OLD BOOKS AND NEW THOUGHTS

When I was the pastor of Cranbury UMC, every once in awhile I would wander up the street to an old house on the corner of North Main & Park Place, which was known as The Bookworm. It was a treasure trove of old and antique books on every floor, even down into the basement.

My reason for going there was sometimes to try to find a copy of a book I wanted and/or needed that was no longer in print. But there were other times I wanted to just be in a place that was filled with the words and thoughts and wisdom of a whole host of people, literally, of all walks of life. The many shelves of the Bookworm were their home amid the musty smells and the quiet, pensive sound of classical music in the background. 

I would aimlessly meander from room to room, occasionally taking a book off the shelf here or there—maybe poetry, maybe philosophy or religion, maybe even cooking or “how to draw.” Once in awhile an Agatha Christie or other mystery novel would catch my attention, and I had no choice but to buy it and take home with me if I wanted to know "who done  it". Once I found the complete works of Sherlock Holmes stories, which has long since disappeared from my collection. The topics were endless. 

There was something about being in an atmosphere so filled with old books that each contained the works of a multitude of authors who had carefully crafted their thoughts on pages that someone would read even many years hence. Maybe they wrote in the wee hours of the morning while everyone else in the house slept; maybe they wrote in the evening hours as the sun was going down; maybe they wrote by candlelight or gas light or by a lamp on a desk in a library.

Well, of course, you can see how carried away I can get with this stuff, (I was an English Major in college) so I’ll get to the main thing I want to say, which is that while we are so caught up with current events as well we need to be, and so overwrought by the likes of a pandemic and major storms and international crises, just to name a few, there is a need for the healing and comfort that can be found in the wisdom and humor and imagination of those who proceeded us on this planet. 

Consider this: You need a shift in some present mood that has infiltrated your soul and has left you in despair or with a sense of hopelessness? May i suggest that you find and read an old book of poetry, philosophy, spirituality, or some area of life that you've maybe even forgotten about that those kindred spirits who have gone before us left for our goodness and well-being. Treasures of thoughts and heart.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says:

    "What has been is what will be, and what has been done         is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun."

I could very well be wrong in my interpretation, but it seems to be saying that, in the living of our lives, we can be assured that all will be well when the day is done. (Peter, Paul, & Mary)

Just a thought.