I would like to introduce you to one of my new acquaintances. I had a conversation with Anne Morrow Lindbergh in her book ‘A Gift from the Sea’. She is now a friend of mine. I like many of her ideas. I disagree with others. I think “she” (her book) is worth getting to know. She compares various stages of life to different kinds of sea shells. It is a short book, full of interesting insights such as:
“To ask how little, not how much, can I get along with. To say—is it necessary?—when I am tempted to add one more accumulation to my life…Simplification of outward life is not enough. It is merely the outside. But I am starting with the outside.”
And:
“Beautiful, fragile, fleeting, the sunrise shell; but not, for all that illusory. Because it is not lasting, let us not fall into the cynic’s trap and call it an illusion. Duration is not a test of true or false. The day of the dragon-fly or the night of the Saturnid moth is not invalid simply because that phase in its life cycle is brief. Validity need have not relation to time, to duration, to continuity. It is on another plane, judged by other standards.”
One of Anne Lindbergh’s most famous quotes comes from this book: “My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.”
If you want a quick read (138 pages) that is full of insights go and meet Anne Morrow Lindbergh in ‘A Gift from the Sea.’
Let me know what you think of my new friend and her ideas.
