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Favour and Loss of it Both Disturb Us

For all of April, I’m going wordless for the A to Z Challenge.

The title of each post is a phrase/ sentence that inspires me as a
writer, and below is a picture I think best embodies it. In the
comments, I invite you to discuss what the phrase means to you, as a person, a
reader, or whatever other role you might choose for yourself in life.

Favour and Loss of it Both Disturb Us: Image via Ray

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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50 Comments

  • To me the phrase signifies that life at either extremes is disturbing. This is so even at the favourable end. The key to all is balance.

  • ..but with three kids, it keeps slipping out of my hands.

  • ermurray says:

    Love the title of this post – makes me think of how we're always seeking favour – within family, friends, society, and yet are somewhat distrustful of it. It makes me think about pack mentality – bullying, catastrophes, dictatorships – but also makes me think about bravery and gentleness, where many voices can make a difference. The image is wonderful too. Water – perfect harmony, completely necessary and yet, can be so damaging/dangerous.

  • Roshni AaMom says:

    I love the capture! Wonderful image!

  • Hello, you have stopped by my blog (Anglers Rest http://www.anglersrest.net) & left a comment that you could not find my A-Z posts. There is a link on the top bar of blog, also my posts usually go live in the afternoon UK time. On Subday I posted something else, Saturday's post was a little further down.

  • I just…wow.

  • Cynthia says:

    It just so happens that I was looking out onto a lake today with my child and I was explaining to him about what ripples are. Your pic reminds me of the pretty lake I saw today.

  • yup, very thought provoking.

  • I can't tell if my comment is making it through at all, no verification or anything…so sorry if I spammed multiple copies of it. The page simply reloads and then there's nothing.

    I wrote:

    Interesting thought. To me, the phrase conjures more than a few meanings. The most obvious and first in my mind, when we lose favour, we are disturbed, likewise, we are occasionally disturbed by those that gain favour and why (and with whom), whether from pure jealousy (Can't believe they liked her book better than mine! Her book is trash!) or a genuinely boggled mind.

    No one likes to think they're losing favour, though some deal with it better than others (even if it bugs them on a very minor and brief level). In line with that, as we measure and compare ourselves to those around us, we feel favour lost when something we deem less in comparison rises above regardless.

    The ripples make it interesting (for me anyway). There are many, heading out in a circle. It brings my thoughts back to how we're all connected. We should spend less time comparing ourselves to and competing with each other, and just focus on being the best part of the ripples we can, groove and valley alike.

    Likewise, when we spend entirely too much time in comparison and competition, we make unnecessary waves in life, stressing the fabric of it until we bend out of shape, contorted and disturbed from a smooth course.

    –Saronai

    http://musesings.wordpress.com

  • musesings says:

    Interesting thought. To me, the phrase conjures more than a few meanings. The most obvious and first in my mind, when we lose favour, we are disturbed, likewise, we are occasionally disturbed by those that gain favour and why (and with whom), whether from pure jealousy (Can't believe they liked her book better than mine! Her book is trash!) or a genuinely boggled mind.

    No one likes to think they're losing favour, though some deal with it better than others (even if it bugs them on a very minor and brief level). In line with that, as we measure and compare ourselves to those around us, we feel favour lost when something we deem less in comparison rises above regardless.

    The ripples make it interesting (for me anyway). There are many, heading out in a circle. It brings my thoughts back to how we're all connected. We should spend less time comparing ourselves to and competing with each other, and just focus on being the best part of the ripples we can, groove and valley alike.

    Likewise, when we spend entirely too much time in comparison and competition, we make unnecessary waves in life, stressing the fabric of it until we bend out of shape, contorted and disturbed from a smooth course.

  • musesings says:

    Interesting thought. To me, the phrase conjures more than a few meanings. The most obvious and first in my mind, when we lose favour, we are disturbed, likewise, we are occasionally disturbed by those that gain favour and why (and with whom), whether from pure jealousy (Can't believe they liked her book better than mine! Her book is trash!) or a genuinely boggled mind.

    No one likes to think they're losing favour, though some deal with it better than others (even if it bugs them on a very minor and brief level). In line with that, as we measure and compare ourselves to those around us, we feel favour lost when something we deem less in comparison rises above regardless.

    The ripples make it interesting (for me anyway). There are many, heading out in a circle. It brings my thoughts back to how we're all connected. We should spend less time comparing ourselves to and competing with each other, and just focus on being the best part of the ripples we can, groove and valley alike.

    Likewise, when we spend entirely too much time in comparison and competition, we make unnecessary waves in life, stressing the fabric of it until we bend out of shape, contorted and disturbed from a smooth course.

  • Very cool pic and line. It makes me think that either favour or loss can have rippling, long lasting effects.

  • Ranch Mama says:

    Stunning. I think of the peace we can have by moving on. Away from the loss.

  • I never want to be out of favour with anyone…that would be extremely distressing to me. Hurting people's feelings is troubling to me, so I compensate by sometimes not telling the full truth, when asked my opinion.
    Thanks for being willing to co-host the Challenge!

    MakingtheWriteConnections

  • I love how you take a simple, yet very deep line and couple it with a picture that looks like it was meant to go with it. That's an art in itself.

  • The difference between fact and fiction-the fragility of life.

  • I love this photo and the phrase takes a bit of thinking about. I am quite sure that all of us, no matter what we say, want to be in favour with people. To lose the favour of someone you like or respect can hurt so much.

    Rosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain

  • I love the post. I can stare at water and the way it ripples forever. I have to pry my eyes away.

  • Nice quote and quite true too!!

  • Nick Wilford says:

    We wonder why we deserve to be favoured but then miss it when it goes away.

  • Troubled water. A perfect capture to describe this phrase!

    Sincerely,Miss Uncertain—sidetracked

  • Favour – a little boost is good but too much cripples us of our own strengths. That's what I believe in. 🙂

  • I love your theme this year, and the thoughtful, thought-provoking titles paired with the photographs. Favour can be as disturbing as it is welcome–we're such complicated creatures, aren't we?

  • Dan Miller says:

    Another nice, thought provoking image. Loss of it disturbs me.

    Thanks for checking in.

    Dan Miller
    Blog: http://www.impressionevergreen.com
    Twitter: @DanFMillerArt

  • Grammy says:

    I see this statement as saying favor and the loss of it both can bring disillusion. Sometimes the favor is not worth the troubles it can bring. Best regards to you, my friend.

  • Love the images you've used – thoughtful, evocative selection

  • Tara Tyler says:

    i am digging these inspiring quotes & pics!
    d is my fave this week!

  • Kristen Dyrr says:

    Too much of anything you need in life is bad, and a lack of the thing you need is also bad. That includes water, food, companionship. Perhaps there's no such thing as too much "love," but that depends on what is meant by it… saying the word to much is annoying, but having a life filled with love must be pretty nice. 🙂

    From A to Z, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

  • Margot says:

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven – Sometimes the difficult things in life are blessings in disguise. It is some times hard to tell what is if favor. Of the loss sometimes it is simply pruning to make way for new growth. I suppose all change is disturbing because it pushes us out of our comfort zone into the unknown.

    Beautiful photo.

    Margot at A Devotional Mosaic and Spark My Creativity

  • Jo says:

    At my age you don't really care.

    JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

  • The ripple image for favour as being both a good thing and a bad thing is a wonderful choice. When nothing is happening in our lives, the stillness can feel so dull, but it can also be a calm refuge. Too much 'favour' and no one will leave us in peace!

  • Jaimie says:

    I think it's because we don't deserve favor, from anyone (but especially God!), but we need and desire it so much that it hurts when we lose it, even though it's "disturbing" in a way to have it.

    Thought-provoking post.

    Jaimie
    Living in the Light
    A to Z Ambassador

  • JANU says:

    Watching water is such a zen experience.

  • Spiraled tales !

  • sassyspeaks says:

    Love the photo – ripples in the water far reaching. I often take pics of water and their reflections

  • Vidya Sury says:

    Love the ripples, Damyanti. Perfect, like your title!

  • I agree!

  • Tina says:

    When I saw the water all I could think of was dropping something precious into it and never seeing it again. But other than that, I think loverofwords summed up my feelings quite well.

    Tina @ Life is Good
    Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
    @TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

  • Just from the image, I think of how one tiny action affects so much more.

  • M Pax says:

    They're very profound words. Does the favor make us less? What do we owe by accepting it?

  • MrMark says:

    Tranquility is overrated.

  • A thought provoking line indeed, and the picture you've uploaded for it is very apt.

    Cynthia Rodrigues Manchekar at Cynthology

  • Trisha F says:

    Love that picture! Seeing it makes me wish I was as cool right now as if I was in water – it is still too hot in my part of the world for my liking!

  • Marti says:

    Are we truly deserving? When we are in disfavour is it justified? Visiting from A-Z

  • loverofwords says:

    When I saw the words, the thoughts that came to mind were being in a group, and then our of it — in favor and then not — trials of middle school and high school, but also in the workplace.

  • John Wiswell says:

    Very nice usage of Favour as disturbing. Of course everything has its impact, but many people need reminders of this.

  • Rainbow Hues says:

    Guess excess of water makes a flood and a lack of it a drought! What a great thought 🙂

  • Shilpa Garg says:

    True!

  • nice image – very peaceful…