ON KEEPING BOOKS

I have a Kindle, and I enjoy the convenience of instantly purchasing a novel and being able to easily toss an entire library into my bag. Even so, there are still small piles of books stacked in favorite reading corners, and the bookcase Joseph made for my birthday four years ago still brims with novels, read to the point that their spines split to reveal discolored pages.

Routinely I browse through the shelves to eliminate impostors - a poorly written science fiction novel or a lifestyle book with terrible advice. Most I donate, but I'm not above tossing out a book so terrible that nobody should ever read it. If our library is going to overflow, it will only be with books we love and plan to read again... and again.

I've accepted that our library will never be truly minimal, and one day I hope we can devote an entire room to housing books. There is intellectual and imaginative gain when fingers engage to turn a page, and asking an avid reader to part with a well worn paperback is like asking them to give up an old friend.

A BIT OF EARTH

One of my favorite moments in A Secret Garden is when the frightened orphan, Mary, is called into the study of the old English manor to meet her solemn guardian, Mr. Craven. After discussing her desire to play outdoors and grow stronger, he asks her what she wants - toys, books, dolls? And Mary replies, "Might I have a bit of earth?" Mr. Craven finds this strange, and asks what she means, to which Mary says, "To plant seeds in--to make things grow--to see them come alive."

We don't own any land, but our apartment is settled on the fringe of a charming neighborhood, and there are many trails to wander down and parks in which to enjoy a shaded bench. There is a particular spot where I go to put away my phone and take off my ear buds so that I can listen to natural creaks and chimes, and watch tree tufts speckle the grass with light and shadows as wind rolls through like a steady current. It's a place where I can go when life is not simple, and my imagination needs nature and sunlight to settle and grow.

Find a bit of earth where you can steal away to think. Think of the happiest times, the people you still love, and receive each breath with intention. Your spirit will calm, your mind will wake and dream, and those dreams will begin to plant themselves deep. Return as often as you can, so that you can watch them grow and come alive.