And the stories are all One.

(courtesy of Hallmark Entertainment)

Finished Albom's "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" last night - Beautiful read.

Personally, i guess, it is not about who the five people are, or even how they are related to any one individual but importantly, what are their unique Messages (related through their own tales) they bring to each one of us. Acc. to Mitch Albom: "each person [we meet] is in your life for a reason" and that we meet five people in heaven - five unique people we've crossed paths with somehow, somewhere in our lives & who've been waiting to pass on their Message to this select individual.

To me, it is the Lessons (or teachings) that Eddie (Main-te-nance), the protagonist, gains that are of paramount value - of Interconnectedness (which reminds me so much of many of our world theological teachings, esp. Indian where so much of life (karma eg.) is explained as cyclical), the power of Sacrifice & Forgiving, etc.

I loved the ending, in the Epilogue esp.:

... That each one affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one. (Albom 2003: 208)

And of course, remember: Every ending is but, another new Beginning...


Of course, finishing the book led me to more musings - on a more personal track now - wrt the various people i've met in this life, the particular (& memorable) moments wherein i've met some too.. Special people like my Three bosom-mates i'm blessed to have met (one from secondary school - over nine years now, one from college & University days - aah, that's more recent & the last, well that's from a 'pre-natal alliance', one could say.. ) & of course, my few dear blog-friends whose memories ceaselessly brighten up sombre days..

And so, to All of U: Deepest, Warmest & A most Heartfelt Thank You, Hugs & Cheers for many more golden moments ahead in life.


One more thing i thought of was more focused on the medium - Reading. Imagine: Would it be poss. for connections to be forged between fellow readers say, of a particular book by any favoured author like Pico Iyer or Michael Crichton or even, Tolkien?
Admittedly, every reader experiences the same book differently - as she/he imbues the tale with meanings expressedly their own but still on account of the available basic plot --
we are all taken by the hand on the same narrative journey, aren't we?
Food for thought.

Take care all & Well Wishes always,
Minerva*
p.s. btw, Minerva did get a good grade (Yay!) for the independent Research Paper i did on 'Global Identity’ as represented in Pico Iyer’s The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls and the Search for Home. It's another of my fave reads (genre: travel literature) - you might want to check that out sometime.
*My Eternal Thanks to -- Prof Talib, Thuz, Ma & Alice -- the people who were there by me, for your insurmountable support & without whom this paper would not have come to be.