Find the time

In Freya's mailbox this 3rd day of February in 2023

I'm grateful for Garrison Keillor's reminder that today is the 149th anniversary of Gertrude Stein's birth, in 1874 Allegheny, Pennsylvania. She moved to Paris at the age of 30, where she met and fell in love with Alice B. Toklas. They lived together between the two world wars, and hosted a now famous salon in their home attended by many luminaries of the Lost Generation — a label coined by Stein — including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Ezra Pound.

“There ain’t no answer. There ain’t gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. That’s the answer.” – Gertrude Stein

It's also the 129th anniversary of Norman Rockwell's birth in 1894 New York. The painter's illustrations of everyday American life graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post for over 50 years, more than 300 times. Rockwell painted soldiers, mooney-eyed teenaged lovers, and doughy policemen. He also did portraits of several American Presidents.

It’s not always easy, but worth the effort to find a way to disconnect from your daily life and drop into solitude, silence, and creative expression.--Mirabai Starr.