Disappointments abound.
But if you are lucky, you have a friend who has your back. They always speak the truth, even when it hurts. When it comes to honesty and friendship, they do not pussyfoot around.
But in a world where caution is absent, folks introduce someone as their friend when they just met them. Unless experience has taught them a hard lesson or two, discretion is not a part of the average person’s mindset. People trust too quickly. Consequently, everyone has the potential to disappoint us, often those who are closest to us.
Everything in life is about balance. Good and evil. Friend or foe. Happiness and disappointment. Some people may respond to a negative outcome with a callous remark and attitude: “It is what it is.” However, this writer prefers the gentler French version, c’est la vie. There was a setback, but we must move forward.
Although life can be a roller coaster ride of joy and sorrow, many believe in and experience lasting love. It is a possibility with friendship and the romantic kind. But the thing those starry-eyed folks forget to factor into that concept is that the people in whom we place our trust and our hearts are human. Humans are not perfect. It is up to us to be careful about who we let into our lives and who we trust. Even then, be prepared to forgive one another when we falter. Or not, depending upon the failure.
But cheer up. Some friends and loves never disappoint. Who remain true. Who we can always trust. Books.
Are you a bibliophile? Life can be simpler if you are. According to the dictionary, a bibliophile is “a person who collects or has a great love of books.” Well, your humble writer not only loves books and owns many books, and she has read and continues to read as many as humanly possible.
Would you rather read a book or visit with a friend? See, the entire premise of that question is wrong. Why? Because reading a book is meeting and making a new friend. While re-reading a book is reconnecting with an old friend. Consequently, this lady’s reply is Yes.
Sometimes, a character’s behavior may disappoint you, but we can still learn lessons from them and about ourselves. You hone your people skills by observation and study. Those who populate books teach us what we like or dislike about people, and we apply those lessons in our lives.
For example, Gone With the Wind and the sequel Scarlett solidified my feelings regarding selfish and clueless people. Avoid them.
Scarlett’s fixation on that spineless Ashley is a perfect example of a woman who is a poor judge of character. The same is true in today’s world. If we pay attention, some people can size up the opposite sex before jumping into a relationship while others do not.
Like Scarlett, people unable to get out of the rut of poor choices repeat them. Scarlett feels drawn to weak Ashley instead of holding on to Rhett Butler, who is her perfect match.
We must admit that even books can disappoint. However, unfortunate book choices do not carry the weight of our disappointments as it does with other humans.
As we have often heard, books are passports to any place (real or fantasy) at any time. The people who populate books remain unchanged. If we dislike them, we will still feel the same every time we re-read those books. Not so much in life.
Some books become our friends forever. They are fountains of wisdom. A fountain the reader can dip into over and over again and still find something new. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campell is such a book.
Read on a Kindle, but this bibliophile plans to buy a hard copy. A book to re-read, with underlined passages to revisit and ponder.
Books support us as lifelong friends for voracious bookworms.