Today I wandered around the house, looking at things. I opened a few cupboards and drawers. Took out some old books. Many had waveys pages, damaged by water and heat, but symbolised the many places the books have been and seen. Hundreds of books tucked away in drawers, on shelves, behind cupboard curtains. Some forgotten, some stacked neatly out in the open for everyone to view and admire. It struck me that nearly all the books I have kept are filled with folded corners and underlined snippets of texts. Reading back, at times, I find myself taken back as to why I found that particular sentence so captivating that it was given the underscore price. How and why I felt in that particular moment, reading that particular sentence so entwined and in agreeing with what I was reading. It made me realise that life is not static and repetitive but changing and evolving. And how there is no such thing as life without pain.
A particular paragraph that has struck a chord with me, is from Rachel Cusk’s book Outline. She writes: a desire for freedom, an impulse to move, tugged at me as though it were a thread fastened to my chest. It was an impulse I knew well, and I had learned that it was not the summons from a larger world I used to believe it to be. It was simply a desire to escape from what I had. The thread led nowhere, except into expanding wastes of anonymity.
So yesterday I took a moment to just contemplate the highlighted passages in some of the books and it got me inspired to set up a table and organise a lunch with my friends, celebrating real friendship, kindness and acceptance of how we are all always, constantly evolving, and forever will be.
As always, do press the little heart if you like this post – it brings me so much joy to know that you are reading and liking what I’m writing.
Jag blir så otroligt glad om ni klickar på det lilla hjärtat så jag vet ifall ni gillar det jag gör.
