Good Books; Good Questions

Books, Children and Books 0

All books leave readers with questions; a good book leaves us with good questions.  Asking ourselves if Dumbledore ever found love (or what might have happened if Stanley Yelnats had not found the sneakers, or whether Harriet M. Welsch ever found culinary pleasures beyond tomato sandwiches) is how we give a book life within our imaginations, make it our own.  Like Philip Pullman’s subtle knife, those questions open the fabric between the writer’s universe and our own.

Pullman has been facing some questions of his own….  Pullman’s His Dark Materials presents a magnificent panoply of inquiries — about God, “Dust,” and the human imagination.  Is the trilogy a challenge to the Church?  Absolutely.  But mostly it is a challenge to any readers or pundits who expect a book — or its author — to do their thinking for them….  It’s not a writer’s privilege or responsibility to tell you how to read her or his book.  Talk is cheap, but print, still, is more or less forever.

— Roger Sutton, Editorial, The Horn Book Magazine, January/February 2008

Redemption

Compassion, Core Value, Forgiveness 0

Feeling badly about making a mistake is natural, but punishing yourself forever is never appropriate.

I urge you to fully examine your beliefs about mistakes and forgiveness.  Most people cannot answer this simple question:  “How much penance is appropriate to expunge your mistake?”  I have seen countless people who are continually punishing themselves in an infinite variety of ways because of a perceived transgression in the past.  Holding yourself to a so-called higher standard (others could be forgiven for this, but not me) does not make you a better person.  It only makes you a more miserable person….

It is a choice if you focus on the worst parts of you, rather than the good.  If you are having difficulty, then focus on helping someone in need, rather than wasting your time and effort on chastising yourself.  Do something positive.  Choose to ask for help — from God, your spiritual advisor, or your friends.  Be honest and admit that you are in charge of how you treat yourself, and start treating yourself the way you would a friend.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 230-232

Miraculous Present Moments

Joy, Life 0

Whenever we do anything well, when we do our best, embracing an activity wholeheartedly, we are satisfied and energized.  Tucking a child into bed and saying a prayer after reading a story is a small act of grace with lasting benefits.  Rituals can never be rushed or be skipped.  The joy is in our instantaneous recognition of miraculous present moments.

Don’t plan it.  Live it.

— Alexandra Stoddard, Choosing Happiness, p. 16

Focusing on Possibility

Joy, Life, Love 0

Lovers always focus away from negativity, to beauty, goodness, and joy.  Though they are aware of the dark side of life, they avoid gravitating to it.  Obsession with what is wrong with the world assures our blindness to what is good and right.  On the other hand, solutions become more visible in the light of possibilities.

Beauty and goodness are successful forces against ugliness and evil.  Negative people look for (and always find) confirmation for the negative, just as positive people look for and find the lightness of being.  Both exist.  Both are real and are always with us.  The difference is as basic as a decision, and as simple as opening our eyes.

— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 225

Forgiving Yourself

Forgiveness, Healing, Letting Go, Life 0

To err is human, to forgive is a choice.

The third reason people have difficulty changing a tribal belief is one of the saddest but most firmly held beliefs I have encountered:  Mistakes, transgressions, or sins are not forgivable.…

The worst part about this tribal belief is that because you think you can never be forgiven, you sever your relationship with God or your Higher Power and cut yourself off from receiving divine guidance and recognizing synchronicity at work in your life.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 228

Living in the Present

Forgiveness, Joy, Letting Go 0

However we perceive the past, whether in a positive or a negative light, concentrating on it makes us unhappier in the present.  The past is past.

Through deliberate present-minded focus we can breathe in new life, new positive energy, letting go of the way things were in the past.  When we grow more mindful, we open our hearts to forgiveness and choose not to get bogged down in placing blame or getting even with others.  When we let go of the past, we gain in wisdom.  We feel lighter and brighter, inspired by what we’ve learned, ready to move on.

— Alexandra Stoddard, Choosing Happiness:  Keys to a Joyful Life, p. 14

Waiting as Prayer

Life, Prayer 0

Waiting is part of ordinary time.  We discover God in our waiting:  waiting in checkout lines, waiting for the telephone to ring, waiting for graduation, waiting for a promotion, waiting to retire, waiting to die.  The waiting itself becomes prayer as we give our waiting to God.  In waiting we begin to get in touch with the rhythms of life — stillness and action, listening and decision.  They are the rhythms of God.  It is in the everyday and the commonplace that we learn patience, acceptance, and contentment.

— Richard J. Foster, Prayer, p. 174

Books and Movies

Books 0

Movies are pale shadows of great books, but some great movies have been made from second-rate books….

Masterpieces of the cinema are independent works with their own qualities — few of which overlap with those of great literature.

— Michael Gorman, Our Singular Strengths:  Meditations for Librarians, p. 79