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“Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recovered at will.”

~Baudelaire

This is one of my very favorite quotes! But why?

Because, I believe that in life we need a lot more reminding than instructing and this particular quote is a powerful reminder that everything required to be or become whatever we choose need only be recovered from the awe, wonder, and curiosity of our forgotten youth...

Yes, that means it’s already within us and simply requires liberation through rediscovery.

One of the best examples that immediately comes to mind for me is the childhood brilliance of Charlie Mackesy and his commitment to just make his art!

In his book and now Oscar winning film, the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, there is a line where his character, the boy, asks, “I wonder if there is a school of unlearning?”

On the following page the mole offers a line of wisdom, while speaking to the boy, as they sit together on a tree branch:

“Most of the old moles I know wish they had listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.”

Interestingly enough, Bronnie Ware basically indicated the same thing in her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

“1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

"This was the most common regret of all.”

https://youtu.be/Fbdem4g_LEc

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZDwCZJv2xm4?feature=share

https://youtu.be/GjV9MX_LmdI

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To add to your thoughtful comment…

Saw a clip of Jim Carey who spoke of his dad who traded his dream for the “safe” road. At 51, his employer let him go. JC said the pain of not following your dream hurts. Imagine the pain of compromising for the safe road only to learn it’s not safe.

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From my YouTube history timeline from Yesterday:

https://youtu.be/WiXp_DAhT00

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Gulp!

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“Who among us has not dreamt, in moments of ambition, of the miracle of a poetic prose, musical without rhythm and rhyme, supple and staccato enough to adapt to the lyrical stirrings of the soul, the undulations of dreams, and sudden leaps of consciousness. This obsessive idea is above all a child of giant cities, of the intersecting of their myriad relations.” ~Baudelaire

— Dedication of Le Spleen de Paris

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I would love to hear him explain this comment!!! I’m not sure I understand the last sentence.

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“He coined the term modernity (modernité) to designate the fleeting experience of life in an urban metropolis, and the responsibility of artistic expression to capture that experience.” ~Wikipedia

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Ahhhh! TY!

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May 29, 2023Liked by 3musesmerge

I like the looks of the landscape and the pannekoeken. Makes me want to visit both! 😊

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Thanks Jack!

Pannekoeken has surprisingly little sugar in it! Tablespoon and a half.

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“Wonder is nothing more nor less than childhood recovered at will.”

~TheEarthHeARTist, Inspired by the childhood genius of Baudelaire

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Nicked!

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May 28, 2023Liked by 3musesmerge

The Baudelaire quote is perfection. The landscape? I think I camped there once while backpacking in the George Washington National Forest in SW Virginia!

The pannekoeken was not up to par?! Tal mentioning maple syrup made me wonder how a ho-hum outcome was even possible. I recently prepared “million dollar bacon” which was glazed with maple syrup and dusted with powdered cinnamon. Being applied to bacon helped. 😬

Another glance at the pannekoeken makes me wonder if cranberries were used. They would be more puckery than blueberries, my first guess. Red/green issues you know.

More maple syrup!

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The pannekoeken's delight was above par!!! Cherry almond. 😉 This try was better than the first, although not as light and fluffy as the one I had at the Rochester MN restaurant. I liked the crispy sides on today's attempt.

You know Nia... she can find the fault in just about anything. 😂 And for that we are grateful because without her, we'd stay amateurs at everything.

Didn't we get the million dollar bacon recipe here on 3mm -- in a comment from Bobby?

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May 28, 2023Liked by 3musesmerge

I believe the bacon recipe was from 3MM. I may have spaced out the first iteration, though. As I searched prior to giving it a try, I read comments by folks who had tried a recipe. People howled about 30’ at 350° being “burnt beyond recognition). More searching and one appeared that said to bake for 15’ at 350° but otherwise very similar. I used thick, dry cured bacon with no preservatives. I was licking my lips for the batch to finish. As it turned out, I licked my lips for at least another 15 minutes and it still wasn’t as crisp as I had hoped!🤷🏽

Don’t believe anything you read, and only half of what you see. Now with AI Deep Fakes the percent may drop below 10!

So, cherries, not cranberries. Nia snookered me with her critique! Does she shun maple syrup?! Was the almond part slivered or extract?

What a delicious, delightful love letter today!

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May 28, 2023·edited May 28, 2023Author

When it comes to painting I’ve decided to treat it like a baby learning to walk… watch, learn, try. Works for me! I still get a big thrill when watercolors bleed together finding their own way.

Extract!

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