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“December’s wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer’s memory…”

- John Geddes, A Familiar Rain

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Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are many things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling… knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go… But, of course, ceasing to be in love need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense - love as distinct from being in love - is not merely a feeling

C.S. Lewis

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“What I remember is love - all love - love of this dirt road, this sunrise, a day by the river, the stranger I met in a cafe. Myself, even, which is the hardest thing of all to love, because love and selfishness are not the same thing. It is easy to be selfish. It is hard to love who I am. No wonder I am surprised if you do.”

— Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping

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“But I don’t want small talk. Text me, and without saying hello, tell me why you got so angry at your sister this morning. Tell me why you have a scar shaped like Europe on the left side of your neck. Send me paragraphs about the time you spent at your grandmother’s house that one summer. Call me when I’m half asleep and tell me why you believe in God. Tell me about the first time you saw your dad cry. Go on for hours about things that may not seem important because I promise that I’ll be hanging on to every word you say. Tell me everything. I don’t want someone who just talks about the weather.”

— endlessfreethrows (n.o.)

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We sometimes feel rather lonely and long for friends, and think we’d be quite different and happier if only we found ‘it’, a friend of whom we would say, ‘this is it’.

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existem momentos que eu sinto que preciso me afastar de tudo pra me reaproximar de mim mesmo.

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“…but you’re wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God’s placed it all around us. It’s in everything. It’s in anything we can experience.”

-Into The Wild(1996) by Jon Krakauer

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“I want to be like water. I want to slip through fingers, but hold up a ship.”

— Michelle Williams

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“I asked for very little from life…A nearby field, a ray of sunlight, a little bit of calm along with a bit of bread, not to feel oppressed by the knowledge that I exist, not to demand anything from others, and not to have others demand anything from me..”

— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

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Alexander Leslie, the Earl of Leven died April 4th 1661.

Leslie’s birthdate is unknown, he was born circa 1580  illegitimate, the son of a Captain at Blair Castle and a mother sometimes described as “a wench in Rannoch"  At an early age, Alexander was fostered out to the Campbells of Glenorchy. The fosterage bond was strong and still written about by Leslie into the 1640s. Indeed, it was this link that brought Leslie into the orbit of the House of Argyll as Lord Lorne, the son of the marquis of Argyll was also a Glenorchy fosterling. This relationship perhaps explains the presence of Campbells in the same regiments as Leslie in Sweden, most notably Captain Charles Campbell (Karl Kammel), whose portrait hangs to this day in the beautiful  Skokloster Castle on  Lake Mälaren. 

Leslie was a soldier who plied his trade very well serving in the Dutch Army before being offered a captaincy in the Swedish Army by King Gustavus Adolphus and in 1622 he raised the Vermlands Regiment for the King. He spent 30 years in Sweden, rising to the rank of Field Marshal before retiring in 1638.

But he was not finished with soldiering, in 1639 he was made Lord General of the Army of the Covenant, approaching 60 he was no spring chicken in those days. He faced Charles I at Duns (this is the origin of the rhyme ‘There was a Crooked Man’ see below), where a price of £500 was put on his head. To me his greatest  victory was when captured Edinburgh Castle with a thousand men, not losing a single soldier.  He went on to march into England in 1640 and defeated the King’s soldiers at the Battle of Newburn. They held  Newcastle, obtaining a stranglehold on London’s coal supply. Charles I had no choice but to agree to a truce, under which the Scottish army in northern England would be paid daily expenses, pending a final treaty of peace. 

To raise the necessary funds Charles had to call the Long Parliament, thus setting in motion a process that would lead to the outbreak of the English Civil War two years later. In 1644 another victory came when he commanded combined armies of  Scottish and English at what is said to be the largest battle fought on the British Isles. Leslie’s reputation, guile and discretion were frequently noted and he was much admired.  

His army held Charles I  as a prisoner for a time before handing the king to his Presbyterian allies unaware that these would soon lose power to the Independents.  He stood his ground though occupying the north of England with his Scottish soldiers refusing to hand over control until all his men had been given the back pay they were due.  The final instalment of this came in January 1647 after which Leven marched his army back across the Scottish border. 

General Alexander retired after this and took no part in the battles that saw Cromwell’s army invade Scotland. During these times Cromwell had him arrested and held in the Tower of London for some time, until he was released on providing a bond of £20,000. He was again arrested in London but Christina, Queen of Sweden negotiated his release. 

Sir Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven died in 1661 at Balgonie Castle, Fife in his late 70’s a good age at any time, let alone in the 17th century. 

When you look back at all of our Military men through the centuries Alexander Leslie is certainly a man who can stand proud with them all, he’s often overlooked due to the circumstances surrounding the wars of the Three Kingdoms and the way Charles I was executed after Leslie handed him over to the English. 

Edit, sorry forgot to add the poem……..

There was a Crooked Man.

The content of “There was a crooked man” poem have a basis in history. The origin of this poem originates from the English Stuart history of King Charles 1. The crooked man is reputed to be the Scottish General Sir Alexander Leslie. The General signed a Covenant securing religious and political freedom for Scotland. The ‘crooked stile’ referred to in “There was a crooked man” being the border between England and Scotland. 'They all lived together in a little crooked house’ refers to the fact that the English and Scots had at last come to an agreement. The words reflect the times when there was great animosity between the English and the Scots. The word crooked is pronounced as 'crookED’ the emphasis being placed upon the 'ED’ in the word. This was common in olde England and many references can be found in this type of pronunciation in the works of Shakespeare.  

“They all lived together in a little crooked house” refers to the fact that the English and Scots had at last come to an agreement, despite the continuing great animosity between the two peoples, who nonetheless had to live with each other due to their common border.

The great recoinage around 1696 led to sixpence coins that were made of very thin silver and were easily bent, becoming “crooked”.

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile. He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse. And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

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moderation does not equal mediocrity; you can achieve the same goals while taking breaks, getting your thoughts together, and taking care of yourself.

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“If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets.”

Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

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_​A princípio, pareceu uma atitude individualista. Mas ao ser seletivo, Sam obteve ​mais espaço para si, e nessa brecha encontrou liberdade criativa. Agora ele ​concentrava seus esforços num projeto de cada vez. Era capaz de planejar meticulosamente. Conseguia prever barreiras e começar a remover obstáculos. Em vez de correr para lá e para cá tentando fazer tudo, finalizava apenas os itens ​essenciais. A nova dedicação a fazer o que era de fato importante e eliminar todo o ​resto o fez recuperar a qualidade de seu trabalho. Em vez de avançar apenas um milímetro num milhão de direções, ele começou a dar um imenso impulso rumo à ​realização do que era verdadeiramente vital._

Greg McKeown | Essencialismo

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Caminhar em frente, crendo em Cristo a cada instante, crendo que os pecados de vocês são perdoados ainda quando sua negrura, crendo que estão seguros, mesmo quando parecer que estão no maior perigo, crendo que estão glorificados com Cristo, quando sentem como se fossem encontrados fora da presença de Deus, esta é a vida da fé. Spurgeon

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Se és capaz de manter tua calma, quando,

todo mundo ao redor já a perdeu e te culpa.

De crer em ti quando estão todos duvidando,

e para esses no entanto achar uma desculpa.

Se és capaz de esperar sem te desesperares,

ou, enganado, não mentir ao mentiroso,

Ou, sendo odiado, sempre ao ódio te esquivares,

e não parecer bom demais, nem pretensioso.

Se és capaz de pensar - sem que a isso só te atires,

de sonhar - sem fazer dos sonhos teus senhores.

Se, encontrando a Desgraça e o Triunfo, conseguires,

tratar da mesma forma a esses dois impostores.

Se és capaz de sofrer a dor de ver mudadas,

em armadilhas as verdades que disseste

E as coisas, por que deste a vida estraçalhadas,

e refazê-las com o bem pouco que te reste.

Se és capaz de arriscar numa única parada,

tudo quanto ganhaste em toda a tua vida.

E perder e, ao perder, sem nunca dizer nada,

resignado, tornar ao ponto de partida.

De forçar coração, nervos, músculos, tudo,

a dar seja o que for que neles ainda existe.

E a persistir assim quando, exausto, contudo,

resta a vontade em ti, que ainda te ordena: Persiste!

Se és capaz de, entre a plebe, não te corromperes,

e, entre Reis, não perder a naturalidade.

E de amigos, quer bons, quer maus, te defenderes,

se a todos podes ser de alguma utilidade.

Se és capaz de dar, segundo por segundo,

ao minuto fatal todo valor e brilho.

Tua é a Terra com tudo o que existe no mundo,

e - o que ainda é muito mais - és um Homem, meu filho!

Rudyard Kipling