Lifesavers. What is Saving your life right now?
You can listen to the audio version of this post below.
This is a part of the October blog challenge. You can find the other posts here.
For some reason, when I hear the word lifesaver, I think about those round colourful candies with the same name. Of course even the candies were named for the actual ring that can save your life when you are out in the sea. But today’s post (as well as a few more during this challenge) is about what is saving my life, as I navigate this current time of change.
What is saving your life right now?
This is a question that I always hear Jen Hatmaker ask at the end of her podcast episodes on the For the Love Podcast, and I thought I would answer it in today’s blog post. It feels particularly relevant to this topic of change, because what is saving my life right now has been one of the constant joys in my life over the past few years, and this year in particular it has felt like an anchor in the sea of change.
Right now, one of the things that is saving my life is my book club.
We meet once a month (these days via zoom although for years we would go to each other’s houses or to a coffee shop or lounge) and we discuss the book of the month - always fiction, never chick lit (these seem to be the only REAL rules that apply for choice of book although I am sure that the other members and our gracious host would disagree with me!).
Even though I sometimes show up having not read the entire book (and sometimes I haven’t even cracked it open) there is something incredible about sitting in a space of people and talking about these books and about life. I can always count on a hearty discussion, disagreements over which characters we liked (and didn’t) and deep dives into how we viewed the book, the writing, or our favourite phrases that just roll off the tongue.
It was through this book club I discovered some incredible authors and books that I would not otherwise have found or read (Yangsze Choo’s “The Night Tiger”, Matt Haig’s “The Humans”, Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus” and Anthony Marra’s “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” are the ones that stand out most to me), as well as re-reading childhood classics (Hitchiker’s guide to the Galaxy).
We read Caribbean science fiction and Greek mythology, comedies and tragedies, short stories and books that might actually be too long to be completed in a month (and somehow we do it anyway!) I have made some incredible friends there, and rekindled connections with people I have known almost all of my life. And I get to read and talk about books - which is super fun to me. Book club fills up my cup at times when I don’t even realize it is empty.
In addition, having book club reminds me to sit and read - something that I have enjoyed my entire life, and something that I don’t always take the time to do. Having that monthly date is a gentle reminder to me to get lost in a work of fiction. It reminds me to prioritize this action that is purely for me. Some of these books have been un-put-down-able and I have literally spent all day or all night reading, a simple act that fills me with joy.
If there is one thing that this season of change has taught me, is that we still have moments of joy and fun and peace in our days and weeks that often go unnoticed when there is so much chaos around us.
I won’t pretend to be someone who keeps a gratitude journal, and I am definitely guilty of feeling bogged down by what is going wrong, instead of buoyed by what is going right. But pondering this question reminds me to think about those moments and focus on them, and the truth is - it is these moments that save my life regularly - laughing at some corny joke my nephew told me, reading a good book, hanging out with my sisters or friends at the beach, writing, conversations with friends near and far, memes, and book club!
So - right now in this season of change, I would like to know - what is one thing that is saving your life now?
And as a bonus, here are my top 10 book club favourites from the past few years (in no particular order), in case you are looking for something new to read.
The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo
The Humans - Matt Haig
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Anthony Marra
Circe - Madeline Miller
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Everything I never told you - Celeste Ng
Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan
And I send you big love from a small island.
PS the above photo is from Unsplash and was taken by Annie Spratt.