Late on Tuesday 12th of August, as the digital screens flickered and refreshed, the latest avatar of our online store came into being. A sprinkle of 'internet magic' later, all our book and gift sets appeared with an extra book - the fourth in the Willow the Wonderer series.
We had quietly launched The Gift.
New customers purchasing the books online were probably oblivious to the fact. Existing customers, some of whom had bought the first book in the series four years ago, were notified the following day via email. A large number promptly placed their orders.
We spent the rest of the week knee deep in tissue paper, book mailers and boxes, as we rushed to fulfil the orders on time. Seeing the ever increasing pile of shipping labels, we were reminded of the mantra that is central to our new book:
"Keep going."
The Gift offers a valuable lesson in resilience
Like all our Willow the Wonderer books, the premise of The Gift is based on an enduring piece of wisdom; in this case, the ephemeral nature of life and living.
In popular culture, this insight is often expressed in the saying or proverb:
"This too shall pass."
This statement is simultaneously profound and simple, if not blatantly obvious. Yet, it is also one we are most apt to forget, especially when we find ourselves caught up in one storm or another.
Willow too finds himself in quite a pickle, several pickles in fact, in The Gift. As often happens in life, he also meets the perfect person, at the perfect time, to guide him through the storm.
A short synopsis of Willow the Wonderer - Book 4: The Gift
Willow the Wonderer finds himself lost in the high mountains one day. As the mist clears, a mysterious fox appears and offers to be his guide for as long as he needs her.
Willow and Fox encounter steep mountain trails, windy passes and frightening cliffs. As fear and dread take hold of Willow, Fox shares the gift of her wisdom – the certainty that in the end all things will pass. But will that knowledge be enough for our little hero to overcome the challenges he faces?
The Gift offers a valuable lesson in resilience - the need to keep going even when the going gets hard, assured in the wisdom that all things come to pass.
There is more to unravel in the subtext
As always, we've woven a few different threads of wisdom through the narrative.
For one, understanding the transient nature of life isn't only a wisdom that serves us during the tough times. Arguably, it is more crucial to keep this in mind during the good times - as Willow soon comes to learn...
Our contemporary Western culture and education has been pretty good at the former: Teaching us to show grit and determination to overcome challenges. However, it largely fails to address the latter: Dealing with life once we've reached the giddy heights of success and critically, when it all comes to a crushing end...
Eastern contemplative traditions (e.g. yogic and buddhist traditions) and Western philosophical traditions (e.g. Stoics) in contrast, tend to focus very heavily on this aspect. Perhaps they understood that maintaining a level head when times are good can be much harder.
Their teachings however, I feel, has been very loosely translated and is often misunderstood. It is usually expressed as saying that "one should live a life free of attachments - of any kind."
To the uninitiated, this can comes across as being a very harsh and sterile existence that frankly most people would rather not live. I couldn't agree more. But again, this is largely a problem of interpretation.
The essence of this wisdom has been most eloquently and more accurately captured by English poet and painter, William Blake, in his poem, Eternity:
"He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise."
My thanks to the gentleman from Bright who we recently had a chance encounter with at a pub in Orange for sharing this beautiful poem with us. It says everything we sought to say in the book.
And then, there is the inevitability we all face of parting with a loved one and making our own way into the world ...
At some point, Fox and Willow need to go their separate ways. How will little Willow, who has grown to love and depend on Fox, handle this?
The educational element
In each Willow the Wonderer book, we also attempt to convey a practical thing that kids need to learn as part of their education. This could be elements of literacy, numeracy, science or as in the case of The Gift, poetry.
The rich poetic language in The Gift is a great way for young readers to learn about similes and metaphors.
The whole story and all elements within are in fact metaphors ...
Let all the children boogie
In line with the tradition of Willow the Wonderer books, The Gift is first and foremost a thrilling tale of high adventure.
Our request to our grown-ups reading this book to their little ones is to let them simply listen and absorb. Let them lose themselves in the illustrations as they seek out the marmots that Darren has gone to great lengths to hide. Let them enjoy the story, for the story's sake.
If they have questions, by all means answer them. If they are curious to go deeper, take them there. However, avoid the urge to 'teach' the wisdom or feel that they need to get it ...
Trust that the simple act of enjoying a story will over time, help them understand and absorb the wisdom within.
In the words of the legendary starman, David Bowie,
"Let the children lose it.
Let the children use it.
Let all the children boogie."
Happy reading.
Comments