Heart Reading … Day 21

I went to the library — and it was a big deal.

Monumentous. Surreal. These are not typically words one would use to describe the heretofore experience of going to the library. But as it has been 18 months since actually entering a library, it was all that and more.

Mask-clad, tentative yet eager, I pulled the heavy door open, saw a “five person maximum” sign, and walked toward two men talking while noticing everyone was masked — forsaging the potential for another quarantine mandate and making this precious moment all the more meaningful. One man was giving assistance so I engaged just because.

He directed me to the new stations for looking up books to borrow and I was nearly salivating. If books were baked goods … (and if wishes were horses … a nod to my friend Kay’s business by the same name).

I looked up The Sexual Politics of Meat, which had been recommended to me by someone I’ve met recently, and went downstairs to the corresponding collection. It was exactly where it was supposed to be; I was flooded with satisfaction.

My language about going to the library may seem a bit excessive but I had no idea how much I’d missed this experience. I’ve been borrowing e-books from the same library, and even borrowing new releases from the outdoor lending honor-system setup, but being inside was so different, a promise that all will be well again. I even wiped down the bathroom mirror and dusted an empty shelf.

I borrowed two books — a companion book to the meat one which calls for more compassion and awareness about the emotionality of animals. And I’m keeping this day’s post short (without a “real” — hand-on-heart while breathing mindfully with time and space to listen — heart reading today) so that I can please my heart with other reading.