Books by the old Leather Chair

  • Snow In The Summer
  • My Bible
  • The Power of Silence
  • What Comes Next and to Like It
  • Encore Provence
  • A Year in Provence

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Space Between Us

I am thinking of ordering this book.

This story centers around a wealthy Indian woman and her housekeeper. The poor housekeeper, who lives in the slums of Bombay, and her employer have developed a symbiotic relationship over the years. A friendship between the most unlikely of women.

Humor and crying sadness.

The following quote from the book left me shaken and is bringing about a lot of thoughts

"Or perhaps it is that time doesn't heal all wounds at all, perhaps that is the biggest lie of them all, and instead what happens is that each wound penetrates the body deeper and deeper until one day you find the sheer geography of your bones - has collapsed under the weight of your grief."

I will have to share this is not true for One Woman. Time and my beliefs have healed my wounds. I believe wounds can be healed. Of course there is scar tissue, and from time to time (very seldom) old memories do surface and because of where I am on my journey through this life - I really have no time for them!!

8 comments:

Cloudhands said...

I'm fasinated by all the books with stories from around the world that I have read lately. It seems a trend that has been building for several years. Right now our book club is reading a story about an African boy. It is call "The Boy who harnessed the wind."
Other than Sherlock Holmes stories and the Secret Garden, my first grown up book about the rest of the world was 'The Good Earth' many, many years ago.

MsGraysea said...

Oh my, that quote is thought provoking...I do, like you, believe we can heal our souls. As I wrote recently, I went into a place where my body was crumbling after Dad's death. A year later, I realized all my physical pain was within my control to heal. through Yoga, massage, meditation and acupuncture, I have opened up again, feel whole, so much more agile, and happy.
I'm happy you talked about this book! You are such a thoughtful and reflective person. NICE.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Cloudhands and Marcia, thanks for visiting. Also you from another land. Wish I could read your comment

Rose - Watching Waves said...

Thank you, One Woman, for dropping by and adding your thought about the body being your space suit - great analogy!

Very thought-provoking quote from the book and I can see how it might shake a person. We all have wounds and scars, some healed, some still oozing from time to time. But I can't imagine a person carrying and holding onto grief to the point that they let it destory them. As I said in that post you commented on, we're temporary. Anything that happens here is temporary. Eventually it won't matter because it will no longer exist. The grief, the wounds, the sorrow simply won't exist. As a human, I will grieve but not to the point of self-destruction. Coping, trusting, having faith and love in one's heart are so necessary to our growth and evolution. Namaste

Barbara Blundell said...

I read somewhere that scar tissue is extra strong !

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Rose, you have met a kindred spirit.
Barbara, I believe this also.

Sharon Lovejoy said...

The Space Between Us reminded me of a poem that I think is relevant to you.

"Fire"

What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
A breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packe in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pailof water would
So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build open spaces
in the same way
we have learned
to pile on the logs,
then we can come to see how
it is fuel, and absence of the fuel
together, that makes fire possible.

We only need to lay a log
lightly from time to time.
A fire grows
simple because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it want to burn
can find its way.

Judy Brown

Love,

Sharon

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Sharon, thank you...