That which you manifest is before you...

This is a quote from a book I recently read called "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. It's written in the perspective of a dog, and it completely charmed me. The dog, Enzo, longs to be human, and perceives the world (and people) around him with both a wistful longing and a bit of disdain. We humans can get it so wrong sometimes, he says. If he were human he would live better, stronger, faster (the theme is car racing), and with more vigor. Towards the end of the book he realizes that maybe life isn't as easy as he wants to believe. No kidding, Enz.

There were a few pearls of wisdom that I took from this book, including the quote above and another fave: "Your car goes where your eyes go." Meaning, keep focusing on what you want and eventually, somehow, you will get there. During a time when it's so easy to get sucked in by negativity and self-doubt, when the world seems so upside-down that you don't know where or how to put yourself right side-up, it helps to keep a little perspective. Sometimes it comes from a loved one -- human or animal -- other times it might just come from yourself.

I've been trying a combination of the two (or in this case, three), to get me through this bleak period of underemployment and job search ridiculosity. The kind words of encouragement (and occasional ass-kicking) by those who care about me has kept me moving along, whether at the pace of a lion or a slug, but moving nonetheless. When I've exhausted these resources (at least until they can be replenished with gratitude and baked goods), I turn to my other true love: reading.

My lifelong love affair with this unglamorous 'passatempo' began in the fourth grade. I won a school reading contest that left me beaming with such pride, my chest puffed with confidence and dare I say, arrogance -- I knew it would always be a part of me. And as a person whose eyes light up when revealing that she is a tried-and-true extrovert, reading has become a form of escapism and/or self-therapy in my adult life. It costs nothing (if I remember to return the library books on time), and it teaches me things about life, my deepest fears or desires, and even how to improve my relationship without making me feel like a moron. In short, it soothes and replenishes me.

My question for you, is, what have you read (or listened to) lately that has left you feeling triumphant, renewed, or simply -- alive? If you don't have an answer, perhaps you'll decide to try "The Art of Racing in the Rain?" See where your eyes take you.