According to Charles Schultz's Charlie Brown,
In the Book of Life the answers aren't in the back.
Now that's an interesting thought.
One that I hadn't even considered.
Answers.
This comment made me start thinking and wondering about the Book of Life.
I have heard of it.
You might have too.
So of course it is possible.
But I haven't even looked at the front,
Let alone the back.
I wonder where that is.
The back of the Book of Life.
Whose life?
My life?
Your life?
The planet's life?
Perhaps it's the life of the universe.
In which case it's way beyond my reach.
An animal's life?
A plant's life?
Can they read?
Oh sorry,
Now I'm being silly.
Or am I?
A Book of Life would surely encompass all forms of life.
Which part of life?
The beginning?
The middle?
The end?
Or perhaps the bits in between?
No,
Definitely the whole of life.
Maybe in chapters.
Is there a different book for each of us?
With different answers?
We certainly walk different paths.
So do we need different books?
Or is there a generic answer for everything?
If it's the back of the book of my life,
Then is it behind me?
This would mean I've passed it.
Missed it?
Is it the back page of the book?
This could mean it's at the end of my story and I haven't come to it yet.
Or there is a book somewhere,
Perhaps in the library.
Or on the web?
Or in the cloud?
I might actually have it,
But not recognised it.
It could be in my cupboard.
Worse still,
I might have had it and thrown it out.
Or perhaps hopefully given it to an op shop,
Where someone else might grasp the opportunity to find it and read it.
Though,
If it's my life,
That wouldn't help them.
Perhaps Charles Schulz is sort of on the right track.
The answers are not in the back,
But somewhere else.
This would be fairer,
At least giving us a sporting chance to find them.
I mean,
It's a bit late when it's all over,
Unless we can read them before our next innings.
If the book does exist,
And I did find it,
What would I do?
I mean,
We were always told it was cheating to look in the back of the book for the answers.
It's much better for us to take up the challenges and solve them ourselves.
Sounds good,
But some seem to be dealt unfair hands and impossible challenges.
Maybe finding the strength to overcome and solve these provides the answers.
I do think that the answers are there if we know where to look.
Hidden within the fabric of life,
The threads that hold it together.
I think I prefer not to have all the answers,
Just some clues.
In nature,
In the threads and the spaces between,
Are clues.
Nature offers insights.
There is beauty.
Delicateness.
Harshness.
Softness.
Gentleness.
Violence.
Stillness.
Movement.
Peace.
Birth.
Death.
Cruelty.
Kindness.
Acceptance.
And flexibility.
Nature has the ability to adapt,
To change with the cycles of climate and disasters,
Natural and man-made.
Nature bounces back.
That which doesn't disappears.
Within the space inside and outside of me,
If I allow myself to see and listen,
Are also clues.
In hindsight,
I see the clues that were placed on my path.
Some I grasp,
But many I ignored with consequences to match.
With or without the answers,
Life is what we make it.
And as my granddaughter Amelia says,
Life is like a jigsaw.
It can only be finished when the last piece is in place.
So,
When the last page in the book turns,
We might see if Charles Schulz is right or wrong.
