Who are you?

Since you grew up, do you ever ask yourself who am I? Might the answer change with a career move, with growing older, with relationships that end or begin, with how others see you? Knowing who you are is part of finding any dream.

Recently I read a book, loaned to me by my daughter, that has been in my bookshelf maybe for a year, certainly for months-- Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint. So often I have these books and the time isn't right; but when it is, they are even more meaningful than they might have been earlier.

In this case, I also am in a state of new love because in finding a new author, who makes me want to find more of his books, I will have books to find, more to learn, consider and explore (hopefully not be disappointed but like with new love, there is always that risk). Fortunately he's been around awhile which means I can likely find them used.

Forests of the Heart is a story of love, fantasy, folklore, power, spirituality, shape shifting, and people's lives who are doing their best just to get along. Some are artists or musicians and some those who appreciate such. It is partly based in a town that was created for the author's stories somewhere in North America, where the winters are frigidly cold, and partly around Tucson (how could I not love a mystical story based partly in the Southwest?

Some of the characters are part of or know there is a supernatural element to life; some have no clue but are dragged into that world anyway. For them, recognizing who is part of that other world isn't easy. The book is so well written that I hardly skimmed a page-- something rare for me. Every paragraph seemed to be part of the plot and needful to know. Because it was well written and had depth, it was worth taking my time. I was sad when it ended.

This was the kind of book where I tend to save some of the words for future thinking. I don't come across books like that all the time. Since the book was not mine, I had to get out a Word program and write them down.

From Forests of the Heart when Ban asked Bettina who she wanted to be:

"Become the person who would make Abuela proud," she replied without hesitation. "I will learn all I can and become a good curandra. I will father what power the spirits will allow me and use it to benefit whoever asks for my help."
"Power is not something you want," Ban told her.
She gave him a puzzled look. "Porque no?"
"Because whenever one person has it, someone else doesn't. There is only so much to go around. Power is an ugly thing, like a man hitting a woman or a child. You want to ask the spirits for luck."
...
"Unlike power, luck is sweet. Like a kiss or a hug." P. 243

There was enough in this book to leave me thinking on it later, perhaps always. I liked that mystical world where I was a part, if only as a voyeur, for a couple of days. I want to go back.

It also aroused the question of who we are. Some of these people knew who they were and others, they hadn't a clue. Is that true for us also?