I think my deep love of reading started in the fifth grade when my teacher welcomed us back from lunch and recess by reading to us for a half hour. Flushed from playing, hyped from carb- and sugar-loaded school lunches, I settled in my chair with an almost painful sense of expectation. Laying my overheated face on the cool desk, I’d close my eyes to better focus on the story. The smell of chalk and sweaty sneakers and leftovers from bag lunches mingled with the sounds of breaths lengthening and deepening. Mrs. Morgan would read for a half hour and if she was mid-chapter at the 30 minute mark, she would continue and my heart would break with joy.
The act of reading remains one of the most stress-relieving activities I can think of and books are one of the most treasured gifts that I receive. So when a friend presented me with a book for my recent birthday, my heart did a familiar skip. A book! A new adventure! What would it teach me, where would it take me, and who would I get to know?
The book is called “The Necklace” and it is the true story of 13 women who chipped in together to buy and share a valuable diamond necklace christened “Jewelia”. Along the way they each learned more about themselves and their sense of beauty and self-worth. Loners found friends, pragmatists found the fun in frivolity, newcomers found ties to the community, and these of modest means found ways to use the necklace to raise money for charities dear to them.
The book provoked many thoughts as I read it: what makes me feel beautiful? Do possessions make me happy? If given a chance, would I loan something valuable to a virtual stranger? How can what I have be used to help others? I’d like to hear some of your answers to these questions too.
And don’t forget to post your ideas to last week’s blog about stress-reducing tips for the holidays. Entrants will be included in prize drawing in December!
