The Beauty of What We Don't Know

As I have written here before, I enjoy reading nearly all genres of literature. I have always particularly enjoyed those stories that have a bit of fantasy or mysticism. Not the heavy-handed, supernatural, mind you…Although, that has its place. The real world, if we observe closely, has magic in it everywhere we look. In every culture since the beginning of time, men have cited incidents of the unexplained. Even in our super-sonic, technology-driven, scientific civilization, we come upon things we can’t explain away. There will always be those that claim “coincidence” or “random occurrence,” but I think it belittles the magnificence and mystery of what we don’t know.

Last week I ran across a video a friend posted on Facebook of all things. I usually scroll quickly because of the time-suck factor of FB, but something made me stop and actually watch this five minute film. I’m so glad I did. I’m including the link for you if you are so inclined, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvwHHMEDdT0 , but if you don’t trust links, you can find it on youtube.com under: anna breytenbach animal communicator. It’s the story of an animal sanctuary and a black leopard who had been mistreated and found a home there.

I found the story incredibly moving, not just that the animal found a home, but that it opened up the idea of actual inter-species communication. Even if you don’t believe in it, it is fascinating to watch. I think it spoke to me so profoundly because my first book was written about this very topic. Maybe it’s a skill we once had and have forgotten. What a lovely idea.

                                   Spirit

MAY 2015 BOOK SELECTION - AT THE WATER'S EDGE

My book selection this month is At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen. You may recognize this writer from the novel, Water for Elephants which was made into a film. I don’t usually read brand new releases because I have such a backlog to read. However, this time, I ordered it from the public library…. I was about thirtieth in line… and thought I would not get it before Christmas. Lo and behold, it was available right away so I grabbed it. An easy read and an interesting story, I gobbled it down.

About halfway through the novel I made the mistake of reading a few reviews on Amazon. Big mistake. Here I was, enjoying the read and some reviewer dissed it. I found that it began to inform my enjoyment of the novel. In a perfect world, it shouldn’t have, and I don’t usually listen to reviews about movies or anything else. I try to form my own opinion. But it niggled at the back of my mind.

It was an epiphany for me.

So here’s the thing. I’m a writer, and because of that, I know the blood and sweat that goes into creating, shaping, editing, editing, editing, coddling and producing any work of fiction or non-fiction. I’ve been guilty of doing the very thing that I find so annoying… passing judgement on other people’s work… and in print no less. We all make book selections based on our tastes and interests. Who am I to tell you what’s NOT worth reading? So I won’t anymore. I will only print a Book Selection if I truly love a book. So the next time (after this month) I make a selection, it will be because it makes my heart soar.

So back to this, my final selection, until that time. I truly enjoyed At the Water’s Edge. It takes place during WWII in New York and moves to the Scottish Highlands. It was about human relationships, connections, humanity and what could happen when there is a lack of any of the three. There was a magical element to the story which added dimension and depth. Recommend.