By Jan Pease
Litchfield
is a town of many book clubs. Someday
I
should call around and make a list of all of the book clubs in
our community. We have
two book clubs for adults that meet
here at the library, the Mystery Book Club and the Noon Book
Club. We have two book
clubs for children: the
Beginner Book Club, for grades 1-3, and Book to Movie club, for
grades
4-6. I’m involved with
Dragon Lunch
Bunch at Wagner school. But my personal favorite is a book club
that we refer
to as Classic Book Club (or the Bluestockings, depending on
mood.)
 |
| Jane Austen |
Classic
Book Club is not a library-sponsored book club, but many of its
members have
close ties to the library. We
haves read
various well-known authors of the past. We’ve tackled Austen,
the Bronte
sisters, Dickens, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Elliot, and I don’t
remember who
all. We meet a bit irregularly at
Cricket Meadow Tea on a Saturday most months. As I said, it’s a
bit
irregular.
I
treasure the time spent with these women.
They are wise and witty, with varied life experiences. The conversation flows as
quickly as the
coffee. I recently
polled them for
advice for the New Year. Here
are five
savory thoughts that I’m adopting for 2015.
Be
Kind. First and
foremost, if this
characterizes every day of our new year, it will be a great
year.
Be
Mindful. The moment to
live in is now,
not regretting the past or putting off for the future. Eat, breathe, and live
mindfully. No one knows
what tomorrow will bring. There
might not be a tomorrow.
Be Forgiving. All is well, all is well. Just let go of betrayals,
anger, sadness and
guilt. Forgive yourself.
Forgive others.
Choose
Life. Every life
matters. No matter the
age or color, gender, or belief
system. Every life
matters.
Rise
Above. More than
forgiving, rise above
whatever is bogging you down. Don’t
let
the darkness grind us into the lowest common denominator. Rise above.
Classic
Book club will get together January 17 at 8:30 a.m. at Cricket
Meadow. The book for
January is “Death Comes to
Pemberley” by P.D. James. A
modern
author! This book is her
loving homage
to Jane Austen, and we agreed that it would be a good book for
beginning a new
year.
Anyone
who would like to read a great book, enjoy wonderful
conversation and sample
Cricket Meadow’s delicious menu is welcome. Jane
Austen herself stated: “Men were
put into the world to teach women the law of compromise.”
So of course a male
person would be
welcomed.
I resolve to make these simple
statements part
of my life in the coming year.
Be kind,
be mindful, be forgiving, choose life, and rise above.
Happy New Year!
