Yesterday, a huge earthquake followed by a tsunami hit the Samoan Islands, including Samoa. Casualties and damages are high, and help is badly needed. Our hearts go out to all bereaved survivors who lost loved ones to this major disaster.
On behalf of Cordula’s Web editorial team: please consider donating to relief organizations and sending humanitarian help and relief workers (e.g. via New Zealand’s Red Cross).
Thank you for caring.
I’ve just added The Left Banke’s Walk Away Renée lyrics to Cordula’s Web, associating them with a gloomy painting of a train station by Claude Monet, because many people — including myself — unconsciously project their own unrequited love with it.
Its background is particularly interesting. According to the song’s entry on Wikipedia, Michael Brown allegedly wrote about Renée Fladen, a tall blonde and then-girlfriend of bassist Tom Finn. He fell deeply in love with her; but since she was engaged, he couldn’t confess his love.
If you’re a regular reader of Cordula’s Web, chances are high that you’re also experiencing more or less severe forms of depression, and seeking solace and a quiet place. Whatever the causes (PTSD, a broken heart, mourning, burnout, …), you probably realize that those are just psychological triggers. So what are the real physiological root causes of depression?
As if dwelling in the dark hole of despair wasn’t painful enough already, society, mental health therapists, and counselors often add insult to injury by insinuating that depression were some kind of mental health problem. Since pronounced feelings of guilt are among typical symptoms of depression, this only exacerbates the anguish by inducing unnecessary shame and additional self-loathing. But what if depression was actually a natural reaction, and quite useful for the survival of the species?
If you loved Ally McBeal, you’ll certainly remember Vonda Shepard’s melancholic What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, with its unforgettable refrain:
What becomes of the brokenhearted,
Who had love that’s now departed?
Most people don’t take a broken heart seriously. Some may even gain a devilish pleasure out of breaking others’ hearts. To a mental sadist, or just a careless or heartless person, a broken heart is just a metaphor, since “mental pain isn’t real pain.” In our societies, taboos exist only to protect against physical violence, but inflicting mental pain is still widely accepted.
On June 12th, 1987, US president Ronald Reagan delivered a famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate, challenging the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbatchev to dismantle the Berlin Wall:
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!“
A common belief has it, that if you are able to quickly utter a wish while seeing a shooting star, your wish may eventually come true. However, you’ve got to be very quick about it: uttering a wish before or after the fact won’t work: the dying meteor has to be visible while you speak out your dearest hope.
A big thank you to all visitors who emailed us in the last couple of weeks, wondering why we haven’t updated this site for some time: we really appreciate your moral support and just how much you’re concerned about Cordula’s Web.
Of course, we’re still here, and don’t plan to go away anytime soon. On the contrary!
Right now, we’re on the hunt for good public domain poetry and stories to extend our collection. As you may have guessed, all this reading takes a lot of silent time… though, as it helps overcome loneliness and pain, we’d rather not rush it either.
Helpers have also contributed great links to new free photos that we may use as illustrations.
We’ve already had periods of semi-inactivity in the past 11+ years of Cordula’s Web, that lasted longer than a month or two. This is perfectly normal, since we prefer to stay focused, rather than pointlessly mutating into a soulless catch-all library.
The very raison d’être of Cordula’s Web is love and emotional intensity, both of which won’t bow to a strict publishing schedule.
Again, thanks for all the support and patience.
Today, flight AF 447 from Brazil to France disappeared somewhere over the Atlantic and has probably crashed. The search for survivors is still underway as I’m writing this, but chances are fading fast. According to RFI:
Doctors and psychologists are taking care of relatives at Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport. Most of the 216 passengers were registered as Brazilian nationals, 40 of the people on board were registered as French nationals and 20 German. There were also several Moroccans and Lebanese on board.
Every now and then, a global scare sweeps the planet. After H5N1 and SARS, it was the H1N1, a.k.a. swine flu epidemic just a few weeks ago. Fortunately, it turned out that this virus, while highly contagious, was not as lethal as initially thought. Right now, it has claimed fewer victims than a usual seasonal flu. A vaccine is being developed, and will likely be deployed just in time. So, no, there won’t be huge casualties, and the scare will evaporate.
Fortunately the swine flu was not the big grim reaper. But imagine, just for a moment, how it would be, if a really deadly epidemic broke out. An epidemic that claims thousands — if not more — victims in every city, will have to be dealt with in a completely different manner. For starters, whole areas will be cordoned off: it will be impossible to travel from one area to the next, and the only way to keep in touch with friends and relatives will be by phone, e-mail etc…
To all advertisers who have been writing us recently: Cordula’s Web is a strictly non-commercial site. We don’t like ads, neither on other sites, nor here. Never did, never will. No exceptions. Period. We don’t even accept donations from our readers (though links to us are always appreciated, of course).
Actually, it boggles the mind that advertisers could even ask. This is a silent memorial, a refuge and a consolation site, and the last thing our visitors would like is to be assaulted by intrusive, visually offensive ads for stuff that is not even linked to Cordula.
And while we’re at it: our web-savvy visitors may already be using Adblock Plus (ABP) add-on with good blocking lists on Firefox, or similar ad-blocking tools for other browsers.
Cordula’s Web has always been an ad-free zone. By choice. Out of respect for Cordula, for our visitors and for ethical reasons. So, please, don’t bother asking. You’re just wasting your and our time.