My intention is to do as little as possible this evening and to give my legs chance to recover from being on my feet for long hours (nine-fifteen hours a day) for the last eleven days. I have a little ironing to do and then I am going to double check my suitcases again to see if there is anything missing.
But I am also thinking of a post in response to the non-fiction challenge from Teresa aka The Haunted Wordsmith:
What book/television show/movie has had the most influence on your life?
Well, I don’t think any television programme has had a massive influence on my life. I have never been a big TV watcher. I love documentaries like BBC Blue Planet and I quite like Masterchef. There are one or two easy gong drama series I have enjoyed, like “Death In Paradise”.
Movies…have any movies influenced my life? I guess one or two have made a big impression on me. I aspire to be like Maria Von Trapp from “The Sound Of Music”. I can’t look at mountains like those in Teresa’s photo prompt without humming The Hills Are Alive”. I published a post recently about the effect she has had on me:
How Do You Hold A Moonbeam In Your Hand?
Also I found the film “Life Is Beautiful” very moving. There is something very inspiring about the story of a man determined to help his family see the beauty in life despite horrendous adversity. I have been determined to never lose sight of the beauty of life when I have had challenges to deal with.
Books. I often wonder how many books I have read. It must be thousands by now. Who knows how many? Have any of them influenced my life? They all make a little mark, even if it’s just expanding my vocabulary. It’s hard to say exactly how they have influenced me.
Possibly I have been influenced by Jane Austen. I don’t really know to what extent. But I think reading her stories has helped me see that that I am vulnerable to placing myself in the path of My Wickhams. It has helped me patient and to realize that there could be a lot of misunderstandings to overcome before your Mr Darcys and Captain Wentworths emerge. And it has just helped me to feel a bit more relaxed about it all. Keep your sense of humour and don’t let the way a man behaves or treats you rob you of your light heartedness.
There are some epic novels, “Les Miserables”, “The Count Of Monte Cristo”, “War And Peace” that I became wrapped up in for weeks while I was reading them. I thought they were terrific, but I am unsure they actually influenced my life.
There is one very special book. It has had a major influence on me to be sure. I first read it for myself when I was around five years of age just after some close friends of our family were killed in a tragic road accident (a lorry that skidded on ice completely crushed them). I was hungry for answers. I have read it over and over again. I have a copy that I have had since I was a child and in the front page I have recorded each time I have started and finished it – twenty-two times. But the last few years I have found it easier to read the passages I know will help, comfort or strengthen me.
Has it influenced me? Yes. Massively. I grew up without fear of the future, without fear of death, and full of confidence that all troubles would be sorted out and that we had a wonderful future ahead. I have never put my confidence in the corrupt economic, political system knowing that it is going soon, nor in any religious group that clearly is miles away from teaching and practising what our Creator approves of. I have lived simply, been content with my needs and appreciative of the wonders of creation. I have a kept in sharp perspective what really matters and what does not. I have had a best friend who I could talk to and listen to every day and my concern over keeping my friendship with Him foremost in my life has effected many of my choices.
So, yes, one special book has influenced my life…and I dread to think what life would have been like without it.
Caramel 