Be awesome! Be a book nut!
“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” Mark Twain “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” Joseph Brodsky “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Marcus Tullius Cicero “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” Anna Quindlen © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van…
“Be awesome! Be a book nut!” (Dr. Seuss)
“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” (Mark Twain) “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” (Joseph Brodsky) “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society (part 2)
(Original blog post The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society) Sadly I was not able to find the half-dressed homeless man in town this morning, so the attempt to give him some clothes and food failed. The bag with clothes is still standing here, and hopefully, I will be able to help him someday. This is the street where I have seen him beg before (Henry Street, Dublin) © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the…
The dark underbelly of Ireland’s society
I love Ireland. Anyone who reads this blog or who knows me personally knows how much I do. Some days, however, like today, I feel ashamed for being a part of a society that lets beggars sit half-naked, without shoes, without pants in the bitter cold on one of the busiest shopping streets of Ireland (Henry Street, just off O’Connell Street). People walking past carry shopping bags of expensive stores without glancing at a man sitting there begging for money, or if they glance, they show contempt: “How dare he sit here like that?!” Perhaps this image does not fit in many people’s reality, but it doesn’t make it a lesser reality because they deny this person’s hardship. If anything, people who show contempt for someone so poor and so…
W.B. Yeats’ pain
“If suffering brings wisdom, I would wish to be less wise” (William Butler Yeats) © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
My mum
Tomorrow I celebrate my 10th anniversary of living in Ireland. Somehow it’s a surreal anniversary, not only because of how time has flown by so fast since the day of my leaving but also because of the strength of some of my dearest family members have shown over the past years, especially my mum. My mum is my best friend, my backbone and my reason d’être. She’s strong despite having lost her first born, her second husband, her dogs and much more. She’s risen like a phoenix from her ashes and every day I am more proud of her. Every day she shows that life goes on, that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and because of that, I love her so much.
Education
Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. (William Butler Yeats) © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.