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                                    INCURSION INTO POETRY

                                    In the morning with the dew,
                                    that is all I want to see:
                                    what clears out the old
                                    and brings up the new.

                                                                     MY APHORISM

                                IF YOU LOVE LIFE WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART,
                           LIFE WILL GIVE YOU BACK ALL THE LOVE YOU WANT.

                                                   THE ART OF LOVING

First of all, I'd like to say that it has been a pleasant activity to reread Eric Fromm's The Art Of Loving, as I had already "discovered" it in the year 1994.

The main intention of the book is clear to the author, and he will make his point through all the chapters: love is an art, something that requires knowledge and effort.  His concept of love is the consequence of a conscientious work, not something that happens by chance.
He reinforces his idea of love as a struggle by mentioning three mistakes that people make when they love:  the first one consists of the notion of passive love (being loved) rather than active love (love somebody or something).
The second usual mistake is to conceive love as an object instead of as an ability to be increased and developed through willingness, willpower and convenience. In fact, the belief of romantic love is very recent, and this vision has demolished the concept of love as a faculty in the world today, as it follows the path of consumism. In that way, we seek love as if we were looking for new clothes or shoes from a shop window.
And the third mistake he sees is that people should stand in love instead of falling or being in love. This means that after being able to pass all the stages of love, even with its rough patches, there is nothing easier in life than to love.
Finally, the writer reinforces the thought of love as an art by pointing out that you have to be dominant both in theory and practice, and the proficiency of the art must be a topic of ultimate concern, that is, to have no other purpose than benefit your spirit.

A FILM REVIEW

                                                         GONE GIRL
The last film I watched at the cinema was Gone Girl, and I must say that I was really astonished by it.  It is not similar to anything I had watched in a long time.

David Fincher (The Fight Club) is the director of this film, released in cinemas in October 2014.  It is based on Gillian Flynn's best-selling 2012 novel which used a page-turning plot line -the sudden disappearance of a smart, pretty married woman called Amy Elliott-Dune (played by Rosamunde Pike) to unpick the modern mania for presenting a perfect vision of ourselves to others, even though the truth, after all, lies underneath.
Ben Affleck plays the suffering and desperate husband.  He plays a stunning character, and the director chose him on purpose since he represents the good American boy, with a bland personality.

What strikes more my attention is the way things change from one side to the other: the homme or the femme fatale.  At first, you will probably wonder why this successful female writer is married to a rural boring man, and as the film moves on, you are shocked and intrigued by the events.  The truth is constantly changing, and being revealed in the most fascinating way.  Although it lasts more than two hours, you will not feel it is a long film.  No one is indifferent after watching it.  It is dark, intelligent and stylish to a fault.

Such is the reaction to the film in the USA, that it has created some controversy, and it has even been debated at late-night TV shows up to the point that some people may consider it a sexist film.

What I like the most about the film is the fact that sometimes, reality overcomes fiction, especially in the case of twisted, manipulative and dangerous people.  For me, it is not a question of a man or a woman, it is the question of the human mind, no matter what gender you are.

A SONG

                                             I WANT TO BREAK FREE BY QUEEN
I have chosen the song I want to break free by the British group Queen.  This song was included in their album The Works, published in 1984.

It is one of the most emblematic and charismatic videos of the band, in which they parody a British soap opera, Coronation Street.  The opening sequence features all the band members disguised as women: Mercury as a housewife pushing the hoover with a prominent moustache, Deacon as a grandmother, Taylor as a schoolgirl, and May as a housewife.
However, the video got some controversy since some people did not understand the reference, so it got banned by MTV in the USA.  In fact, they did not get the peculiar British sense of humour.  American people interpreted the aesthetics of the video as an open declaration of transvestism and the bisexual sexuality of Freddie Mercury.

At the end of the 1980s, this song became an anthem for the ANC in South Africa when Nelson Mandela was still in jail and the white government's apartheid policies were still in place.

Today, the song can also be an anthem for gay people.  Actually, you can see it from many perspectives: a break up song, a feel good song, a male perspective of the women's liberation movement, etc. The song transmits strength through Mercury's voice, especially when they sing: "God knows, god knows I want to break free".

The message is full of hope and encouraging, and the thing I love about the song is that everyone, at some point of their lives, may have felt identified with the lyrics: who has not ever fallen in love? or who has not ever wanted to break free from whatever it is that makes you unhappy?

I have this video set in my memory as I was a little girl and I loved watching music videos, when they were music videos, in my grandmother's house: it could actually have been the first time that I would see a man disguised as a woman, acting as a housewife, a shock and a provocation for my seven-year-old mentality, but once again: who has not ever loved provoking?

                      Traveller or tourist?

After reading the entries posted by travelbloggers, I can say I feel more than identified with some of their opinions.

The recurring idea that lies in these statements is that tourists are people who go to a certain destination with the intention of getting fun and relaxation, while the traveller is the person who is avid of living new experiences with the omnipresent concept of ADVENTURE, both in the means and destination of the journey.

As I wrote above, I can't help feeling identified with the opinion expressed by Aaron Joel Santos when he says: "who is the traveler to say that the tourist does not experience anything real or vice-versa?"

From my own experience, I have travelled to diverse locations and in varied means of transport, alone, with friends, family and even students, in a wide range of accomodation, from 5-star hotels to a campsite, and exploring and discovering new cities with tight or loose plans.  However, I have NEVER considered that my experiences were better or worse than what other people have lived their own way, whatever they are called (tourists or travellers).

In fact, I don't see any difference between a traveller or a tourist; what I think is that it all depends on the attitude of people towards travelling, and the attitude of people to judge everything you do, especially in your private life.  Who has not ever listened to the typical comments: "oh, if you did not go there, it is not the same!", or "did you do this or did you visit that?"
In other words, the way you live your journeys is absolutely unique and personal, and is as valid as the way anybody else has, no matter what they say to you.  I would consider myself a blend of both concepts: a travelling tourist, I would call it.

And if we continued categorising and putting labels, and if I even wanted to be a persnickety, then the next question would be: what is adventure for you? or what level of adventure would you consider in a journey?, but I won't go beyond these questions.

The proof that we learn about cultures and the world through travelling, as it is expressed in the article, is that people usually feel what German people call "Fernweh", the opposite of homesickness, i.e., the feeling of missing being abroad.  I wonder whether there is an English word for that, but one thing is for sure: I sometimes have "Fernweh", and I will not probably be the only one.

To sum up, I would tell you that you should travel your own way, without having the superiority of feeling you are the only person in the world, or feeling inferior or little just because you stayed in a hotel or visited a city just during five days.  If I had to define travelling, there is one quote by St. Augustine that says it all for me: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page".

MY HOMETOWN: ALMUÑÉCAR

                                                               

I live in Almuñécar, which is on the Mediterranean coast, and where living in this fantastic village feels as being in paradise.

It counts with beautiful beaches, which have an extension of 17 kilometres, and a mild "tropical" climate which surrounds the area.  Although people may think that Almuñécar only offers tourism in the busy days of July and August, it is really in autumn and spring when you can experience the best of it.

There are also quite remarkable pieces of art and monuments which make Almuñécar worth a visit, such as the Apofis Vase, which contains the first evidence of written record in the Iberian Peninsula, and that has been exhibited in September in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  We also have got the Roman aqueduct, which is the second longest aqueduct kept in extension after the famous one in Segovia.  Therefore, we are well-known for a rich heritage which remind us that our ancestors were from the three main cultures that inhabited the Peninsula: Phoenicians, Romans and Muslims.

Apart from this, living in a tourist place gives you the chance of meeting people who come here to have holidays, both from Spain and abroad.  There are more and more European citizens who "escape" from the cold temperatures of their countries and want the relaxation and warmth of Almuñécar.

Not only that, if you are an active person, then Almuñécar is the perfect place for you, since you will be able to practice any sport you like (running, trekking, cycling, scuba-diving, paragliding) in a beautiful landscape.
To complete your leisure time, the town hall offers a wide range of cultural activities which reflect the historical importance of this village, such as lectures, conferences, flamenco concerts by Juan Pinilla and others, the Jazz Festival in July, Ara Malikian, etc.

To conclude, Almuñécar will make your life less boring, less stressful, and much healthier.

THE ANNUNCIATION by Fra Angelico (c. 1450)

 This masterpiece of the early Renaissance was painted for the north corridor of the San Marco Convent in North Florence.

The picture describes the scene of the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary by which she will be the mother of Jesus by miraculous means.  It has got two parts, one on the left and one that takes from the centre to the right.  The first thing that catches your attention is the use of colours, green on the left and blue and pink on the right.
We can also see that there is a contrast of colours with the grey figures on the left and the brightly coloured Gabriel and Mary.  And above them all, from the top left corner down to the Virgin Mary, there is a bright yellow flash of light that represents God, in the shape of the Holy Ghost, as there is a little dove in it.

The main characters are Gabriel and Mary, and you can see Mary pictured seated within the cloister, which underlines her separateness from the world.  We can also see that the ceiling of the cloister looks like a starry night.
The picture perfectly expresses the feeling of veneration on the part of Gabriel, as well as the submissive humility of the Madonna.
The two grey figures in the background represent Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden.  There is an angel who is making sure they are being taken out from paradise.  Their fall into sin and expulsion from Paradise is what necessitates Gabriel´s annunciation: the announcement that the coming Redeemer is going to be conceived in the Virgin´s womb.

Fra Angelico was devoted exclusively to religious art, and the Annunciation was intended for communal contemplation.  He used his art purely for didactic purposes to picturialize and illustrate the message of God.

I chose this painting because it represents the beginning of everything, the key moment of Christianity that changed the world, and how the sin, represented by Adam and Eve, is both forgiven and forgotten with the love of God.  All this happened because a humble young lady said yes to God.c1liberalarts.wordpress.com