The Olive Green Book

It was our second to last day in Oregon, and it was raining. My mother and I decided to walk across the street to a cute little antique store. It was filled with all sorts of delicate vintage and handmade items. It was all very nice, but if you ask me most of it was a little too girly, froofy, and ruffly. Girly stuff is not really my style, so I was pretty sure I would not find anything I had to have. (Actually I was a quite relieved that I felt that way. It takes a lot of pressure off of deciding if you really have the money to spend on something, if nothing screams out at you to begin with, don't you think?)

But! It was in the very last room that my tune changed. Sitting on the edge of a wooden table, sat an old olive green book. On the front cover was a black print of a lone leafy tree. It caught my eye. As I picked it up, my fingers even seemed to like how the book felt. I turned the books spine towards me and read its title, "How to Live With Life." I took a deep breath. I was nearly hooked.

As I trifled through the pages I realized that this, 1965 Readers Digest book, was a collection of nearly 150 essays. Essays about how to enjoy life, live deeply, and find true and honest contentment. All written by people from many different walks of life. One page I stopped on read;

"Every human being on this earth faces a constant problem: how to make the most of life. There is no simple solution; the art of living is the most difficult of all the arts. But, fortunately for all of us, experience can be shared. Insights can be learned. Wisdom can be taught. In this book are presented the experience, insights and wisdom of men and women who have lived deeply, thought profoundly and cared enormously about sharing with others what they have learned."

I especially loved how it referred to the "art of living." I have always admired artists and wished there was a medium that spoke to me, and becoming proficient in learning the art of living life surely does. So! That was it. I had to have it. I paid the five dollars for it happily.

My nose has been in this book nearly every night since our return from Oregon. I love it. It may seem a bit melodramatic to say, but I really feel this book was placed there just for me. So I shout thank you, thank you, thank you up to the cosmos for letting this book and I cross paths and find each other.

Yeah, okay that was a little melodramatic, but I am really enamored with this book!