I was struck today, when leaving the library, by a rather profound thought. Or at least I thought it one. As I gently tossed my over-sized stack of varied volumes on the seat beside me, I couldn't help but smile. First, I thought of my grandmother, my Dad's mother. I've always been told that I inherited her love for books from a very young age and that she would often return from the library with a stack almost as tall as she was, only to fly through them in a matter of a week. I've always loved to picture that and have often appeared so myself, as a child, toting my selections to check out at the public library; in college, struggling with the fifteen research aids I couldn't possible narrow down across campus in Florida's blazing sun; and even now, as a 27 year old mother of three who still can't resist a good stack of plastic covered editions.
I made the quick trip to the library during my husband's lunch break (so I wouldn't have to haul to minions) and had intended on retrieving the single book I had placed on hold. It is impossible to escape without perusing the stacks of oddly organized treasures and snagging one here and there. Today, I left with five books in all, including the one that had sent me on my initial quest. Among the haul are two cook books (one hailing itself The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook and the other simply called Homestead Kitchen), a book about farming and backyard skills, the second book in the current series I'm addicted to and a book about Druids. Quiet the collection, if I do say so myself.
Back to that profound thought I had. As I said, I thought it was pretty philosophical, if not perhaps a smidge romantic. Have you ever watched a movie, or read a story, or even been to a museum and pondered how you should have been born in that particular time or place? Have you ever wished that, even for just a day, you could step through the pages of your favorite novel, or fall into your TV screen and live the lives of your favorite characters? Can you see the clothes and the food and customs come to life before you? The regal halls of Pemberley, Mrs. Patmore's kitchen, the daring and risky lives of the musketeers, the mythical Phantom of the Paris Opera House, Laura Ingalls, Anne's beloved Green Gables. I can and I have.
Since the moment I realized my passion for reading, I discovered that books opened a gateway to the rest of the world, to the rest of time. It was through books I discovered I could be a princess in a tower, or a girl on a prairie. I could wear elegantly beautiful gowns of silk and lace and still enjoying the wonders of the forest all within the bounds of my imagination. In the stories, I have the knowledge of an experiences woodsman, gardener, noblewoman, or author. I met a plethora of creatures both mythical and real. I didn't have to travel the world to know what it was like, the world was, to borrow to colloquialism, my fingertips. The world! Today, as I sat the drivers seat of my van, glancing over at my stack of conquests, it occurred to me that the same sense of wonder, and even adventure, that I had as a child is still in there somewhere. As an adult, I get to dive a little deeper into the the stories and glean inspiration. I can make bread from scratch. I can learn about the medicinal properties of certain plants and how to safely and effectively use them for my family (my current project). I can float away on the tide of myth and legend as I gaze into a window of the past, waiting to catch a glimpse at what my predecessors experienced and thought. Perhaps one of my favorite realizations is that I can try all sorts of cuisines in my own kitchen that, without international travel, would be out of my grasp.
Books (and even some television shows and movies) are powerful. They are the magic carpet to our next adventure. They light the way to the untold histories of the past. Books bring us to the source of knowledge and learning and adventure. In a world that strives so hard to keep the uneducated confined to the borders of their own experiences, book take us beyond those bounds. They open up our minds and imaginations to things we couldn't have dreamed of. They give us the chance to experience and be anyone we want to be, even if its just for the moments we spend between its covers.