Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation by George Washington - PART I -

A couple of days ago I read a headline on Twitter referring to George Washington and I immediately thought of his incredible booklet. I had seen it for the first time at a friend's house a while back and I couldn't help but get it the time I visited New York for the first time in July 2017.

We can all do with some Decency and Civility in our daily life. What do you reckon?

I thought of publishing these rules periodically and what better way to start than by quoting the Introduction:

"George Washington, the father of our country, exhibited notable manners throughout his life. 

Diligence in social matters was common practice in decent society the world over, during his lifetime. At the age of 14, George Washington wrote down 110 rules under the title "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation". These rules were drawn from an English translation of a French book of maxims and were intended to polish manners, keep alive the best affections of the heart, impress the obligation of moral virtues, teach how to treat others in social relations, and above all, inculcate the practice of a perfect self-control."

Now, the first ten Rules transcribed below:

1. Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect, to those that are present.
2. When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body, not usually discovered.
3. Show nothing to your friend that may affright him.
4. In the presence of others sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet.
5. If you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it not loud but privately; and speak not in your yawning, but put your handkerchief or hand before your face and turn aside.

--------------------------------------------------

    6. Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop.

 

   7. Put not off your cloths in the presence of others, nor go out your chamber half dressed. 

    8. At play and at fire its good manners to give place to the last comer, and affect not to speak louder than ordinary.

 

   9. Spit not in the fire, nor stoop low before it neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire especially if there be meat before it.

 

  10. When you sit down, keep your feet firm and even, without putting one on the other or crossing them. 

It would be a nice experiment to try them out for ten days, right? Are you up for the challenge? Let me know :)

See you soon for the next ten!!

UMWELT

Continuing with the sequence of amazing quotes taken from the FX show "LEGION", I 

want to share this one next. I will not go into any introduction other than this one and I will 

let you develop your own arguments and come to your own conclusions - if any.

I'm just fascinated by it - as with every other Narration taken from this show. 

Enjoy!

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

"Chapter 4: UMWELT"

A wise man once said: "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go 

away." For the tick, reality is a product of temperature and butyric acid. Its perception of 

the world is its reality. The bloodhound has 200 million scent receptors. Its perception of 

the world is based fundamentally on smell. A dog doesn't reason. A tick never thinks 

about the universe in any way separate from its biological interactions with the universe. 

Human beings, on the other hand... Imagine a boy. From a young age, he is taught wrong. 

Human beings are the only animal that forms ideas about their world. We perceive it not 

through our bodies but through our minds. We must agree on what is real. Because of this, 

we are the only animal on Earth that goes mad.

                            💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

- All You Need is Love -

 Yep, it's the Beatles' song 💗💗💗

Nope, I'm not going to post the video or the lyrics. 

It's a prompt to write about LOVE and what it means to each and every one of us. Some believe they find love when they meet their significant other. Others don't believe in it at all. Whatever it means to you, however you decide to feel about it... LOVE is always there:

In literature, in music, in works of art.

In family, in friends, in couples, in strangers.

At home, at work, at school, at a hotel.

No matter how you define it, how you celebrate it or not, it is always current: explicitly or implicitly.

I use the excuse of St. Valentine's Day approaching to remind myself and everyone around me that no matter how you live your life, if you love yourself first and the people around you - whoever they are - the empowering feeling of strength that arises within you will allow you to achieve whatever you want in the moment you least expect it.

Some time ago, I posted a well-known folk story ["Love (is Blind) and Madness (walks with it)]. In this opportunity, I want to share a wonderful reflection by Alan Watts entitled "Falling Into Love" taken from the movie H.E.R. starring Joaquim Phoenix. 

Click the link:

ALAN WATTS - FALLING INTO LOVE

ALAN WATTS - FALLING INTO LOVE (without background music)

"SO WE COME TO THE STRANGE CONCLUSION THAT IN MADNESS LIES SANITY"

💕💕💕 Enjoy yourselves and Happy Valentine's Day! 💕💕💕

"It's time for civil disobedience. It's time to REBEL."

Happy New Year, dearly beloved!

I truly hope you have had a peaceful and joyful  brand new start. My idea for the first post is to kickstart by making people aware of one of the most urgent and impending crisis we are still facing which is: CLIMATE CRISIS.

I've never taken much consideration in the matter until last year when I decided to start doing something about it, however small. Since the beginning of full lockdown last March I started recycling. I know it's not much, it's not new and it's not life saving but for me it has proven to be very therapeutic. I've become more self-aware of what I eat, the containers I use and the ones I buy and how to start reducing the amount of plastic in my house among other measures.

Another issue that made me be more conscious about it is the outstanding speech Greta Thunberg gave at UN and it became so popular and so alarming at the same time that when one of my favourite bands decided to give music to it and make it the starting track in their latest album, I knew I needed to take action in any way possible.

I'm going to leave you with the music video and the full text of the speech in case you want to read and/or listen to it with instrumental background.

FULL TEXT: Click HERE

INSTRUMENTAL VIDEO with SPEECH: Click HERE

REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE.

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and other Christmas stories

We have reached a wonderful time of the year... Christmas Time. Many countries celebrate Christmas in many different ways but with one common goal: spread joy, light and love by decorating their houses, businesses, streets, trees and everything you can imagine.

It's a time of year where people come together and help each other out. There are no boundaries between them. Having all of these thoughts and images floating in my mind along with beautiful songs I thought it could be a nice idea to share some of my most beloved Christmas stories. 

I'll be posting one per day for the next 10 days. There is no ranking involved just my wish to share and spread some hope, laughter, love and peace to anyone who wants to read or listen to them.

I'll start things off with a CLASSIC children's story: 

❦❦❦ DAY 1: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here: 

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (WITHOUT IMAGES)

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (WITH POEM PICTURES)

Or read along below:

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

Enjoy! See you later, alligator!

❦❦❦ DAY 2: THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING

Or read along below:

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING

Enjoy! After a while, crocodile! 🐊

❦❦❦ DAY 3: A CHRISTMAS CAROL ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL - LISTEN AND READ

Or read along below:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL - READ ONLINE

Enjoy! Gotta go, Buffalo! 🐃

❦❦❦ DAY 4: THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER - LISTEN AND READ

Or read along below:

THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER - READ ONLINE

Enjoy! See you soon, Raccoon! 🦝

❦❦❦ DAY 5: RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

Or read along below:

RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

Enjoy! Be sweet, Parakeet! ❤

❦❦❦ DAY 6: 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the poem here:

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (read by Michael Bublé)

Or read along below:

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Enjoy! Take care, Polar Bear! 🐻

❦❦❦ DAY 7: MOTHER CHRISTMAS ❦❦❦

Read it online:

MOTHER CHRISTMAS

Enjoy! In a shake, Grater Snake! 🐍

❦❦❦ DAY 8: THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER (read by Chrissy Metz) 

Or read along below:

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER

Enjoy! Hit the road, Happy Toad! 🐸

❦❦❦ DAY 9: THE POLAR EXPRESS ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

THE POLAR EXPRESS (read by Liam Neeson)

Or read along below:

THE POLAR EXPRESS (don't mind the "Narrators")

Enjoy! Can't stay, Blue Jay! 🐦

❦❦❦ DAY 10: AULD LANG SYNE ❦❦❦

You have the option of listening to the story here:

AULD LANG SYNE 

Or read along below:

AULD LANG SYNE

Enjoy! Bye Bye, Butterfly! 🦋

"1917" brought me here.

These are the first words I wrote in the comments of a YouTube video when I finally 

managed to find part of the first verse of the poem Schofield recited to the baby at night. 

I was absolutely gobsmacked with the poem, his voice, the whole scene and the entire 

movie of course.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I leave you with the entire original poem and 

the video link to the beautiful movie scene.

My recommendation when it comes to poems, sonnets, rhymes and limericks is to read 

them ALOUD in order to play with the intonation in your voice, the pacing of it and for the 

sake of the language in itself.

THE JUMBLIES - by Edward Lear

1917 Scene - Schofield Talks To Baby

Enjoy!

"Peace, love, empathy": "It's better to burn out than to fade away"

These are some of the most impactful last words Kurt Cobain wrote on a letter before leaving this world. Today being World Mental Health Day I just could NOT let it go by without writing something... anything about it. I truly believe we can all do better, get better and feel better if we have a strong and supportive network along the way: call it family, friends, neighbours, someone to reach out, someone to turn to when it is too much.

The letter he wrote is so powerful in so many levels that I want to share it with you. It really got to me the first time I read it.

If you are struggling, please reach out. If you know someone who is struggling, call them. Let them know you are there for them. Even if they don't want to say anything, they will appreciate your support. Let's stop taking people for granted and make more meaningful connections.

If we want the world to change, let's start by changing ourselves first and helping others along the way.

Letter Transcript:

(Source: KurtCobain.com)

To Boddah pronounced

Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complainee. This note should be pretty easy to understand. All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guity beyond words about these things. For example when we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowd begins it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you. Any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it’s not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.

On our last 3 tours, I’ve had a much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know!

I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become.

I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.

Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.

Peace, love, empathy.

Kurt Cobain

Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your alter.

Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.

For her life, which will be so much happier without me.

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!

The Madness of Crowds and Delusions

Today I want to continue delving into the amazing sci-fi show LEGION. Being a massive fan of the show, I just can't believe that it's finally over after 3 exquisite seasons.

This is a superhero show based on MARVEL comics so if you are as much into MARVEL and DC as I am you should definitely give it a go. 

The interesting thing about this show in particular is that it is not centered around the typical hero who comes to save everyone from impending doom but rather on a kind of "antihero"- "lunatic" sort of bloke who people think suffers from mental illness.

 AND THIS IS WHY I love it so much. I'm fascinated by the intricacies of the mind, the illnesses connected to it and the corresponding behaviour analysis that derives from it or surrounds it.

Season 2 of this show has the brilliant idea of introducing each episode or a group of episodes with a psychological observation accompanied by a beautiful visualization. These introductory narrations are read by the incredible JON HAMM (voice over)

I will share all of the texts periodically - some of which will have the corresponding video - starting with these two: 

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 1: "Chapter 9" 

[Part 2: The Madness Of Crowds]

There is a maze in the desert carved from sand and rock. A vast labyrinth of pathways

 and corridors a hundred miles long, a thousand miles wide, full of twists and dead ends. 

Picture it... a puzzle. You walk, and at the end of this maze is a prize just waiting to be 

discovered. All you have to do is find your way through. Can you see the maze? Its walls 

and floors, its twists and turns? Good, because the maze you've created in your mind is 

itself the maze. There is no desert, no rock or sand. There is only the idea of it. But it's an 

idea that will come to dominate your every waking and sleeping moment. You're inside 

the maze now. You cannot escape. Welcome to madness.

[Chapter 3: Delusions]

And now we must speak of Zhuang Zhou, who fell asleep one day and dreamed he was a 

butterfly. For hours, he fluttered in the warm winter sun, until he no longer remembered he 

was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he awoke, and he was Zhuang Zhou again. But in that 

moment, he didn't know. Was he Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a 

butterfly who was dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou? 

A delusion starts like any other idea, as an egg. Identical on the outside, perfectly formed. 

From the shell, you'd never know anything was wrong. It's what's inside that matters. 

Albert A had an idea. One day, as he was walking, he stumbled. And for a moment, it 

seemed that his right leg didn't belong to him. This is how it begins. The leg was clearly 

Albert's. It was attached to his body, and when he pricked it, he felt pain. But despite that, 

the idea grew. Such is the power of an idea. With every day that passed, Albert became 

more and more certain that this was not his leg. He decided he didn't want it anymore. 

And so one day, he went to the hardware store. You see, an idea alone isn't enough. We 

have ideas all the time, random thoughts and theories. Most die... before they can grow. 

For a delusion to thrive, other, more rational ideas must be rejected, destroyed. Only then 

can the delusion blossom... into full-blown psychosis.

I Carry Your Heart With Me (I Carry It In My Heart)

Ésta ha sido la frase más hermosa que leí y que decidí hacer conmemorativa hace 5 años. Quien quiera leer un poco más acerca del escritor tan hermoso que escribió esto a su hermana o a su mejor amigo ( no recuerdo) les dejo los links a su biografía (Wikipedia) y a la hermosa imagen del poema que me guardé en mi escritorio.

Autor: E.E. Cummings

Imagen del poema completo

Poema completo:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

5 años. Mismo día. Misma hora. Cíclico, no? Para mí, inconcebible.

Sin estar 100% segura si quería o no hacerlo público o liberarlo al Universo - como prefieran llamarlo -  necesitaba hacer algo conmemorativo en este día en particular que esté por fuera de un archivo de Word guardado en el escritorio de mi notebook desde hace ya 4 años.

Tampoco estaba segura si debía escribir esto en inglés o castellano asíque decidí que salga como salga. 

Es tanta la incertidumbre que me genera escribir este post que hasta tiemblan mis manos al escribir pero si así sucede es porque así tiene que ser. No hay otra.

Hace EXACTAMENTE 5 AÑOS, en este mismo día SÁBADO hace apenas unas horas para ser más precisa ocurriría un evento TAN DESAFORTUNADO en mi vida que es hasta el día de hoy que no lo entiendo. Lo ACEPTÉ (-lo aceptaste? Estás segura?) pero no lo entiendo (NO LO ENTIENDO)

Solía tener un alumno particular los días SÁBADOS de 11.30 a 13. Era un alumno que iba regularmente a tomar clases al Instituto donde trabajo y luego de unos años decidió continuar conmigo. 

No me voy a hacer la exclusiva en esto pero estoy casi segura que TODOS tenemos mínimo a una personita guardada en nuestro corazón que es ÚNICA, que IRRADIA LUZ, que es ÍNTEGRA. No sé como explicarlo pero me entienden seguramente. Bueno, él era esa personita.

Había empezado a deconstruir ese día pero se me estaba haciendo muy largo por no querer omitir detalles asíque decidí borrarlo y limitarme a compartir algo de las tantas cosas que le apasionaban que era la música. Éstos eran algunos de sus temas favoritos de algunas de sus bandas favoritas y de una frase de una de ellas se hizo un tatuaje. Les dejo las letras:

• HASTA ACÁ NOS AYUDÓ DIOS - Las Pastillas Del Abuelo
• NORTE - De La Gran Piñata
• STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - Led Zeppelin
• THANK YOU - Led Zeppelin

"-Flabbergasted me hizo aprobar el FCE, Profe.

-Que dirá de mí si con solo esa palabra aprobaste?

-That you are a great teacher."

5 years on and I'm still flabbergasted. 

I miss you. 

Rest In Peace.

AESOP'S FABLES - Prometheus and the making of Man; Grief and his Due

Since this outlandish quarantine began I've decided to resume some of my favourite hobbies. One of these is READING, obvs.

I'm such an avid reader that I even have an account on GOODREADS. I set it up a couple of years ago and it's been so helpful for me because it helps me organise my books digitally in three shelves: read, currently reading and want to read and keeps me motivated with the addictive READING CHALLENGE.

One of the many books I've read this year is AESOP'S FABLES. Gosh, it's been a heart-warming pleasure delving in those pages. Absolutely gorgeous read. I seriously recommend it if you haven't read it.

I have difficulty choosing my one-and-only favourite fable so I've opted to rewrite two instead. In a future post - or an updated version of this one - I might include even more.

Grief and His Due

When Jupiter was assigning the various gods their privileges, it so happened that Grief was not 

present with the rest: but when all had received their share, he too entered and claimed his due. 

Jupiter was at a loss to know what to do, for there was nothing left for him. However, at last he 

decided that to him should belong the tears that are shed for the dead. Thus it is the same with Grief 

as it is with the other gods. The more devoutly men render to him his due, the more lavish is he of 

that which he has to bestow. It is not well, therefore, to mourn long for the departed; else Grief, 

whose sole pleasure is in such mourning, will be quick to send fresh cause for tears.

💗💗💗💗💗💗

Prometheus and the Making of Man


At the bidding of Jupiter, Prometheus set about the creation of Man and the other animals. Jupiter, 

seeing that Mankind, the only rational creatures, were far outnumbered by the irrational beasts,bade 

him redress the balance by turning some of the latter into men. Prometheus did as he was bidden, 

and this is the reason why some people have the forms of men but the souls of beasts.