A Song Of Love And Doom

"At the welcoming feast the Prince had taken up his silver-stringed harp and played for them. A Song Of Love and Doom... and every woman was weeping when he put down his harp..." These were the words eloquently spoken by Jon Connington; Rhaegar Targaryen's most loyal friend. Rhaegar, the crown prince of the Seven kingdoms of Westeros, is in my opinion the epitome of chivalry and a character who embodies wonder! One can't help but fantasize how it would've been had he ascended to the Iron Throne. I admire the way George R. R. Martin introduces you to Rhaegar Targaryen, by gradually building a picture of his personality and demeanor through the perspectives of the "point of view" characters, namely his sister Daenerys, one of his would be sworn protectors Jaime Lannister and his admirer Jon Conn. Each character sheds light on how they felt about the Dragon Prince, and to many fans, this is the most intriguing and innovative way to portray such a pivotal character.

I believe, as do many readers of A Song Of Ice And Fire, that this song that was sung by Rhaegar in the Great Hall of Griffins Roost, was indeed a prelude to the fate of Westeros. It is a recurring theme in this song of ice and fire and most importantly; it is the result of a prophecy, which is laced in melancholy, which Rhaegar read all those years ago. George R. R. Martin left me wondering what exactly were the words that were sung by The Prince in that song? He left me deep in thought as to what the prince had hidden away so deep in his heart that it became too much bear, so much so that he had no alternative but to pour it out in song. Septon Barth knew, of course, and the Three-Eyed Raven knows and even The Little Children know! With their high magical voices.

Rhaegars song must have described the cold winds blowing from the Northern most parts of the world; the heart of winter, where naught can be seen but an ice blue sheen and where nothing can be heard but the brutal Winds Of Winter with their sinister whisper as the blow through Westeros! Rhaegar's voice must've dipped low as he sung of the beckoning death of his lady-love Lyanna, and the ensuing brutal murders of his Queen and heirs. His eyes must've welled up  as he plucked on his silver-stringed harp in tribute to the fading house of  Dragons.

The Prince however must have lifted his voice and told of the undying love he had for Lyanna and he no doubt paid homage to the she-wolf, whom he had not known yet, he probably sung of the great loss and pain that his actions, unknown to him at the time, would cause to the realm! His fingers must have caressed the strings of his harp, drawing from them a melody so sweet that it told of the resurgence of the fabled Children Of The forest, armed with their blades of obsidian, which will surely shine with an iridescent light, against the cold wights.

In essence the song that Rhaegar sung all those years ago was A Song Of
 His Heart! It was the Ice and Fire within, it was the Ice that burned with a cold flame within the last of the Targaryen Dragons

A Tale Of Trees

"Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously . The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact it is always in proportion. That is its balance"-Osho. This magnificent quote by Osho carries with it such immense depth that it led me to alter my perspective on these creatures that seem to be an irrelevance in our lives. This quote also led me, almost serendipitously, to another short saying which reads: "Nature is an authors best friend" which made me  think deeply once again about nature and its importance in our lives.

I looked quite thoroughly  into how nature has inspired  architects, poets and designers throughout history, and for this post in particular; authors. I have recently gained a deep appreciation for trees and how each one is distinctly different to another; how each branch is different from the other in the way it reaches toward the sky seeking precious sunlight for the leaves it effortlessly  carries, how each tree can cast a different shadow on the ground, creating unique shapes which mid-afternoon strollers can gaze in wonder upon, and what startles me the most is how a fledgling young stem, still green with chlorophyll, can resolve to grow tall into a stern tree regardless of how harsh the winter or how treacherous the environment in took root in. Each tree has its own identity, its own soul and its own story.

This post is largely inspired by my three favorite authors: J.R.R Tolkien, Joanne Rowling and George R.R. Martin, whom make trees in their stories literally come alive, they each give them such personality and meaning that one cant help but tell "A Tale Of Trees". As I love to do, I will now dissect each type of tree in each of these authors work and branch off into how each one has planted a seed of gratitude in my heart.

Ents

 

All  of us who are familiar with "The Lord Of The Rings" will remember Treebeard  right!? I think it would be rather difficult to forget a character like that, and id just like to say that when I came across him while reading "The Two Towers", I literally froze and re-read that particular page and thought to myself: "wow!" I never realized that it were possible to describe a tree in such a way, let alone a living one in such an extraordinary manner. Here is an excerpt from that page: "They found that they were looking at a most extraordinary face. It belonged to a large Man-Like, almost Troll-like, figure, at least fourteen-foot high, very sturdy, with a tall head , and hardly any neck. whether it was clad in stuff like green and grey bark, or whether that was its hide , was difficult to say . At any rate it's arms , at a short distance from the trunk , were not wrinkled, but covered with a brown smooth skin. The large feet had seven toes each. The lower part of the long face was covered with a sweeping grey beard, bushy, almost twiggy at the roots, thin and mossy at the ends. But at the moment the hobbits noted little but the eyes. These deep eyes were now surveying them, slow and solemn, but very penetrating. They were brown, shot with a green light. Often afterwards Pippin tried to describe his first impression of them.
'One felt as if there was an enormous well behind them, filled up with ages of memory and long, slow , steady thinking, but their surface was sparkling with the present; like sun shimmering on the outer leaves of a vast tree or on the ripples of a very deep lake. I don't know, but it felt as if something that grew in the ground -asleep, you might say, or just feeling itself as something between root-tip and leaf-tip, between deep earth and sky had suddenly waked up, and was considering you with the same slow care that it had given to it's own inside affairs for endless years'".

This little piece of magic made me sit up and pay attention. Every little piece of nature is alive and if we look at the root of it all, us beings and nature are exactly the same! we both share the same structure if we boil it down to molecules. And any one who has read Tolkien's books will find that there is a recurring  pattern of deep love for nature, Tolkien uses his vivid description of the rolling Hills of the Shire, the daunting forests of Mirkwood, the ever enchanting golden forest of Lothlorien and the ancient Entwood in such a way that it ensnares the readers imagination and leaves one breathless.
This love for nature is something that Humphrey Carpenter(The author of J.R.R Tolkien's Biography) describes as sedimentary: "It is like Autumn leaves falling on the ground to form a pile" thus his love for nature developed over time and with it, his remarkable style of writing. This sage of literature has planted a keen appreciation for nature and it's impact on the human imagination within me, after all the creatures of the Earth were wise before we ever were.

The Whomping Willow

Joanne Rowling is a woman whom I look to for strength and inspiration, her life's-story is one that has moved me completely. Her "Tale Of Trees" will begin with the one tree that all Harry Potter fans have a fascination with, if not, a fear of; The Whomping Willow. This is not like any other willow you will come across in a park or a forest, it is alive with a sense of malice, or a dark enchantment most would say. I loved the way in which Rowling would use the Whomping willow to depict a change of seasons and  this depiction translated very well onto the big screen  The tree has a thick sturdy trunk with long, thin branches and it will attack anyone who ventures within branches-reach, it is as vicious as vicious can be! As if it was protecting something right?

 Our first real encounter with the willow is the incident of the blue Ford Anglia, and how the  old willow unceremoniously destroys the car by crushing it with it's branches, it also lays waste to Harry's first broomstick, the Nimbus 2000 after it flew off during a cursed Quidditch match. My favorite appearance of the willow is when we find out that it was secretly harboring Sirius Black beneath it's huge trunk. We find out that the tree was the guard to a secret passage which  led to the Shrieking Shack; which has the favorite haunt for the most notorious animangi in the wizarding world of Harry Potter: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs!

Nothing is ever as it seems when it comes to trees, The whomping Willow appears vicious to the eye but to the trained mind(or anyone who knows the secret knob on it's trunk or the immobulus spell) it is a medium to a place of solace and the origin of  friendship which dates back decades. To the commoner it was feared but to the Marauders, it was an escape, a sanctuary where they could express their animalistic selves and it was a place where a seed of friendship, between the four, would be planted and endured through the ages, minus the treachery of Peter Pettigrew, of course. Trees are magic come alive.

The Heart Tree

The Heart Tree with it's bone-white bark, its crooked branches ,blood-red leaves and it's ominous red face as if it was carved out in blood is the "Heart" of the North and Northern religion. As a symbol of ancient deity and a portal to connect with the "Old Gods"(being the Wind, the Earth, Stone and Tree), The Wierwood Tree is planted firmly  at the heart of "A Song Of Ice And Fire", it is the spine of the story. It is said that once a Wierwood tree is planted, it never dies.

To the children of the forest, the greenseers,in particular it was a medium which was used to survey the entire continent of Westeros, with the eyes which they carved out in the massive trunks. The children would espy the vast expanse of the land from Whitetree right down to the Broken Arm(before it was broken). The ancientry of this tree brings a cold chill down my spine because it pretty much predates the children themselves  and The Night's Watch, it's a relic of  time in a world where magic seemed to have been veiled or overshadowed by petty politics, and yet it endured.
To the Northerners, as mentioned above, it was a shrine,  a place of meditation, if you will, where the believers of this faith would come and ask their gods for guidance, wisdom and a short Winter. To the Nights Watch it is(without spoiling it for readers) the portal through which their watch begins.

A solemn place was the godswood, where wierwood trees were planted in a circle, most times and keepers of the faith would practice their religion. As you delve deeper into the books you get a real sense of how immortal these Wierwoods are, with their white branches hanging dauntingly over your head like an axe and their red leaves humming in the wind like a song prepared for your judgment. You feel as if someone or something is watching you with timeless eyes, and if you are not of the North, you would feel completely out of place. The Trees are alive! and they live through the Earth as well as their subjects, the men and beasts of Westeros. They have and will endure The Winds Of Winter and they will be standing sentinel come A Dream Of Spring.

Trees carry with them a sense of wisdom which is unfathomable and secrets and treasures which we will never comprehend! My new found inclination toward trees has me sitting on my balcony on a daily basis, watching the sunset behind a veil of leaves, thinking to myself:" would that I could be a young tree on a windless night, with outstretched branches and roots that go so deep that they are untouched by the frost. Would that I could gain so much wisdom that I become a pillar of strength and a source of shelter to the world". This is my Tale Of Trees and I am glad I told it, thank you

T.B

 

 

Joanne Rowling

I have decided to post on Joanne Rowling for two reasons. The first being that it is her birthday on the 31st of this month and I feel that  it would be a fitting tribute and secondly because she represents the "real" reason why I started to write a blog in the first place; she is a shining example of how the human imagination allows one to escape and overcome any trauma or turmoil. As I always mention, this post is not necessarily about her biography but more about how "I" perceive her and about what this decorated author means to me.

Joanne Rowling was born on the 31st of July 1965 in Yate Gloucestershire to James Rowling who was a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer and to Anne Rowling who was a science technician. Rowling grew up in Chepstow. Her gift for writing began at an early age as she would write stories to her little sister, Dianne and read them to her. She then left to attend the University Of Exeter where she studied a Bachelor Of Arts degree and majored in French and The  Classics.

She then decided to move to London, England where she would complete her masters degree and take up a job as a researcher for Amnesty International. Rowling then decided to take a job as an English foreign language teacher in Portugal. There she met her then husband Jorges Arrantes. The couple married, had a daughter named Jessica and later unfortunately divorced. This period of her life, according to her was the toughest! And to me, an adoring fan, is the most inspirational.

The strained relationship with her farther, her ill mother and the pain of her then, recent divorce could all lead a person to the point of giving up or breaking! But not Rowling, there was and still is something greater inside of her(an innate magic perhaps) that spurred her on and allowed her to emerge from such difficulties with a sense of perseverance and grace.

I read an article by Kevin Caruso on Suicide.org where he explains how Rowling emerged from severe depression. Rowling was recently divorced, had a two year old daughter to take care of and had little to no income, she was in an abyss. She claimed that she had suicidal thoughts but the thought of her daughter, Jessica led her to seek out help. She said that: "my daughter earthed me, she grounded me". The doctors she sought help from unbelievably dismissed her, but, because she has (an innate magic within her) she never gave up and eventually got the help she needed and she received cognitive behavioral therapy. She said: "I have never been remotely ashamed of having been depressed. Never. What's there to be ashamed of? I went through a tough time and im quite proud that I got out."

This statement by Rowling is so profound because to me it highlights the fact that even in the darkest of situations there is something within us all, an all conquering light which can guide us out of our despair! Rowlings state of depression remarkably inspired her to create the "Dementors"(creatures in the Harry Potter series who wear dark hooded cloaks and devour the souls of any person unfortunate enough to come across them, they basically suck the happiness from a person)

Rowling has demonstrated how one can gracefully turn a tragic and devastating period in a persons life into something utterly beautiful! She has shown us all how to turn a burden into a blessing and a scar into a star. During her commencement speech at Harvard in 2008 she said something which I think will stay with me forever, she said; "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life". This "little" sentence is ALL-INSPIRING! It  has and always will have a colossal impact on me.

Joanne Rowling inspires me so much because from her anguish( her ill mother, her relationship with her farther) was born a concept, an idea and a vision for a story  which would shake the foundations of children's fantasy and fantasy for ever. She saw the opportunity in her failure and turned it into fortune. I absolutely love her wise words: "failure is merely the striping away of the unnecessary" and from her striping away the unnecessary she was able to focus with laser like precision on writing the" Philosophers Stone". A book which would have a huge influence on how I viewed literature.

I could go on and on about Joanne Rowling, I literally could write(or type) on for days about her ambition, her style of writing and on her recent pieces on the Pottermore website about the 2014 Quidditch World Cup but I decided to keep it short and focused. Every time I think of Joanne Rowling I think of a saying I love:" Tears are nourishment to the soul like summer rain is to the soil". Every tear of anguish and despair that she must have shed was in fact a seed which was planted in her soul and that seed would later grow and emerge in the form of writing which would later transform the world of literature. Thus I say to you Joanne Rowling; thank you for your life as you are the epitome of resilience and a quintessential beacon of hope.

Thank you for reading(if you did) I hope I did this remarkable Author justice in this post.

T.B.

"My Dream Of Spring"

After over a year of not posting anything I feel like im in the correct frame of mind to do so. This post is not about any particular person or event but its about my perception on, well, life and the never ending battle in our own hearts. This is inspired largely by the book series "A Song Of Ice And Fire", as you can tell by the title taken from the pending 7th book of A Song Of Ice And Fire called "A Dream Of Spring".

I perceive life as a never ending cycle of seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I have come to believe, via my favorite authors(Rowling, Tolkien and Martin) that each person passes through their "own" various seasons. I will now dissect each season and shed light on what I perceive each season represents to the individual.

Autumn

I have decided to begin with autumn and work my way through the seasons as I go along, thus allowing you(and me) to "Dream Of Spring". The russet and gold leaves fall to the ground leaving a colorful carpet on the sidewalks, driveways and gutters(not fun when you're the one  who has to dig them out). The branches become bare, shedding off their summer cloaks to reveal barren barks and crooked branches. The birds flee north(or south) depending on how you look at it and the scarves and coats come out.

To the individual, Autumn represents heartbreak, disappointment and a "shedding of the unnecessary" as Ms Rowling puts it. Its a very sad period for the individual as this means giving up something that one once had or has without any real certainty as to whether it will come again. Letting go of anything that you hold dear is heart-wrenching, but as we shed our leaves and bear our barren barks and crooked branches we should "gird our hearts and "Dream Of Spring"

Winter

"Winter Is coming" are the words of House Stark, a family who live in the North Of Westeros in the books in A Song Of Ice and Fire and these few words represent a looming doom and a warning to prepare oneself for a difficult time ahead.

Winter is characterized by snow and ice, a destruction of crops, the death of livestock, blizzards, frost bite and death from the cold, well in the northern hemisphere at least. Here in the southern hemisphere, particularly the Highveld of South Africa, we have become accustomed to cloudless days with temperatures that drop drastically at night. We also have to endure cold fronts which come from the west (Cape town) and drift toward the East toward the Highveld, these cold fronts are too spontaneous for my liking!

To the individual Winter represents a state of helplessness, doom, melancholy and doom. This period cannot be underestimated as the individual losses hope and questions everything around  them. I think im experiencing winter at the moment, for various reasons which I will leave untouched. The Winds Of Winter cut deep at times leaving us cold to the world and bitter to the core! The only thing we can do during Winter is to "gird our hearts and Dream Of Spring".

Spring

 "We must all endure winter but what strengthens us is the dream of an eternal Spring". Spring is characterized by the rains, flowers blossoming, fruits in bloom , the birth of life, the returning of the swallows to their summer homes, the end of hibernation for the bears and the beginning of pollination for the flowers.
To the individual Spring represents a new beginning, a hopefulness which can only be described as elation. In this season a person feels almost as if they are seeing the world for the first time and that the veil of winter has been lifted off their face. I can compare a persons spring to the birth of a child, finding love or making a breakthrough in ones career. Spring to me; is the closest thing to Utopia.

Summer

In a Song Of Ice And Fire; Brandon Stark names his Direwolf(whom he has a supernatural connection to) "Summer". I think that his(the Direwolfs) name is more than significant as in my opinion this creature represents a sense of calm and protection and provides Bran as well as the reader of the books a sense that everything is going to be okay as long as Summer is around.

Summer is a season of consistently warm temperatures and thus for me both the season and the direwolf are one entity, that sense of tranquility and peace make it so. To the individual Summer is a prolonged period of happiness and consistent grow.

During the Summer the Sun is up more often than not and there is beauty in the air that is almost palpable. Summer is Joy.

The Seasons

"Seasons come and go but you...you last a lifetime" this is an adaptation of the line in the lyrics of Emeli Sande's song "Lifetime". I believe that if we can prepare with a sense of understanding of each"season" we can endure even the harshest of winters and emerge tall and proud like a young tree on a windless night. Thus I say "gird you hearts and Dream Of An Eternal Spring".

T.B