The wings of imagination that supported my life.
I have
two books that have supported my life.
One is "Anne of Green Gables," which I encountered when I was in elementary school.
The other is
Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning," which I encountered as an adult.
A story of a young girl and a record of surviving an extreme world.
Although they are completely different books, they are connected by a single thread within me.
The name of that thread is "the wings of imagination."
When I was a child, I
loved the term "raspberry cordial" that appears in "Anne of Green Gables."
It is that famous scene where Diana gets drunk after mistaking it for raspberry wine.
Many people may have been moved by Anne's positivity and her strength to never give in to adversity.
But I was different.
"Strawberry cordial."
Just by reading those words, I could picture scenery I had never seen, and even imagine a sweet scent.
I was drawn more to the sound of the words than to the story itself.
From that time on, I loved to imagine things.
Spreading the wings of imagination is not about escaping reality.
It is about envisioning worlds yet unseen.
It is about enriching the heart.
"Anne of Green Gables" taught my young self that joy.
That is why, even now, I love things that make my heart bloom.
Colorful jelly beans in a glass jar.
Antique tulle lace.
Beautiful letter cards from abroad.
Pretty perfume bottles.
Plants decorated in my room.
The soft scent of sweet olive.
Just looking at them makes my heart bloom.
I love things like that.
Between my thirties and forties, I underwent two heart surgeries.
The doctor explained that I would have to live a life without pregnancy or childbirth.
I was in and out of the hospital, my body wouldn't move as I wanted, and right after surgery, I couldn't even read a book.
Even so, as I gradually recovered, I brought my favorite books, beautiful notebooks, and small trinkets into my hospital room.
I wanted to keep things that brightened my heart close by.
And then, when I encountered "Man's Search for Meaning" as an adult, it made those wings of imagination even more certain.
Viktor Frankl says that even in extreme situations, a person's inner freedom cannot be taken away.
To envision the future.
To think of the people you love.
To imagine.
That becomes the strength to live.
When I read those words, I felt that the "power of imagination" I had cherished since I was a child was also connected to the power to think of others.
A heart that thinks of others.
That is the power of imagination.
When I regained consciousness after my second heart surgery.
The surgery had lasted longer than planned.
The first words I spoke were,
"Is my family okay?"
that was it.
I am asleep while undergoing surgery.
But it is different for my family.
Without knowing what is happening,
they have no choice but to just keep waiting.
How long and anxious that time must have been.
I was thinking about my family even before I had the surgery.
That is why the first thing I was concerned about was,
not myself, but the family who had been waiting for me.
I think the wings of imagination had become a part of me before I knew it.
And "Man's Search for Meaning" taught me that those wings
are the power to live without losing one's heart in any reality.
Reading books is not just about increasing knowledge.
A book that changes your life becomes your way of living.
"Anne of Green Gables," which I encountered as a girl.
"Man's Search for Meaning," which I encountered as an adult.
These two books taught me the same thing.
The wings of imagination are not for escaping reality.
They are for living without losing one's heart.
And,
they are for caring for someone else, not just yourself.
Today, too, I
cherish things that make my heart bloom.
A glass jar of jelly beans.
Antique tulle lace.
Beautiful letter cards.
That day,
within me as I read "Anne of Green Gables,"
something called "wings of imagination" was born.
Those wings are still within me today.
Viviane.
Illustration by Pii. (Viviane.)