Today’s post is completely off topic for what I normally post but it’s something that is important to me and I feel a need to throw out some thoughts on it. If you are looking for any tie back to what I normally do, go ahead and jump now – no one will be offended.
In September of last year I began reading through the Wheel of Time again. For those that don’t know, this is a fantasy series by Robert Jordan that had the first book published in 1990 and the 14th and final book published in 2013. The final three books were written by a different author as Robert Jordan passed in 2007 and was unable to complete the series himself. I began reading the books in high school around 1998/99.
The Wheel of Time has always held a special place for me because it’s the fantasy series that has never left my head. It is for me what Lord of the Rings is to so may others. The Wheel of Time has been a companion through ups and downs through high school, college and a career. I run into people regularly that the series finds a way of coming up (only half of the time by me) and it allows for instant connections.
This is the first time that I’ve read the series knowing how the story turns out and having read all of the books previously. It allowed me to read it without a deadline of a new book coming out or trying to think of the twists that may be setup for down the road. There was a peacefulness to it because of this. It was almost like a conversation with an old friend that you hadn’t been around in the past year. Things are easy between you and time hasn’t been so long that you find yourself with no starting thread to the conversation.
As I read through the series it gave me a world to compare and contrast with the real one. It gave me characters and perspectives that I could use to try and view my own situations. There were moments that can never happen in the world we are in that gave me great joy or heartache. But these are the reasons that we all read or find ways of escape. Being able to escape offers us peace from the things happening around us.
What I take away from this story is courage. No matter how tough things get or bleak they seem or how beat down we get there are reasons to hope and have courage to keep moving forward. Every time I read one of these books it’s the courage and faith that come through. They give me reasons to hope and dream for what I can do and who I can be. I’m not saying that I see myself as a hero but I do believe that having faith to move forward as you see best is priceless. All of us that act with faith in the future can move mountains and make the world better.
In hindsight I don’t feel like I’ve said much above to really justify this post. I haven’t conveyed the feeling I have about the book or how it has really impacted me. Maybe I’m not quite a good enough writer for that yet. Maybe I’m scared of putting too much out there. I don’t feel like either of these are the case but they may be. But regardless….
If you made it through this, my thanks. Enjoy what you enjoy. Embrace what you enjoy. Don’t let the boundaries you give yourself hold you back from going off topic when you feel the need. Often it’s the off topic conversations that lead to the most depth.