I know. "Aren't you already?" Ha, ha. Now that you got that out of your system, let me explain what I mean.
I grew up reading. I could spend hours curled up with a good book. Our house had a good assortment of books and I definitely had my favourite ones. The first book that I truly loved was, "Go Dog Go" by Dr. Seuss. The story was simple and funny and the illustrations grabbed me. I wanted to be at the dog party in the tree at the end of the book. I wanted to be with the dogs in the house by the beach. I wanted to be the dogs driving those cool cars and I really wanted to be the dog who kept wearing more and more elaborate hats and asking, "Do you like my hat?" It was a place that was full of excitement, fun and interesting characters. As a child (and still as an adult), I lived in my head creating elaborate places where I could go and be anyone I wanted to be. When life was challenging or boring I could always go there in my mind and have it exactly the way I wanted it to be. If I created something that wasn't quite right, I could change it in an instant. I had total control (I know, still sounds like me).
I had a great big story book - "Cinderella" and that was another one that I loved to read and look at. It was the transformation from the little cinder girl to the princess that grabbed me. The illustrator had done a phenomenal job of the dresses she wore to the ball and then ultimately to her wedding. I dreamed of being her, of having that dress and living with the handsome prince. At the time I thought we would just play together forever. Now I know better, the fairy tale ends and real life begins with children, dishes, housecleaning, appointments -- all the mundane that weaves together a rich life with someone. And the "playing" together often goes on the back-burner to give priority to sleep. Who would have known in our teenage years that sleep would have been more important than staying out all night partying and having a good time with that good-looking fellow you picked up!
I read lots of the standard books, "Little Women" (loved it and still do), "Heidi" (loved it and want to do a "Heidi" walking trip in Switzerland someday - anyone care to join me?), "Dear God, it's me Margaret" (okay, you had to be a girl for this one) and a host of others.
But it was a book called "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart that got me into the world of magic and opened up a whole new set of possibilities for my imagination. When I googled this book and found out it was by Mary Stewart, the author of the Merlin Trilogy I adore as an adult, it made sense why I had become transformed by this book. Getting to her website and finding the novel (published in 1972, probably the year I received it), with that same cover brought back a flood of memories for me. That book grabbed me and swallowed me completely. I was the little girl "Mary" finding that broomstick and flying into a magical world full of adventure. The book was real to me. As I devoured that book I never wanted it to end. I wanted to stay in this place and really fly on a broomstick. That's why I love the Harry Potter books, it takes me to a place that is full of adventure and magic. And it's magic that opens up possibilities where in real life you sometimes can't see them. It's magic that lets you suspend beliefs and see things from a different perspective. It's magic that stirs the imagination and creates a new reality. It's magic that lets you try a different approach and be a different person.
That's the fine line I tread in life and why I sometimes need a "break" from adult fiction (especially Canadian adult fiction!). Yes they have great stories to tell but they can be awfully depressing and too "real". It's like we forget our childhood of possibilities and find ourselves stuck in this mess of emotional tragedy. I don't want to read a book and say at the end, "well at least my life isn't as f&%@ed up as that person's life." I want to get to the end and feel like there is another possibility for the outcome. I want to be excited about living, about striving, about dreaming, about being and sometimes I need that escape into a different world where anything goes. And that is the fine line, I have to stay grounded here and not live in the escape but find the balance that brings joy, health and love to my life and others.
So I want to be a witch. I want to go on that grand adventure and conjure magical spells to create a world of possibilities. I want to see that every great fantasy novel is a metaphor for life: a journey of hills and valleys, of great joy and great sorrow, of incredible strength and incredible cowardice, of good and evil, of having companions and going it alone and finding that this is our internal journey of being fully human. We will stumble and fall, we will face our inner demons, we will meet a host of characters who help us on the way, and we will find that we are never alone on the journey, that God has equipped us with God's love and light - our magical powers to be the best we can be.
I am heading off on my broomstick right now....hope to see you on my journey.
