Max was a Jew. Liesel was a young girl whose mother was a Communist. They met at a little house in Germany during Hitler’s reign, their story shared in a film called, The Book Thief.
Movies such as this, based on true events, are what I most relish. It gives me opportunity to reach into another time, culture … or perhaps simply into another person’s life. With this particular movie, I had a chance to do all three.
Imagine being Max, hiding in the basement of someone’s house simply because he was born into a particular family. Or Liesel, taken away from her mother because of her beliefs, and ending up in a foreign place, with foreign people replacing her mother. So many thoughts are unleashed with the story … and most of them bring me back to a familiar place – humility.
As you would likely guess, “books” have a key role in this story. But my purpose in writing this day digs a bit deeper into the pages of any book. It came in a simple statement that Max made to Liesel in the dimly lit basement of that little house. He said (essentially), “the only difference between you and this clay is the word.”
I cannot remember exactly how everything unfolded precisely, but suffice it to say he was trying to impress upon her the power held in a word, specifically in each letter … and it prompted some teachings I had encountered in the past which centered on the Tarot. You see, there is a Hebrew letter associated with each card, and during those earlier days, I remember teachers emphasizing that the Hebrew language was viewed as “different” in that the letters were said to be alive. They hold power beyond comprehension …
With the dawning of this new year, I simply wanted to acknowledge this thought … gently pulling letters together …
… into words. Words that are powerful, often unbeknownst to us. They will play a part in lifting us up or hurling us into the dung. So it is we should all guard the words we nurture, hold, and release into the world. Many have reminded us of this very thing through the years, but man often continues on as a deaf mute.
Beginning in the quiet of thought they are molded into form, enlivened by emotion, and set free … oft times without consideration of what they’re capable of doing … and being. As I sat listening to Max and this all began to flow into consciousness, I couldn’t help but remember all that Daskalos taught concerning elementals. Once again, a hint of the Golden Thread.
This day, prepare the words you intend to cast before your path. Words born from a soul’s sincere desire to arise from obscurity and be known in like measure to your purpose. Choose them carefully, with courage. Etch them on the murals of your mind. Speak them in the silence, alone … and as you do, seek to know them. Enter in and meet the spirit that set the seeds and urged them past your lips. Then one day, you will find your words live with you. They walk before you, with you, tethered to their master.
Each day we choose the words that will gain life from our lips. Perhaps this is the day we begin to do so more consciously.
Here as always, one never knows the truth held in such notions … unless they are willing to step forth on a path quite narrow.
