These last few days, I've been pondering what made me into who I am today. That answer always beginss to my Dad and my Mom, especially their love of books. We were surrounded by them! BOOKS! Lots and lots of BOOKS! From the encylopedia sets we had by the beginning of the third grade – including “The Book of Knowledge” and the Children's Stories, we were given wonderful books on fables, story tales, adventures. As I think about it, certain ones still keep coming to the foreground of my mind after all these years of first reading (and believe me, I do mean ALL these years – 60+ behind the binding). And, from those books, I remember phrases, ideas, lessons... and among the earliest of them that I recall were Aesop's Fables.
Frequently, I remember certain sayings and realize many of my “guiding principles” come from those simple stories. I loved those books and read them over and over as a child. I wonder how many children are reading these books today – books that were written over two thousand years ago. If they are, will they too carry these wise stories into their lives, will they share them with their children?
These Fables, these “stories”, all had one theme in common – consequences. From our actions, our choices, the fable presents lessons to be learned. How often, as children, do we hear stories that leave an indelible imprint on our young minds. i HOPE these same tales now being shared with children of this and recent past generations? At 67, I remember as clearly today as I did when I was 6 and 7 yrs old, sitting on the floor looking at the “stories” in the abundance of books that surrounded me.
My father was an avid reader – his love of books has come down through my life because of the exposure to those magical/mystical stories. As a small child/young adult, I was able to disappear into another reality, another world filled with other people and their experiences, their reactions, their success, adversity, challenges or failure. I learned the hard lessons along beside the goat, the wolf, the snake, the farmer - sometimes with laughter, manytimes with a studied "I'M not gonna get caught like THAT" reaction.
That is why, in this electronic age where even a one year old child has TWO computers instead of books and the bonding time between parent and child? I wonder if we are cheating that child by not sitting together and reading these strange things called “books”. Are we really that busy in life that we cannot take the time to refresh our own memories of these wise tales with the fresh young mind who has yet to hear them? The time we take to share the stories builds relationships of trust and comfort and love between parent and child. The lessons learned are relatively painless as the child is taught compassion, wisdom, empathy, understanding. Don't we owe the next generation the gift of imagination?
If you are interested in which tales, which fables have stayed – stuck and stayed and molded this one mind... please drop into the well with me...