Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A Mantra From Camus


"In the midst of winter I discovered that there was within me an eternal spring."

--Albert Camus

Ah, Albair, thank you for arming me with a philosophy that will ease me through this day and through this relentless snow!

My car has died. It sits forlornly in a 7-11 parking lot, awaiting its fate (a tow truck). Now the future is uncertain--rides to work, to school. Meetings on the calendar. And the coldest weather on record predicted for the week.

Thanks to Camus I have achieved a certain resignation--a philosophical distance from my transportation problem that makes it rather funny. How long, really, did I expect my ten-year-old caravan to last? This long? :)

I know that however it is resolved I will be able to rely on that eternal spring of which Camus wrote so poetically. His words are my comfort on this cold winter day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Old cars and winter are a bad combination, as I know only too well. Sorry to hear about that. We're having a cold spell too. Wish I could hibernate until April, or even next Monday. Thanks for the quote though.I'm looking inside me. I might need an ice pick, but I'm looking!

Julia Buckley said...

Now THAT reminds me of another great quote from Franz Kafka:
"A book should be an ice pick to break up the frozen sea within us."

I can't escape the literary quotations today. :)

Anonymous said...

Julia,
That's a gorgeous photo -- suitable for framing. Did you take it?
Hugs,
Pat Browning

Julia Buckley said...

I did take it, Pat! I love pictures of icy things. This is a tree right in front of my house.