Dear Reader:

How many times have we used the expression or had the expression asked of us “Are you in the dumps?”

I would venture to say the vast majority of us, if we are being absolutely truthful, would have to admit that we have had our bouts of (at a minimum) “low-grade depression” in recent weeks.

It would be unrealistic of us to think that our lives could be turned upside-down, so quickly, during this pandemic, without any transitional mood swings.

After all we are human beings…and, as such, our feelings, both positive and negative, are paramount to living on this fragile, ever-changing world on earth.

So when Anne dropped this book off and simply said, “Read it…now”…I could tell it was going to be “change agent” kind of book.

However when I, later, read the description and summary… I hesitated. What I really up for a story that took place in a massive city dump that thousands called home in Cambodia? A story about daily survival, corrupt government, dashed hopes,  scavenging for food and a chronically ill child?

I felt an invisible barrier going up around me…to protect me, emotionally, from entering this place and characters you knew, intuitively, you would come to care about. (*No pun intended…but really…how depressing! )

Yet…something kept nagging at me. I had just finished another “light summer read” so I was ready to start a new book and it was time to change the genre to issues with more substance. But inwardly I was concerned if I could handle it.

As I wavered one line popped out at me as I skimmed the pages. Someone called the Healer was saying “It doesn’t matter where you live, it is how you live.”

I started thinking about my “home” and realized that I have lived in a duplex for the majority of my life….first as child and youth…then later when married with children and now me, myself, and I all live together… still on one side of my duplex.

For years I envied people who lived in houses…not duplexes… and I savored the few times I did live in a house…but it appeared I was destined to be a “duplex” gal.

However now my eyes see “home” differently…I see my duplex as whole…not two separate entities…but one loving home that welcomes family and guests to come and spread out over both sides. The garden belongs to the ‘whole house’ and I love every inch of it.

The book quote is true….I had to change my attitude about living in duplexes first…and then concentrate on the most important question… how-not where I was going to live my life.

I read until 2 a.m Monday morning…slept a few hours….picked the book back up around 10 a.m. and finished late yesterday afternoon. I learned more lessons on life, with newer perspectives, in that one book than I have in a long time.

So until tomorrow….To sum up my feelings about the book I will take a quote from it which applies to my higher level of understanding people…no matter where they live. We are all the same…we love our families and friends, hope for a better future for our children, and treasure our time together.

Or as this quote (from the book) observes about finding the truths in life…

“Stop listening with your ears. Listen with your heart. It is only the heart that realizes and comprehends the truths in life.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

P.S. If you like a conclusion that you never saw coming…that makes you gasp and shake your head in amazement….read this book! 🙂