Very emotional piece touches so many things, raw honest of experience ,but I live in wonder for there be two sides to every story, love so deep and true, if the winds should change you would stay? Would you go? Feel love, essence of love is in state of flow, like the river always moving may the flow deepen in heart truth wisdom along the way... Love to All, Kindred Breeze
This writing does have all the feels because choices and consequences are not always apparent at the same time. That is the heartbreak. I like to imagine that Leonard and Marianne are dancing together in the spiritual dimension.
AI concerns me for a few reasons.
I’m concerned that our ability to think for ourselves will be increasingly difficult. The ability for people to go anywhere now without goole maps or Apple maps is pretty much gone. I personally try to be
less dependent on navigation assistance because I want to learn the routes and have the maps and landmarks in my head, be more present and not on autopilot.
The other biggest concern that I have of AI is my ability to perceive what is human created vs AI created will decrease monthly as AI continues to “learn” and everyone is learning prompts to use. I hope that eventually there will be mandatory disclosure of AI content, similar to post about paid sponsors or affiliates.
Another great post Susan. You always get me thinking about ideas and how they might be actionable.
It seems both his biological parents and Leonard Cohen couldn’t give him the structure he needed in the Bohemian environment of Hydra.
When my husband and I visited Hyrdra last summer, I was reading Polly Samson’s novel “A Theatre for Dreamers” about life on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s, featuring real-life characters, including Charmian Clift and George Johnston. After leaving the island all four members of that family (parents and two boys) eventually took their own lives. Samson paints a picture of a very physically strenuous life in which women did most of the hard labor of carrying water up and down hills, making meals, etc. Not being the artist in her relationship with Leonard meant Marianne served all his domestic, clerical and sexual needs. He traveled as his career took off and she stayed on the island.
It’s easy because of Cohen’s talent to romanticize his role, but Marianne got the short end of that deal. When he finally married, the house designed by Marianne became his new wife’s, Leonard’s and their children’s.
"What did you think of the poem? and of Leonard's raw honestly, and personal choices?"
The sheer honesty that he revealed is astonishing, and so is what seems to be his guilt for leaving them behind. I have a hard time accepting one could leave behind their child, but so many of us make terrible choices when we are young. He seemed, when he wrote this, to understand that and is sharing his experience with the world, to let us know we all make bad choices and screw up things, and we will reflect back at some point and realize the mistakes we made and hopefully learn from them.
"And do you think that AI can and will replace human art, music, and poetry?"
No, I don't see AI replacing human art, music, and poetry. These things come from the soul, from our inner selves. That kind of beauty can only come from lived experiences, from who we are, from how we view the world. I know AI can be useful in some instances, but I sure don't want to see art die because of it. We must continue to be creative. It is a way of connecting ourselves to others, a way of opening our hearts and minds. This is something that can't be trained. It's part of our unique qualities and lived experiences.
I feel that AI will actually increase the value and our human need for art. I don’t believe the energy (soul) of art can be replaced, and rather than a diluting of value, I think it will distill and lift art’s value in many ways. Whether people will consciously understand what they are missing in AI-generated things, I think they will long for the human connection in soul-art. AI has many uses and opportunities, but I don’t see its ability to create connection within ourselves, which I feel Art does.
And do you think that AI can and will replace human art, music, and poetry? Never ever will AI replace the humanity of the heart and soul of all creativity and love in our lives.
love this poem. Never read it before. Definitely resonates with your tragic view of life. I don't have children, nor have I been married, but I have exes that I know I could've worked stuff out with if I was more emotionally mature. Looking further back to when I was in school, I remember friendships that I could've explored more, that would've been tremendously fruitful, but I was too concerned about my relative "status." Would I be seen as cool or uncool? What would others think of me? Painful to think of now. How humiliating to remember a time where I prioritized such useless things. anyway, for me, this poem speaks to regret--something I obviously struggle a lot with lol. after reading, I feel one step closer toward this tragic view of life
What a sweet poem. Just a few months after Cohen passed, I went to look for his house on Hydra. Back then, it wasn't marked on Google Maps. I hope you don't mind me sharing the piece I wrote about that.
As I have written before, it was your soul-saving book of discovery “Bittersweet” that not only provided me with important intellectual and emotional frameworks for dealing with the grief of losing my wife and lifelong partner, but also introduced, in a magical supportive role, the musical poetry and spiritual wonders of Leonard Cohen who I previously didn’t know of except for Hallelujah. Who knows where I was? “Days of Kindness” well reflects how deeply we can reach within and write a few lines with simple words that make us cry, nonetheless. And here I am, most days asking “Alexa” to play songs by Leonard Cohen, or when I’m back at my office desk, Spotify’s “DJ” starts me off with LC’s work. Somehow, he connects me with something reassuring, though sad, and I feel I’m “longing” with him and so many others for what has been lost. At the least, we can share.
Dear Richard, I wanted to say how sorry I am for your grief and loss, and also how touched I am by your whole comment and especially to know that I introduced you to LC and that he has now become such a deep foundation of your life! That alone feels like a worthwhile outcome of writing Bittersweet. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment. As a follow-up, I thought you would like to know that after I put your “Bittersweet teachings” on the fridge door, something I would never have done in my “previous life,” I did my best to let them work on me, the music of course, but especially numbers 2, 5, and 6. They seemed to empower me. I just completed my first novel and a collection of poems and one of haiku, all of them were enabled by building on the creative energy born of pain and longing. They are all dedicated to my late wife. She would have loved that it turned out this way – “our deepest dream is the desire for reunion.” I’d be happy to send you what I wrote.
I am sorry for your loss of your wife. I am glad the work of Leonard Cohen is such a support of you.
When thinking about the poem, "Days of Kindness" the word bittersweet came to my mind as well. I don't see LC as being selfish or having regret but more of having a bittersweet feeling regarding Marianne and the child. It makes me think of Alfred, Lord Tennyson famous line "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". Knowing that Marianne was not his wife and the child was not his, I don't judge him that he "overthrew the precious ones for an education in the world".
In addition, Glennon Doyle, author of "Untamed," often speaks about prioritizing personal needs and well-being. The quote, "never disappoint yourself before you disappoint someone else," emphasizes the importance of self-care and setting boundaries. This concept encourages individuals to consider their own well-being first when faced with choices that might inconvenience others. I feel if LC had stayed with Marianne and her child he may have regretted that decision and may have been even resentful toward her and her child. I think the poem is LC reminiscing about love, loss and choices we all experience in life. I think he has very fond memories of Marianne and her child and hopes that she shared the fond memories as well.
My husband suddenly left me when our baby was only a year old. 37 years later, I still feel the pain. I never remarried. He married the "girl" he left me for and had other children with her but he didn't see our child again after she was a toddler. Just a few years ago, his mother called our daughter and asked to see her. My daughter thought about it for a few days but said no. Cohen romanticized the cruel thing he did as a young man but mothers are left to pick up the pieces. It took everything I had. But the line that gets me is, "I pray that loving memory exists for them too". That's very hard with abandonment. That event altered my life and most importantly, the life of my child forever. Not only did his parting plunge us into poverty that took years to overcome but our daughter grew up without a father. Some things can't be overcome. Perhaps loving memory comes late in life as it did with my mother in law.
What a sad destiny, Donna … I would argue that people always have to have the choice to take the way that leads them on their soul path - even if it sometimes means to leave someone behind and thus cause pain … it also happened to me when my beloved partner and soulmate left me - with no reason, I thought. It took me almost 10 years to recover from that. Now I am glad it happened - because without him I had to find my own path and did. But the responsibility for a child is probably a different matter; when the other part of the parents - in this case you - has to carry the consequences. I am very sorry to hear this.
Very emotional piece touches so many things, raw honest of experience ,but I live in wonder for there be two sides to every story, love so deep and true, if the winds should change you would stay? Would you go? Feel love, essence of love is in state of flow, like the river always moving may the flow deepen in heart truth wisdom along the way... Love to All, Kindred Breeze
This writing does have all the feels because choices and consequences are not always apparent at the same time. That is the heartbreak. I like to imagine that Leonard and Marianne are dancing together in the spiritual dimension.
AI concerns me for a few reasons.
I’m concerned that our ability to think for ourselves will be increasingly difficult. The ability for people to go anywhere now without goole maps or Apple maps is pretty much gone. I personally try to be
less dependent on navigation assistance because I want to learn the routes and have the maps and landmarks in my head, be more present and not on autopilot.
The other biggest concern that I have of AI is my ability to perceive what is human created vs AI created will decrease monthly as AI continues to “learn” and everyone is learning prompts to use. I hope that eventually there will be mandatory disclosure of AI content, similar to post about paid sponsors or affiliates.
Another great post Susan. You always get me thinking about ideas and how they might be actionable.
Here’s some insight into what happened to Axel Ihlen (apparently told in a new documentary). https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-08-09/little-axel-the-sad-story-of-the-boy-who-grew-up-with-leonard-cohen.html
It seems both his biological parents and Leonard Cohen couldn’t give him the structure he needed in the Bohemian environment of Hydra.
When my husband and I visited Hyrdra last summer, I was reading Polly Samson’s novel “A Theatre for Dreamers” about life on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s, featuring real-life characters, including Charmian Clift and George Johnston. After leaving the island all four members of that family (parents and two boys) eventually took their own lives. Samson paints a picture of a very physically strenuous life in which women did most of the hard labor of carrying water up and down hills, making meals, etc. Not being the artist in her relationship with Leonard meant Marianne served all his domestic, clerical and sexual needs. He traveled as his career took off and she stayed on the island.
It’s easy because of Cohen’s talent to romanticize his role, but Marianne got the short end of that deal. When he finally married, the house designed by Marianne became his new wife’s, Leonard’s and their children’s.
"What did you think of the poem? and of Leonard's raw honestly, and personal choices?"
The sheer honesty that he revealed is astonishing, and so is what seems to be his guilt for leaving them behind. I have a hard time accepting one could leave behind their child, but so many of us make terrible choices when we are young. He seemed, when he wrote this, to understand that and is sharing his experience with the world, to let us know we all make bad choices and screw up things, and we will reflect back at some point and realize the mistakes we made and hopefully learn from them.
"And do you think that AI can and will replace human art, music, and poetry?"
No, I don't see AI replacing human art, music, and poetry. These things come from the soul, from our inner selves. That kind of beauty can only come from lived experiences, from who we are, from how we view the world. I know AI can be useful in some instances, but I sure don't want to see art die because of it. We must continue to be creative. It is a way of connecting ourselves to others, a way of opening our hearts and minds. This is something that can't be trained. It's part of our unique qualities and lived experiences.
I feel that AI will actually increase the value and our human need for art. I don’t believe the energy (soul) of art can be replaced, and rather than a diluting of value, I think it will distill and lift art’s value in many ways. Whether people will consciously understand what they are missing in AI-generated things, I think they will long for the human connection in soul-art. AI has many uses and opportunities, but I don’t see its ability to create connection within ourselves, which I feel Art does.
And do you think that AI can and will replace human art, music, and poetry? Never ever will AI replace the humanity of the heart and soul of all creativity and love in our lives.
I can't get past his personal choices.
love this poem. Never read it before. Definitely resonates with your tragic view of life. I don't have children, nor have I been married, but I have exes that I know I could've worked stuff out with if I was more emotionally mature. Looking further back to when I was in school, I remember friendships that I could've explored more, that would've been tremendously fruitful, but I was too concerned about my relative "status." Would I be seen as cool or uncool? What would others think of me? Painful to think of now. How humiliating to remember a time where I prioritized such useless things. anyway, for me, this poem speaks to regret--something I obviously struggle a lot with lol. after reading, I feel one step closer toward this tragic view of life
What a sweet poem. Just a few months after Cohen passed, I went to look for his house on Hydra. Back then, it wasn't marked on Google Maps. I hope you don't mind me sharing the piece I wrote about that.
https://open.substack.com/pub/itinerantcatlady/p/what-you-see-when-you-stop-looking?r=jd0te&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
What a beautiful and thoughtful conversation this all was!
As I have written before, it was your soul-saving book of discovery “Bittersweet” that not only provided me with important intellectual and emotional frameworks for dealing with the grief of losing my wife and lifelong partner, but also introduced, in a magical supportive role, the musical poetry and spiritual wonders of Leonard Cohen who I previously didn’t know of except for Hallelujah. Who knows where I was? “Days of Kindness” well reflects how deeply we can reach within and write a few lines with simple words that make us cry, nonetheless. And here I am, most days asking “Alexa” to play songs by Leonard Cohen, or when I’m back at my office desk, Spotify’s “DJ” starts me off with LC’s work. Somehow, he connects me with something reassuring, though sad, and I feel I’m “longing” with him and so many others for what has been lost. At the least, we can share.
Dear Richard, I wanted to say how sorry I am for your grief and loss, and also how touched I am by your whole comment and especially to know that I introduced you to LC and that he has now become such a deep foundation of your life! That alone feels like a worthwhile outcome of writing Bittersweet. Thank you.
Hi Susan,
Thank you for your comment. As a follow-up, I thought you would like to know that after I put your “Bittersweet teachings” on the fridge door, something I would never have done in my “previous life,” I did my best to let them work on me, the music of course, but especially numbers 2, 5, and 6. They seemed to empower me. I just completed my first novel and a collection of poems and one of haiku, all of them were enabled by building on the creative energy born of pain and longing. They are all dedicated to my late wife. She would have loved that it turned out this way – “our deepest dream is the desire for reunion.” I’d be happy to send you what I wrote.
Rick Allan
Hi Richard,
I am sorry for your loss of your wife. I am glad the work of Leonard Cohen is such a support of you.
When thinking about the poem, "Days of Kindness" the word bittersweet came to my mind as well. I don't see LC as being selfish or having regret but more of having a bittersweet feeling regarding Marianne and the child. It makes me think of Alfred, Lord Tennyson famous line "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". Knowing that Marianne was not his wife and the child was not his, I don't judge him that he "overthrew the precious ones for an education in the world".
In addition, Glennon Doyle, author of "Untamed," often speaks about prioritizing personal needs and well-being. The quote, "never disappoint yourself before you disappoint someone else," emphasizes the importance of self-care and setting boundaries. This concept encourages individuals to consider their own well-being first when faced with choices that might inconvenience others. I feel if LC had stayed with Marianne and her child he may have regretted that decision and may have been even resentful toward her and her child. I think the poem is LC reminiscing about love, loss and choices we all experience in life. I think he has very fond memories of Marianne and her child and hopes that she shared the fond memories as well.
What do you think he means by "overthrew" the precious ones?
My husband suddenly left me when our baby was only a year old. 37 years later, I still feel the pain. I never remarried. He married the "girl" he left me for and had other children with her but he didn't see our child again after she was a toddler. Just a few years ago, his mother called our daughter and asked to see her. My daughter thought about it for a few days but said no. Cohen romanticized the cruel thing he did as a young man but mothers are left to pick up the pieces. It took everything I had. But the line that gets me is, "I pray that loving memory exists for them too". That's very hard with abandonment. That event altered my life and most importantly, the life of my child forever. Not only did his parting plunge us into poverty that took years to overcome but our daughter grew up without a father. Some things can't be overcome. Perhaps loving memory comes late in life as it did with my mother in law.
What a sad destiny, Donna … I would argue that people always have to have the choice to take the way that leads them on their soul path - even if it sometimes means to leave someone behind and thus cause pain … it also happened to me when my beloved partner and soulmate left me - with no reason, I thought. It took me almost 10 years to recover from that. Now I am glad it happened - because without him I had to find my own path and did. But the responsibility for a child is probably a different matter; when the other part of the parents - in this case you - has to carry the consequences. I am very sorry to hear this.
Bless, Susan. Thank you for sharing another wonderful creative piece. ❤️
This poem is a tender way of acknowledging that "you can't have it all".
The bittersweetness of LC's words. His beautiful writing encompassing the pain within.
For me, what stood out even more was the emergent beauty of this community each resonating with their own story.
What a beautiful way to show how art can truly connect us and transform art itself.
Susan's words, the spark. The collective resonance, a big-bang of beauty.
Thank you for this.