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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Tuesday Police Reports Students go behind the scenes at hospital 10 things to know for Monday What do you think of the proposed natural gas pipeline? Education Students go behind the scenes at hospital Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner AHS ranked No. 7 by Niche College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? 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In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Sports Latest Stories Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones Sayre says character key to SOU's success Ducks grounded Raiders put on a show Oregon's Dargan goes from sideline to spotlight High school Raiders put on a show Graham sparks Grizzly rout Ashland drops MWL opener to Marist Ashland swats Yreka, braces for Marist Shibley-Styer, Malcolm lead Grizzlies to comeback win over Henley Southern Oregon University Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones Sayre says character key to SOU's success Ducks grounded Raiders put on a show Oregon's Dargan goes from sideline to spotlight Opinion Latest Stories Granlund cartoon: Obama and Paris rally Our View: Putting slash to work Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased Another View: Community colleges key to expanding opportunity Another view: Cheney defends nation's journey into darkness Editorial Our View: Putting slash to work Our view: Protect Ashland's crown Our View: A worthwhile goal Our View: Go slow on new chief Our view: Food that fits us Letters Letters to the Editor, Jan. 5 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 23 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased Another view: Cheney defends nation's journey into darkness Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fury impedes justice The Plaza phenomenon Herb Rothschild Jr.: Waco and Ferguson Revels Latest Stories 4 things to do this week Savanna at Belle Fiore Community blog: Student Poetry Contest 'Creatures' mixes edgy sound with beauty and tranquility 4 things to do this weekend Theater Insights into the gifts theater offers off the stage Theater is an act of co-creation ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Music Jeff Kloetzel at Belle Fiore The Farr Side: Top 10 album count-up for 2014 Visual Art Schneider winter exhibits on tap: 'Baker's Dozen' and 'New Works' First Friday kicks off a new year Movies Interview: Bradley Cooper discusses working with Clint Eastwood on ‘American Sniper’ Movie review: Soulful ‘Selma’ offers a new lens on history Movie review: Mike Leigh applies an artist’s touch to ‘Mr. Turner’ Movie review: Hazy, crazy Thomas Pynchon novel ‘Inherent Vice’ makes it to the screen Movie review: Timothy Spall steps up to the palette as the artist J.M.W. Turner Food and Drink Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Gail Ciampa: Modern quiche meets ancient grain Shayne Looper: Salvation-lite: Great benefits ... less responsibility? Food for Thought: Give up gluten, but not all grains It Is What It Is: There’s more to rejection than meets the eye Part 17: Dawn answers the call of the Rogue Sirens Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business NEWS NOW Our View: Putting slash to work ... Ashland Calendar ... Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased ... Our View: Putting slash to work ... Ashland Calendar ... Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased ... MOCHA MUSINGS Ringing in the new year Comment By Susanne Severeid DailyTidings.com By Susanne Severeid Posted Jan. 5, 2015 @ 3:56 pm Updated Jan 5, 2015 at 7:42 PM By Susanne Severeid Posted Jan. 5, 2015 @ 3:56 pm Updated Jan 5, 2015 at 7:42 PM » RELATED CONTENT • With a little help from my friends • The haiku of a chance meeting • A full life emptied by grief, refilled by living » Social News On my way to get my morning cup of coffee, I hear church bells ringing off in the distance. I pull over, roll down the car window and stop to listen as they begin to chime the hour. Bong … bong … bong. A clear sound, pealing over the frosted rooftops and through the bare branches of the wintry trees. A sound from the past that makes me feel happy as I count along: eight ... nine ... 10 (OK, maybe I hit the snooze button a few times this morning).  I think back to when I lived in Holland, just outside of Amsterdam, with my husband. There was a church a few blocks away from our house and we used to hear the bells chime every day. A sound we both loved and which was so unusual for me, having grown up in Southern California, where the sheer cacophony of daily life left no room for such subtle resonance. I remember the first time we heard those bells, walking along that cobblestoned Dutch street. We turned to each other and laughed, it was such a sweet, unexpected sound. Bells which, in times past, warned villagers of impending flood waters and enemy invasions or, on routine Sundays, were a call to service. They were the markers of the social register of a village, announcing births and baptisms, proclaiming weddings and coronations and, finally, solemnly tolling deaths and funerals. The stuff of life. How rare such a sound has become for most of us nowadays. Our busy lives are filled with tinny ring tones and pings, distracting us every five seconds, that we react to like Pavlov’s dogs. But where is the serenity that comes with those sonorous bells? Bells cast of bronze or copper and tin, forged by masters of their trade. Bells gonging out their messages and marking the passage of time placidly, patiently, dependably. I think of the chiming clock of Amsterdam’s Westerkerk giving comfort to Anne Frank during her years of hiding in the attic. And of our own Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and its rich history, etched with the words, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof." According to the National Park Service, “Abolitionists, women's suffrage advocates and Civil Rights leaders took inspiration from the inscription on this bell.” The Liberty Bell is cracked and does not ring, yet, to me, it still fulfills the purpose for which it was wrought. Serving, perhaps, as a beacon for what we can hope and strive for, calling us to a higher duty, a higher standard. Maybe we are all a bit like that bell: imperfect, yet strongly forged. When I was in high school, public speaking was a required course. I was told that it was considered imperative for a young person to be able to stand up and speak publicly at a town hall or city council meeting; we were expected to speak up, not only for our rights, but for the rights of others. When I was a teenager, that was called patriotism. This new year is so full of promise, and responsibility. I am grateful for the beauty of Ashland and its opportunities for expression, of how graced we are. And I think of John Donne’s poem, which Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted so eloquently, “Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.” As we welcome 2015, let the bells of our own lives peal grandly and loudly, clanging and resounding with the zest of life. And may we take the time to listen. — Award-winning author, TV presenter and world traveler Susanne Severeid is an Ashland resident who enjoys making time for the important things in life — including mocha. For more, go to www.susannesevereid.com . Email her at [email protected] .     By Susanne Severeid DailyTidings.com By Susanne Severeid Posted Jan. 5, 2015 @ 3:56 pm Updated Jan 5, 2015 at 7:42 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. 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