THE GREAT AFFAIR

To read is to interpret. We read as we are based on our unique experiences of life. In this vein, reading is sacred for we discipline ourselves to bring ourselves fully.

To read is also to imagine. When reading, nobody thinks two-dimensionally. We all bring our imagination: images, colors, background music, scenes, smell, etc.

We interpret and imagine in order to make connections in our own lives and to give meaning. it is an exercise of self-love, I would observe.

I invite you to read the poem below as we will this week and the next two. No need to doubt whether you are “interpreting” correctly. As BTS sings “Permission to Dance,” may I grant you permission to interpret and imagine?

The great affair, the love affair with life,
is to live as variously as possible,
to groom one's curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred,
climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sun-struck hills every day.

Where there is no risk, the emotional terrain is flat and unyielding,
and, despite all its dimensions, valleys, pinnacles, and detours,
life will seem to have none of its magnificent geography, only a length.

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery,
but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

Diane Ackerman