Life’s lessons are imparted in many ways. On walks in nature, yaps with the children, and of course in the moments of reflection from the constant doing.
Sometimes, all these come together in the form of lovable books.
Take these 3 for instance:
- Seussisms – By Dr Seuss. A lovely book for it collates life’s wisdom from his many works, and somehow makes it work. If you are feeling loyal, there is a little nugget from Horton Hatches An Egg. If you are feel that things aren’t happening fast enough, there is a saying from McElligots pool – dangle and you never know what you may find. When you’re feeling blue, there is a little piece of chocolate from Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are
- You are a beautiful beginning – by Nina Laden Illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. The book takes all of those trite sayings and manages to make it a beautiful compilation of images. A joy to thumb through. Stop me if I have mentioned this before, but the illustrations in children’s books are brilliant, and I am so grateful to be able to see so many of them and appreciate them in my own simple way.
Lovely wise things in beautiful settings:
It is not wishing to be different. It is learning to love being you
It is not about winning the game. It is having fun while you play,
You are a beautiful beginning – by Nina Laden Illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley.
- Wild Symphony by Dan Brown (yes, the author of Da Vinci Code.) I do think this book is much better than all of his other best sellers (I liked Da Vinci Code, but subsequent ones rambled and tumbled downhill I felt) If I need to remember his work, I would gladly remember Wild Symphony. He manages to combine whimsy, poetry, and music to the most marvelous effect. The illustrator has taken things even further by the beautiful imagery in the book.
Side note: Dan Brown has become a sort of joke between the husband and daughter.
You see, we each try to get her to read things that we are fairly sure she will like. With what result? A shrug. Some nonchalance. Maybe a snort. She takes the husband’s recommendation for movies far more than his recommendations of books. I stopped keeping score of the statistics on my side. It was heavy going, and the odds aren’t encouraging.
Anyway, back to Dan Brown, this book is in my opinion his best. Every animal plays a different instrument, and teaches a different lesson.
Do you feel like a little alone-time would be nice?
A swan song would be just the thing
Do you feel alone in the world?
A walk in the evenings with Cricket song might be just the cure
Here is a link to some of the songs in Wild Symphony.
Really between these books, life does feel meaningful, purposeful and joyful. Most importantly, it reminds us to watch out for wonder and learning on every side.
Nourish-n-Cherish 