But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.
The opening words penned by Clive Staples Lewis in his dedication for this book set the tone for the magical journey that follows. It’s certainly magical in a plot sense, but more importantly, it is so from a philosophical and emotional perspective.
I’ve read this book before, as a young child. I don’t remember exactly what I gleaned from it during that prior read, but that’s what makes books an enchanting portal to undiscovered lands. Each journey through the lives and experiences of a character opens our eyes to things we haven’t seen before.
Lucy, Susan, Peter, and Edmund begin their story in one world, but they find the courage and imagination to embark upon an adventure of epic proportions in the unfamiliar world of Narnia. At first lost and confused, there are stepping stones for them along the way: friends, temptations, intangible forces, and experiences both comfortable and anxiety ridden. In their own way, these help each character make sense of the unfamiliar world, both outside and inside themselves.
“Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning—either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again.”
This story reminds me about the importance of dreams, believing in what “reality” professes as unbelievable, and in taking the next step to fulfill those dreams, however far-fetched and impossible those thoughts in your imagination might appear to others. There will always be roadblocks in your path and naysayers along the way but putting faith in a higher power that all will work out as it should give each of us the courage to change.
“But don’t go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don’t try to get there at all. It’ll happen when you’re not looking for it.”
This closing thought in this story meshes well with the opening words in its dedication. Curiosity, imagination, and courage finds you when you least expect it, and from the most unexpected sources. Indeed, I have reached that magical age where I’m old enough to start reading fairy tales again.
May that same realization greet you today. No matter your age, that time is now.
Dave’s Rating: ☕️☕️☕️☕️
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