Journey of the Heart

The Little Prince (Lille Prinsen) in Antoine De Saint-Exupéry's children's book leaves his planet because he does not feel loved. He sets off on a journey; life must be better elsewhere. As he travels planet to planet, he discovers that adults get caught up in what they think they must do. They do not really see where they are; they do not really live. He is disappointed by what he finds. The most beautiful lesson he learns from the fox goes right to the heart of the book. 

’Det viktigast går inte att uppfatta med ögonen’ 

’Men ögonen är blinda. Man måste söka med hjärtat.’ 

(I read the book in Swedish, something I am pretty proud of!) He realizes that to really find life, he must do it through the heart.  

 

Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is another type of journey. Swift published Gulliver's Travels in 1726. His satirical account exposes England by pulling back the curtain of what the society was and how it worked. He pulls back the curtain by using outrageous language and stories. Swift's accounts of Gulliver's travels to various unknown places give him a tool to describe societies, governments, customs, and values. In each of his travels, Gulliver seems to find the perfect place, yet he is dissatisfied by the end of his stay. Until the last chapter. 

Little Prince discovered that he could only find life through his heart. For Gulliver, life could only be found by reason. Gulliver discovered that reason makes us human, and without reason, what are we? (You will find out in the last chapter!) He states:

'Reason alone is sufficient to govern a rational creature.'

'Because no person can disobey reason, without giving up his claim to be a rational creature.' 

It is striking that Gulliver learned his lessons the same way that Little Prince learned his lessons, through the heart. Gulliver discovered through the relationships that he developed in his travels other ways of doing, being, and thinking. Reason is what makes us human, and we learn this through the heart.

Living in Sweden has made this lesson poignant for me. Settling into a place completely different from what I have known has changed me in a manner that traveling and reading could not. There are times I crave the safety of the surroundings of what I know. One day as I was reflecting on this, I wrote:

                                     

 Looking out the window,

     Seeing a city,

     One I don't know,

     Language unrecognizable,

     Maybe the people too.

    

Sitting from a distance,

    Imagining it to be the same,

    Entering today with my protection,

    Vulnerable, unknown.

    Walking through it, not in it.

Somedays I would rather look out the window.

When my book club, Reading i Sverige, first started, I was amazed at what I discovered. I have been in book clubs before, with Americans. Now I was hearing ideas and thoughts different from mine or my American friends. These were from my new friends, who came from different countries. As I listened, my own small world was expanding beyond what I could have imagined. Now I take these experiences for granted, for I understand that I am on a journey with my heart. 

These lines from Louise Glück's poem 'Parable of the Dove' are encouraging to me:

            So it is true after all, not merely a rule of art;
                Change your form and you will change your nature,
                And time does this for us.

The reviews are in the February link above.
 
February Books:
·       Hexaëmeron (370 AD) by Saint Basil of Caesarea
·       The Midnight Library (2020) by Matt Haig
·       Exodus (6th century BCE) tradition ascribes Moses as the author
·       Job (6th century BCE) tradition ascribes Moses as the author
·       Breath (2020) by James Nestor
·       Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1754) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
·       Lille Prinsen (1942) Antoin De Saint-Exupéry 

           Translated to Swedish by Bengt Samuelson
·       Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift
·       Beowulf (6th century) translated by J.R.R. Tolkein

Audio:

·           Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women (2019)

         by Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, E. Knight, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb, 

         Allison Pataki (forward)

 

Lichen Clings to the Rock

On Valentine's Day, I received all of Louis Glück's poetry books, a perfect gift. In her poem Meadowlands, she writes, 'But is waiting forever always the answer? Nothing is always the answer, the answer depends on the story.' This blog has that unknown dimension because I do not know the story until I have read the books. 

Job and Beowulf are two epic poems that I read simultaneously, both about a hero's journey. The exact date of when these poems were written is not known. Tradition would say that Job was written in the 6th century BCE and Beowulf in the 6th century AD. 

I read Job when I was in my 20's. Rereading Job made me realize how much the reader brings to the understanding of great texts. My life has changed, and my understanding of Job has now shifted to a new place. The poetry struck me. Lines such as, 'Where light is like thick darkness,' indeed left me with the depth of despair felt by Job because I, too, have felt that depth of despair. In Job 19:1, we read, 'How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with your words?' Even though God took all of Job's material possessions, family, and health, it is words that break him. It is the words of others, the words of those we love, that can harm us. After Job's friends torment him by telling him how immoral and unfaithful he is, Job speaks with honest, authentic, simple, humble, and few words. These words are what God hears and responds to, giving back and more all that Job ever had. In recent times we have seen the power of words and how they can break. To speak as Job spoke with humble, authentic words, we need to know ourselves. Saint Basil of Caesarea reminds us, 'In truth, the most difficult of all sciences is to know one's self.' Words can break; let's use our words to create peace.

Beowulf, I had not read before. I read it first, and afterward, I listened to an audible presentation. I recommend listening to this poem. Beowulf has an ethic by which he lives. This ethic determines who he is and what he conquers. It brings him to his death. 'Death is more sweet for every man of worth than life with scorn.' Beowulf understands his intention to live a noble life, or a hero's life is not an easy task. He states, 'Do all things well unto the end.' Beowulf is the story of a life well-lived, a hero's life.

The Midnight Library's main character, Nora, is searching for an ethic to, literally, live. The story takes place in the 21st century and takes on timeless themes—loneliness in the human condition and how, then, should one live life? The author's use of science and philosophy to creatively examine these themes made it a thought-provoking read. As Mrs. Elm says, 'You don't have to understand life; you just have to live it.'

A theme emerged in my reading of surrendering to the 'living of life' by knowing oneself. Each protagonist had an ethic that determined their course of action. In reflecting on my life, I see that I, too, have had an ethic that has guided my life and brought me where I am today. It was not a straight path in each of these stories or for me, and it could not be foreseen. Mrs. Elm tells Nora in Midnight Library. 'Remember the pawn is the most magical piece of all…. because a pawn is never just a pawn. A pawn is a queen in waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward, One square after another. And you can get to the other side and hold all kinds of powers.' Even Gerald in Giraffes Can't Dance, by Giles Andreae,  a children's book, had to find himself to discover he could dance.

Matt Haig uses an idea which I also found in Shelley's Frankenstein. Haig states, 'hope emerges, where you want it to or not, and it clings to you as stubbornly as lichen clings to a rock.' Shelley said 'knowledge' clings as lichen clings to a rock. What is clinging to me as lichen clings to a rock? Hopefully, these are clinging to me: Hope. Knowledge. Peace. Love. Kindness. Truth. Beauty. Harmony. Simplicity. 

Reading list: (Reviews can be found up above in the February link.)

Giraffe Can't Dance (2002) by Giles Andreae

Read with Izzy

Hexaemeron (370 AD) by Saint Basil of Caesarea
The Midnight Library (2020) by Matt Haig
Reading i Sverige Book Club
Exodus (6th century BCE) by Moses
Great Books Project Y2Q4
Job (6th century BCE) traditions ascribe Moses as the author
Breath (2020) by James Nestor
Reading i Sverige Book Club
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1754) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Great Books Project Y2Q4
Beowulf (6th century) translated by J.R.R. Tolkein
Read with my Mom and brother

 

Grounding

Louise Glück, the 2020 Nobel prize-winning poet, writes in her poem, From a Journal, 'And I feel, sometimes, part of something, very great, wholly profound and sweeping.' That line represents much of what I read this January. For a Christmas gift, my parents sent me Prairie in Her Heart by Barbara Witteman. The book is about women who homesteaded in my home state of North Dakota in the late 1800s. This book hearkened me back to my grandparents' stories, born in 1911 in North Dakota. It reminded me of my history. The book Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger is not the type of book I like, and I am not sure why I purchased it, but I did. The book is a murder mystery set in southern Minnesota. The author tells, down to the minute detail, about being a child in the '60s, drinking Kool-Aid and Tang, eating Jell-O salads, and riding banana seat bikes. Every time he mentioned one of these '60's cultural treasures, it brought memories of places, people, events, and ordinary life. Each one of us has our unique storyline, a story that nobody else has. When I recognize it and become aware of how it impacts me every day, it gives me strength. When I see the faces and remember the stories of my history as I navigate my everyday problems, I know I belong. I understand I am apart of something 'wholly profound and sweeping.' I am anchored. 

The books I have read this month have reminded me of my grounding and my country's history. During January, as an American, I have felt a deep sadness to witness the division in my country and the tearing apart of families. The book Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster tells of the terrible copper mine disaster in 1917 in Butte, Montana. This book caught my attention because I have driven by this vast mine many, many times. In reading the historical account of this disaster, I read about conspiracy theories, stolen elections, distrust of the media, and distrust of authorities. I am discovering that the United States was founded on these things, too. To understand where we are going, we must know where we have been. The issues and struggles of today are similar to those in the past. What anchors us as a country? Thomas Hobbes states in Leviathan, 'that a kingdom divided in itself cannot stand.' 

Dostoyevsky unveils in Crime and Punishment a quality of being human, 'we need to see them as good, trusting, so that is how we see them. Slowly, slowly reality creeps into our vision. We think we are disappointed, hurt by the other. In truth, it is ourselves.' I have discovered that I need to see people for who I need them to be, not for who they are. The truth of reality is not on the other person; it is on me. As Terry Eagleton puts forth in his lectures at Yale, which became a book, 'is not reason in the end what is most fundamental about us?'. When reality seems too painful to face, it drifts, changing shape into something more comfortable, we think, to absorb. This drifting is mine to set right. For, I am anchored. As Psalm 130 says,' Hope is in the Lord.'

Books finished in January
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Book of Psalm by David
Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate 

by Terry Eagleton
The Seven Ages by Louise Glück
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
Prairie in Her Heart by Barbara Witteman
Audio:
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: 

The Battle that Shaped America’s Destiny by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster by Michael Pun

My Joy of Reading Journey

These past two years my reading, which has always been a favorite pastime, has escalated into a significant reading project, a book club, and ways of communicating with friends and families. Reading has taken a prominent place in my life, a place it could not be when I was a mother of young boys, working as a teacher and developing a multi-faith dialogue in northern Indiana. Life has changed. I now live in Göteborg, Sweden, my sons are raised and I have grandchildren. The morning alarm does not call me to go to work every day. In 2018 I read 24 books. In 2019 I read 54 books. In 2020 I read 75 books. My hope is that through writing I can make my reading a spiritual endeavor. My hope is that by bringing together the eclectic books I have read I will form in myself a new way of being in the world. My hope is to post at the beginning of each month what I have read the previous month. I invite you to join me on my joy of reading journey.

What I read:
Book Club: In 2018 I started a book club in Sweden with women I met in my Swedish classes. These women are from Brazil, Poland, Greece, and Sweden. Each month we read one or two books and rotate through these categories: Contemporary, Classic, Swedish, and Spiritual. We have now read 30 books together.
 
Great Books of the Western World: In 2018 my brother, my sambo (Swedish word for someone who lives with their romantic partner) and I started a ten-year reading project of the Great Books of the Western World. We have a reading list for each quarter of the year. After our reading is completed for the quarter, we each do a write-up of what we have read using Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren’s, How to Read a Book. (Robert Hutchins and Adler founded the Great Books of the Western World reading program)
            What is the book about as a whole?
            What is being said in detail and how?
            Is it true?
            What of it?
After almost two years I have added these questions to my write-ups of the reading.
           What is the nature of Man?
           What is the nature of Society?
           What is the nature of God?
These questions launch us into our seminar-style discussions each quarter.
 
Family Book Club: My Mom, the same brother, and I started reading the classics together. My Mom was an avid reader when she was young and she is reading again. There are many classics I have not read and reading with my Mom has deepened my respect for her as her curiously and intellect make for meaningful discussions. We have read many classics, such as Anna of Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Gilgamesh. We have read 21 books together.
 
Friends read together: My friend, from a neighboring town where I grew up in North Dakota, and I are reading together. We talk every week about books and about life. We have a shared history and reading together has deepened our friendship and our connection.
 
Learning Swedish: A person can’t live in another country without taking on the task to learn the language. My Swedish language skills needed to move beyond the sing-song voice of the Swedish Chef on Sesame Street. I am tackling the Swedish children’s book genre.  When my sons were in third grade, they read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, a famous author from Sweden. I am proud to say I have read Pippi Långstrump in Swedish.

Audio Books: My brother, same as above, has listened to many audio-books, and now he has become a narrator himself. Because of him, I have started listening to books during that part of my day when I can not sit down to read. These tend to be non-fiction or historical fiction.  With America in political turmoil, it has been important to learn in more detail the history of the United States.
 
Poetry and Art are a part of my daily reading. When I read poetry, I always read it out loud, for it creates another meaning when the words are spoken. Every day I read a Psalm from the Bible and have read through many poetry books.

Reading with my littles: Having two granddaughters who love books, reading to them via the internet is an absolute highlight of my week. When my sons were small, we would sit with a stack of new books from the library and read and read. They never became tired. Even over the internet little Izzy sits and listens as we read one book after another.

Hobbies: Finally, I love to cook, garden, and bird watching. Those types of books are never far from my reach.