Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five

Issue 4 - Moments In Time

Hello and welcome to the fourth edition of my new weekly email newsletter, Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five.

Each Friday, I share five things I’m enjoying and thinking about, which I hope you find useful on this journey towards a more balanced, intentional, and fulfilling life.

Here’s my Friday Five this week.

1. What I’m Reading

Madame Bovary (1856) by Gustave Flaubert.

Flaubert’s masterpiece is considered one of the most influential literary works in history. The novel, a seminal work of realist fiction (the accurate representation of thoughts and emotions rather than of external things), transports the reader to mid-nineteenth century Northern France. Its central character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond her means to escape the banalities and emptiness of small-town life. Flaubert’s central theme is of the chasm between Emma’s dreams and reality, the distance between desire and fulfilment. It resonated so much at the time of publication that many women claimed they were the model for the heroine. More than a hundred and fifty years later, the relevance of the central theme remains, updated for our digital age.

"Madame Bovary has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone.” Henry James.

2. What I’m Watching

Wild Strawberries (1957). Directed by Ingmar Bergman.

I hadn’t heard of this film until I saw it mentioned in an article. I added it to my shortlist and watched it on a recent flight. It’s an outstanding film from one of the great directors of post-war European cinema. It tells the story of Dr. Isak Borg, a renowned physician but with a cold and uncaring demeanor from his life’s experiences. Now about to receive an honoury degree for his fifty years in medicine, he undergoes a period of deep self-reflection as he makes the long road trip from Stockholm to Lund with his daughter-in-law. Along the way he meets with strangers and relatives, offering further contemplation of the past and the decisions he’s made.

Bergman said he came up with the idea of the film when driving by his grandmother’s old house. “So it struck me - what if you could make a film about this? That you just walk up in a realistic way and open a door, and then you walk into your childhood, and then you open another door and come back to reality.” It’s a beautifully shot film, with stunning black and white cinematography of Sweden’s landscape. Bergman’s dream/nightmare sequences are also powerful; images of clocks with no hands stay with you long after the film’s end.

3. What I’m Contemplating

The power of a photograph. The World Nature Photography Awards for 2022 were recently announced with some fantastic work showcasing the wonders of our planet. (The cover of this newsletter is the winning photo by Jens Cullman, a crocodile baked in mud, shot in the Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe).

As I’ve written about on my website, photography provides eyes to the world. It calls attention to the things we miss in our everyday lives and to those events and people at a great distance from our own small place in the world. I’ve always been drawn to the idea that photography captures a moment in time that can last forever, helping us reflect who we are, how we got here, and where we want to go. In an age where we accumulate thousands or even tens of thousands of photos on our phone, we should strive to identify the ones that matter. They don’t need to be award-winning, just important to you.

4. A Quote to note

“Only the day dawns to which we are awake. If we are to grasp the realities of our life while we have it, we will need to wake up to our moments, otherwise, whole days, even a whole life, could slip by unnoticed.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

5. A Question for you

When you look at other people, ask yourself if you are really seeing them or just your thoughts about them. We often wear glasses when we view people. Take them off to see a little more accurately what is really there.

Thanks for reading and, as always, I’d love to hear any thoughts you may have.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the journey.

James