in hall. After 45 minutes a train came and we arrived safely at home. I was preparing a few small dishes, all with seafood, which went down well with a glass of champagne … or two.
New Year resolutions
A new year, new resolutions. Don’t we all make them? And, how long do they last? Mostly, not so long. The only thing we can be sure of is, as Heraclitus says, that change is always there. It can be big changes, or small ones; some we can deal with, some take more efforts to handle.
Lately, I have been reading a lot about Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Fascinating era, and so it seems for a lot of people. There is a question that has been going around the social media: "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?"
According to a Swedish influencer, Saskia Cort, men seem to think about the Roman Empire several times a day. (??) Surveys show that 5% of men and 1% of women in Sweden (between 18 and 85) think about the era daily. In 2018 there was an exhibition in Jönköping (a city in the south of Sweden) Gladiators, the heroes of the Colosseum. A survey with three men and two women visiting the exhibition (ages between 26-62) was made, where they had to answer a few questions. The outcome:
The men thought mainly of engineering and masculinity.
The women thought mainly of beauty and the sights of Rome.
The men looked primarily to hard values.
Women looked primarily to beautiful and aesthetic values.
Many of them were aware of the achievements of the Romans, be it military, engineering, history and politics, and they knew the history of the eternal city. Fascinating. I must admit, that these days I probably think about the Empire almost every day. Too much into the books, Martin would say.
My interest of the Roman Empire has lately led me to the Stoics. They believed that to practice virtue, they could achieve eudaemonia: a well-lived life. They found the path to achieve this kind of life by practicing the four virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance or moderation, and justice. And, which is very popular today, to live in accordance with nature. The philosophy was founded by Zeno of Citium around 300 BC. The most famous stoics are: Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Here a few quotes from them about change.
Marcus Aurelius
“Everything you see will soon alter and cease to exist. Think of how many changes you’ve already seen; the world is nothing but change.”
“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.“
“Everything’s destiny is to change, to be transformed, to perish. So that new things can be born.”
Epictetus
“If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.”
Seneca
“You need a change of thinking rather than a change of climate.”
“Man is affected not by changing events, but by the view he takes of them.“
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.“
“Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind.”
A few philosophical lines on the new year. I will come back to the Stoics, who are a fascinating crowd.
See you next week.
I'm so sorry you have had a significant loss -- and somehow, they often seem to hit harder during the holidays when celebration and festivity seems mandatory. I hope things are easing for you now. That was a beautiful mini-trip, though. That mosaic floor and the plants and light caught my eye more than any sculptures would. Very peaceful. And then -- the not-so-peaceful times waiting for the train. Your shrimp dishes sound good, though -- and we are on to a new year. Stoic or not! I hope things go well -- it's good to see you back.