It’s a lovely summer afternoon, not too hot or humid, very sunny, with a mild breeze blowing through the leaves, and I have to say that these practically perfect days make me wish the summer would go on and on… but alas, this weather is impermanent, so I must just enjoy the moment. I have two books that I’ve read this week, now that all my Silver Birch reading is done (I sent in my top choices last Thursday and we have a meeting tonight to decide on the final list of nominees for 2026).
I’ve learned to think philosophically about both life and death from two small but nonetheless powerful books. The first is The Secret Life of a Cemetery: the wild nature and enchanting life of Père-Lachaise by Benoît Gallot, current curator of the most famous cemetery in the world. Located in eastern Paris, this cemetery is most well-known for being the final resting place of Jim Morrison of The Doors, but it is obviously so much more than that. As Gallot writes, cemeteries have become more than resting places for the dead; they are also places for people to come to find peace and silence, for flora and fauna to thrive, and to offer green spaces to residents, as well as being tourist attractions and film settings. He notes that since the ban of pesticide use in cemeteries in France in 2015, the grounds have returned to their more natural state, where wildflowers and trees spring up seemingly out of nowhere and find their place in the already-wilding setting. He’s noted that a family of foxes call Père-Lachaise home and he’s been able to take photos of these wild furry friends which he posts on his Instagram account and which are included in the book. He and his family live in an apartment in the cemetery overlooking the ground and he contemplates this proximity to death, deciding that it has helped him accept and feel at peace with the inevitable end to life that comes to us all, and to which many of us look with fear. This short, historical, philosophical, whimsical, insightful book is a must-read for anyone who has already visited or hopes one day to visit this famous cemetery, as well as anyone who is interested in finding peace and joy in unexpected places.
This search for peace led to my next book, one that has been on my personal bookshelf since last summer. No Mud, No Lotus: the art of transforming suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh is a brief introduction to the Buddhist teachings about suffering and ways to approach this uncomfortable emotion in a way that leads to happiness. The saying “no mud, no lotus” basically sums up the fact that we can’t have one thing without its opposite: the mud smells bad, but is necessary to grow the lotus, which smells good. I’m very new to the concept of mindfulness and living in the present moment, and don’t actively, consciously participate in this practice, so I was pretty much a black slate when I opened the book. When I purchased it last summer, I was very often in a state of severe anxiety and worry. I guess I’ve come out of that on my own over the past twelve months, but it was still worth reading. I learned many things, such as mantras like “this is a moment of happiness”; that all things are impermanent; that we all have seeds of positivity and negativity within us and we can choose to water the seeds of positivity so they can grow into positive aspects such as compassion and joy. When I finished reading it this morning, I went out for a walk to try walking meditation and realized that I already do this, but not always, as I can be easily distracted. I will go back and do some of the exercises and activities suggested in the book, but for now I’ve got a few tenets that I need to work on as I think about heading back to work next week (it’s easy to be peaceful and mindful when you’re on your own a lot during summer break with no schedule and no pressure to be anywhere or complete anything!).
That’s all for today. Get outside and enjoy these last days of summer before they’re gone!
Bye for now… Julie
