Do good!

The quote, “Money, like vodka, makes a man eccentric.”, appearing in the story “Gooseberries”, by Anton Chekhov, inspired me to start this blog.  “Gooseberries” has many themes, all of which reflect the problems of the 21st century; rich vs. poor, educated vs. uneducated, city vs. country and happiness vs. unhappiness.  Like the 21st century, “Gooseberries” is about the cost of the pursuit of happiness  for society.  Ivan Ivanich, the main character, in his frustration over his brother’s dream to become a wealthy landowner, grow gooseberries and have servants, says;  “those who are happy can only enjoy themselves because the unhappy bear their burdens in silence, and but for this silence happiness would be impossible.” Sound familiar? He continues; “There ought to be a man with a hammer behind the door of every happy man, to remind him by his constant knocks that there are unhappy people.”  Finally he concludes as he points to the younger Alekhin; “There is no such thing as happiness, nor ought there to be, but if there is any sense of purpose in life, this sense and purpose are to be found not in our own happiness, but in something greater and more rational.  Do good!”

With that in mind I plan to ‘do good’ by this blog.  I will post on my varied interests, such as  Photography, Art, Literature, History, Culture and even some personal and fun matters, from time to time.  As Ivan suggests they will have a purpose and reason, and if they cause happiness, unhappiness or non-happiness, so be it!  Welcome to my blog! Oh, and by the way;  I highly recommend Anton Chekhov’s Short Stories.