To live in the present

... means you are at peace

Sep 16, 2022

Quote of the week

“If you are depressed you are living in the past if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.” —Lao Tzu

Hello,

I hope you had a good week that have added something valuable to your life. We don’t always appreciate the present in our daily hurries to achieve everything we have to do. I am trying to find new routines in my life, especially morning routines. Last Saturday was a good beginning when I started with a cup of green tea, made a smoothie and, after having dealt with a few tasks around the house, I made breakfast. It was a beautiful day so I took a book with me and went for a walk down to Öresund, the strait that separates Sweden and Denmark. It is only a 20 minutes walk, through a park and a camping before reaching the sea. On the other side of the strait you see Copenhagen and its airport, Kastrup, which gives you a flair of the international world from this southwestern corner of Sweden. Not a lot of people so I sat down on a bench, and looked out over the bridge that connects Sweden and Denmark. A beautiful view while reading a good book.

Live at the Cinema

I love the possibilities to watch opera, ballet or theatre from world stages through the Live at the Cinema concept. These entertainments are not always available where you live, although I must say, Malmö has a lot to offer on the cultural scene. Sometimes it is nice to move to the Met or the National Theatres of England for a few hours or entertainement.

Andre Rieu in concert

I love Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss orchestra and their modern take on classical music. He is from Maastricht in the Netherlands and has a concert there every year. Two times I tried to get tickets to this annual event, but something always came in between. Now we could enjoy a performance again, more notable since in the last years there was no concerts. The orchestra gave us a fantastic performance of music and songs from famous operas, operettas, classical and modern music. When the Platin Tenors sang Nessun Dorma, the aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot, my eyes were not dry.

Andre Rieu has a solid fan base and I think they all were there this evening. So many people, spanning an age range of 10 - 100, happily singing and dancing. It is wonderful to see so many positive vibes, it makes you happy.

Prima Facie, a play by Suzie Miller

The day after we had tickets for the British play Prima Facie from the Harold Pinter theatre in London. It is a very difficult play to watch since it covers sensitive, although important aspects of relationships. Sexual assault and the question of consensus.

“Tessa is a thoroughbred. A young, brilliant barrister who loves to win. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and lighting up the shadows of doubt in any case. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.”

Jodie Comer makes an amazing one-woman performance. She is alone on the stage for one and a half hour, in a play which is on full speed from beginning to end. It is fun, it is serious, it is sad, and in the end; is there hope?

This play, written by Suzie Miller, highlights so well the aspects of consent in a relationship, even where love is included. One night can change everything. After MeToo one was hoping things would change, but it is going slowly. I think several countries are now in the process of changing laws to include consensus, which, as shown in this play, is also vital in established relationships.

This play is in cooperation with the Schools Consent Projects. I think it is important that schools are involved and teach young people about relationships and the importance of consent. In all aspects of life. The statistics in cases like this (from the Prima Facie website) is somewhat depressing.

“Something has to change…

In the nine months to September 2021 there were 170,973 recorded sexual offences (a 12% increase compared with 152,620 in the same period the previous year)

Of these 63,136 (37%) were rapes (up 13% from previous year)

Nearly 33% of rape victims withdraw their complaint in the first three months of it being recorded

In the first nine months of 2021 the average time between offence and court hearing is 1,020 days or over 2 and half years (25% increase on 2020)

And after that only 1.3% of rapes are prosecuted”

If you have the opportunity to see this play, take it. It has everything that makes a good play; an interesting theme, well written, amazing acting, and, something to discuss afterwards.

Mauritshuis - female painters

I promise this will be the last article on the Mauritshuis, but I wanted to stay for a short while with the female theme. When it comes to painting, especially in the early centuries, there are not that many female painters. However, I did notice there were quite a few of them represented in the museum, although their names are not familiar. I think it is time to highlight these women who are as good as their male counterparts. Here just a short summary, but for those interested you will find more under the link above, plus a sample of their production.

Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750) - her father, Fredrik Ruysch, was a famous anatomist and botanist. He recognised his daughter’s talen and sent her to train for Willem van Aelst, a famous artist, as very young. She was a still-life painter and specialised in flowers in a style very much her own. Her career spanned over six decades a she became the most famous woman painter of her time.

Michaelina Wautier (1604 - 1689) - an outstanding Baroque artist who painted anything, often on huge canvases. Typically, her work has only been recognised as hers since the turn of the 21st century. Previously they have been attributed to her brother Charles, among others.

Judith Leyster (1609-1660). It is not know who taught her, but it could have been Frank Hals, since it seems their styles are similar. She painted portraits and still lifes. She was highly regarded by her contemporaries, but her work was almost forgotten after her death. Only in modern times has she been recognised again for her work.

Catharina van Hemessen (1528 - after 1567) - is the artist of the earliest known self-portrait by a Dutch painter. It shows herself at work. She painted mostly small portraits, but did exceptionally other kind of work.

Clara Peeters (1588/1589 - after 1636). There is not much know about this artist. She was an innovator in still life painting, with an eye for realistic details of everyday life.

Agnes Block (1629 - 1704) was an artist and botanist. Her fame is not entirely due to her paintings, but more since she was the first person to grow a pineapple in Europe.

Maria van Oosterwyck (1630 - 1693) - a famous painter of floral still lifes. Her striking florals and plants includes rare species which was not so usual to see in those days.

Marie-Anne Collot (1748 - 1821) was a sculptor and made busts and even a large equestrian statue of Peter the Great.

What a lot of great women who finally get the acknowledgement they deserve.

We have had elections in Sweden and it seems there will be a change of government. I am arranging a meeting with my book circle in the beginning of October. Violeta by Isabel Allende is on the reading list. For another book circle I will be reading Stuart Turton’s The Devil and the Dark Water. Anyone who have read any of the books? I have big hopes on both of them. I am still reading Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From Behind, my translation) by Jesper Wung-Sung. As far as food goes, I have been using my new Vego cook book and the recipes are good and easy to do. That was a few things that occupied me this week.

See you next week.

Lisbeth

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