Powerful to hear you lend your voice to your posts, Jonathan. You weave us on a fantastical, philosophical journey here. Powerful messages about humanity and connection.
This thing called Hope, it might find harmony and chorus in its many forms.
Very cinematographic, I dare say. Your story played like a reel in my head, and that was before I even heard you reading this piece, Jonathan! That last part where they (we) all stand on the shoreline (alone and yet connected) really got me. Great writing, Jonathan!!!!!
Thanks Fotini, I like that image too, imagining one is alone but actually one is only ever part of a greater whole. I like some of the Ubuntu philosophical thinking, where the idea is more, "who I am depends on many others," or ‘a person is a person through other persons.’ Wholeness and communality is much more of an actual experience than we are lead to believe with individualist ideas like ‘I think, therefore I am.’ ‘A person is a person through other persons.,’ feels more like our actual lived lives.
The allegory is a bit all over the place maybe, in this piece, So I'm glad you liked it my pal :)
It is so good to hear your narration again . A lullaby for Ranger, for me, once again I sink into soft leather, a cup of lemon ginger tea in hand, staring out my window into the woodland forest. Visions dancing in my head, your voice, a smooth rhythmic ballad matching the ebb and flow of the story . The quality of a great storyteller is the ability to shape visions, while I have always enjoyed listening you have learned to lift your words, giving them more power, more feeling, breathing life into your characters . And this story, may I say, is one of my favorites. Hunter, gatherer, inventor, traveler , Loki hiding , and underneath it all, fire, the unstoppable force. Wonderful , Jonathan!
Extraordinary Jonathan. The tension between the elements, Fire and Water, freedom and love, power and surrender, all told with such intimacy. I don’t know if this was fiction or a true account of a friend, but it didn’t matter. You, holding that cup of hot tea (fire + water… nice!) and allowing relation to temper your own fire. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” Your friend Jordi, an untamable, ultimately destructive brightness. You, tending an inner brightness, equally warm, but kindled through time and love. Such a profound, philosophical piece. Let’s discuss this one further during our chat in a few weeks!
I have had friend die at sea, one was very "fire", but this piece is really just allegorical fiction. I love your smart synopsis. You always dig so cleanly through my layers. I hadn't thought of it so much as a tension between freedom and love, but of course you're right, that is there too. In my mind the "She" character is like older wisdom and guardianship in the face of more modern valuelessness and risk. Like Values over action or something.
I do think, as I mentioned to Fotini, that the allegory in this one morphs a little and characters shapeshift a bit, probably should have been more defined.
Poetry and prose. Beautifully spoken, Jonathan. It gave me lots to think about. Can we contain the fire? Will a cat get back in the bag? It probably depends on the cat. I've seen them do strange things.
No cat is getting back in any bags I reckon, but like containing fire, we could make sure the free cat isn't a psychopathic murdering cat but a socially integrated community cat :)
Thanks so much for reading and commenting Alia, I really do appreciate it.
This is SO beautiful! I love how you weave your stories, and how there is always a golden thread of truth woven into them, so delicate and lovely, in and of itself.
Jordi's passion was the boat. He passed doing what he loved most. There is beauty in that, even in the loss. That resonates. To be so impassioned by something that it is worth it to continue it, even if you pay for it the highest price. Gorgeous.
Your voice is a perfect accompaniment to this story, BTW! Thanks for sharing. XO
A wholly believable story Jonathan, perhaps more so for the fact that I have sailed on a sea that I thought would devour the boat I sailed in, me, the passengers and crew with it. The North Sea can be a mighty and terrifying warrior when a hurricane whips the waves into 60' frenzied giants.
You fabulously weave in the comparitive elements, fire and water, love and loss, I would play devils advocate but I fear you would have an answer far cleverer than I could reply to so I remain quiet and say quite simply, this was a compelling tale - I am still uncertain if its fact or fiction even...
Thank you again, Susie, I love your reading and comments so much.
I think I sailed too far into allegory here, but roughly (and I mean roughly because I've got a terrible hangover - very, very rare and unwelcome - had fun though ;) - the boat sailing between two islands is life between birth and death in a cold dark universe in which life itself is against the odds. The boat is both a place of safety and of danger. If we don't treat the world with respect, careful ritual and guardianship, we allow the boat to go (like Fire) from partner tool to enslaving us to a dangerous way of life.
Jordi is essentially the spirit of Fire in humanity, if not checked properly by Love and or values and guardianship, and by not realising and tending our place in the storm between life and death, we will perish through imbalance. We are so easily seduced (the I character) by the joys of ego and adventure that we need a value laden moral system to keep us careful. Something we don't have now.
"She" is like the Mother Goddess of Love and kinship and care, the very things that Fire (the ego in this case) helped to birth, yet also if we're not careful can become dangerous and valueless, encouraging our destruction and demise. We are all Monster and we are all Prey, and the values we keep as a community reveal which shall triumph.
Anyway, it was worth a try, but a bit rough and ready this one maybe. It's entirely fiction, although of course I've hung around boats and been in such situations before, but I'm a natural landlubber really, so yeah, don't mind if I never set foot on a boat again to be honest.
BTW, I'll be reading w whole bunch of theme over the Christmas period and trying to do a recording wit most of the stories from now on, so I hope you enjoy more of my reading soon.
Goodness, even hungover you amaze ! Yes, I got the gist… but thank you for your explanation…
I too am a landlubber, doesn’t take a genius to guess, twice I thought my life would end on a boat, the second was the last time… my feet have been planted on terra firma since.
I’ll look forward to your next readings with pleasure, recover well!
My roommate in college was a waterman, a clam digger on the Long Island Sound. I went out with him a few times. When it was really choppy, I would freeze up, I could barely move. He asked me what I was afraid of and I said everything. Watermen are different. thanks
They are crazy. I guess if you have to face possible drowning every day you need to have a brazen attitude, but yeah, quite crazy. I'm with you Wes, prefer solid ground every day of the week.
Mmmmm, I tried rock climbing once. That’s where I discovered anything over 3 meters is pretty uncomfortable, even roped in! That Alex Honnold guy is insane.
Powerful to hear you lend your voice to your posts, Jonathan. You weave us on a fantastical, philosophical journey here. Powerful messages about humanity and connection.
This thing called Hope, it might find harmony and chorus in its many forms.
Fantastical philosophical journey - I like that, sounds like life ;)
Thank you, Síodhna 🙏🏽
Very cinematographic, I dare say. Your story played like a reel in my head, and that was before I even heard you reading this piece, Jonathan! That last part where they (we) all stand on the shoreline (alone and yet connected) really got me. Great writing, Jonathan!!!!!
Thanks Fotini, I like that image too, imagining one is alone but actually one is only ever part of a greater whole. I like some of the Ubuntu philosophical thinking, where the idea is more, "who I am depends on many others," or ‘a person is a person through other persons.’ Wholeness and communality is much more of an actual experience than we are lead to believe with individualist ideas like ‘I think, therefore I am.’ ‘A person is a person through other persons.,’ feels more like our actual lived lives.
The allegory is a bit all over the place maybe, in this piece, So I'm glad you liked it my pal :)
We are much more porous than we realise. Reciprocity is the magic word I think :)
Reciprocity :)
It is so good to hear your narration again . A lullaby for Ranger, for me, once again I sink into soft leather, a cup of lemon ginger tea in hand, staring out my window into the woodland forest. Visions dancing in my head, your voice, a smooth rhythmic ballad matching the ebb and flow of the story . The quality of a great storyteller is the ability to shape visions, while I have always enjoyed listening you have learned to lift your words, giving them more power, more feeling, breathing life into your characters . And this story, may I say, is one of my favorites. Hunter, gatherer, inventor, traveler , Loki hiding , and underneath it all, fire, the unstoppable force. Wonderful , Jonathan!
I'm going to read a few more from now on, Lor, so get your sacks of lemon ginger tea, you'll be needing them :)
"Hunter, gatherer, inventor, traveler , Loki hiding , and underneath it all, fire, the unstoppable force," nice, nice, like that synopsis :)
Extraordinary Jonathan. The tension between the elements, Fire and Water, freedom and love, power and surrender, all told with such intimacy. I don’t know if this was fiction or a true account of a friend, but it didn’t matter. You, holding that cup of hot tea (fire + water… nice!) and allowing relation to temper your own fire. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” Your friend Jordi, an untamable, ultimately destructive brightness. You, tending an inner brightness, equally warm, but kindled through time and love. Such a profound, philosophical piece. Let’s discuss this one further during our chat in a few weeks!
Let's do that :)
I have had friend die at sea, one was very "fire", but this piece is really just allegorical fiction. I love your smart synopsis. You always dig so cleanly through my layers. I hadn't thought of it so much as a tension between freedom and love, but of course you're right, that is there too. In my mind the "She" character is like older wisdom and guardianship in the face of more modern valuelessness and risk. Like Values over action or something.
I do think, as I mentioned to Fotini, that the allegory in this one morphs a little and characters shapeshift a bit, probably should have been more defined.
Splendid.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed, Bernadi :)
Your voice is pure sonic awesomeness. Haven’t even read the piece yet; now need to create the time to give it a full listen. Wow.
Thanks so much Eric, that's great to hear! Today's offering s a recording too because I'm working on a few things. I hope you like that too :)
Poetry and prose. Beautifully spoken, Jonathan. It gave me lots to think about. Can we contain the fire? Will a cat get back in the bag? It probably depends on the cat. I've seen them do strange things.
No cat is getting back in any bags I reckon, but like containing fire, we could make sure the free cat isn't a psychopathic murdering cat but a socially integrated community cat :)
Thanks so much for reading and commenting Alia, I really do appreciate it.
Haha, that made me laugh. But aren't all cats psychopaths and given the chance, murders? Perhaps I should have picked a different animal 😅
This is SO beautiful! I love how you weave your stories, and how there is always a golden thread of truth woven into them, so delicate and lovely, in and of itself.
Jordi's passion was the boat. He passed doing what he loved most. There is beauty in that, even in the loss. That resonates. To be so impassioned by something that it is worth it to continue it, even if you pay for it the highest price. Gorgeous.
Your voice is a perfect accompaniment to this story, BTW! Thanks for sharing. XO
Thanks so much Danielle, so glad you're enjoying these. There'll be more readings coming up too :)
Love!! You have a voice that matches the intensity and depth of your writing, so I look forward to reading and listening! XO
A wholly believable story Jonathan, perhaps more so for the fact that I have sailed on a sea that I thought would devour the boat I sailed in, me, the passengers and crew with it. The North Sea can be a mighty and terrifying warrior when a hurricane whips the waves into 60' frenzied giants.
You fabulously weave in the comparitive elements, fire and water, love and loss, I would play devils advocate but I fear you would have an answer far cleverer than I could reply to so I remain quiet and say quite simply, this was a compelling tale - I am still uncertain if its fact or fiction even...
PS I love to listen to you read your stories!
Thank you again, Susie, I love your reading and comments so much.
I think I sailed too far into allegory here, but roughly (and I mean roughly because I've got a terrible hangover - very, very rare and unwelcome - had fun though ;) - the boat sailing between two islands is life between birth and death in a cold dark universe in which life itself is against the odds. The boat is both a place of safety and of danger. If we don't treat the world with respect, careful ritual and guardianship, we allow the boat to go (like Fire) from partner tool to enslaving us to a dangerous way of life.
Jordi is essentially the spirit of Fire in humanity, if not checked properly by Love and or values and guardianship, and by not realising and tending our place in the storm between life and death, we will perish through imbalance. We are so easily seduced (the I character) by the joys of ego and adventure that we need a value laden moral system to keep us careful. Something we don't have now.
"She" is like the Mother Goddess of Love and kinship and care, the very things that Fire (the ego in this case) helped to birth, yet also if we're not careful can become dangerous and valueless, encouraging our destruction and demise. We are all Monster and we are all Prey, and the values we keep as a community reveal which shall triumph.
Anyway, it was worth a try, but a bit rough and ready this one maybe. It's entirely fiction, although of course I've hung around boats and been in such situations before, but I'm a natural landlubber really, so yeah, don't mind if I never set foot on a boat again to be honest.
BTW, I'll be reading w whole bunch of theme over the Christmas period and trying to do a recording wit most of the stories from now on, so I hope you enjoy more of my reading soon.
Goodness, even hungover you amaze ! Yes, I got the gist… but thank you for your explanation…
I too am a landlubber, doesn’t take a genius to guess, twice I thought my life would end on a boat, the second was the last time… my feet have been planted on terra firma since.
I’ll look forward to your next readings with pleasure, recover well!
🙏🏽
My roommate in college was a waterman, a clam digger on the Long Island Sound. I went out with him a few times. When it was really choppy, I would freeze up, I could barely move. He asked me what I was afraid of and I said everything. Watermen are different. thanks
They are crazy. I guess if you have to face possible drowning every day you need to have a brazen attitude, but yeah, quite crazy. I'm with you Wes, prefer solid ground every day of the week.
and yet that same roommate did not like heights and acted as nervous on a roof as I did in rough water.
Mmmmm, I tried rock climbing once. That’s where I discovered anything over 3 meters is pretty uncomfortable, even roped in! That Alex Honnold guy is insane.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=urRVZ4SW7WU
I am surrounded here in Colorado with these crazy world class climbers. I'll check it out. Here is my neighbor Kelly, an insane man. https://youtu.be/U3rPYvO7gQQ?si=D1bimnnatYrbonMC
🤣
Magnificent. Your masterful reading brought your masterful writing to grand life. Flawless production and a brilliant way to greet my day.
Thank you so much, rena. Thought I might have overdone the allegorical nature of this one, so I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it :)
I'm going to record my pieces more often, so thanks too for the pat on the back ;)