The Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu is quoted as saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." I'm going to adapt it to "Reading a book with a thousand pages begins with the first word." Okay that's pretty cheesy and I will admit to that. The point is books can take us on all sorts of journeys. Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry picked me up and carried me from the south of England to the northern border with Scotland. It also took me into the heart and soul of Harold Fry. I don't want to spoil this story for you so I will simply say I was absorbed, and I too journey through my own heart and soul as a result.
"Beginnings could happen more than once, or in different ways. You could think you were starting something afresh, when actually what you were doing was carrying on as before." (p. 156) I was so taken by this quote. How many times have I resolved to start something, or stop something for that matter? How many New Year's Resolutions are made with all good intentions? New diets started? New workout routines? I'm sure together you and I could come up with a huge list of the things we had decided to start or to start over with. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Albert Einstein defined insanity as, "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The lesson for me is to look at my beginnings and to make sure I'm simply not carrying on as before. Real change is what is needed to get myself out of insane spirals that I sometimes find myself trapped within. Harold Fry started a journey of self discovery without ever meaning to. He simply walked out his front door and kept going.
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