The Midnight Library, and other thoughts

Before I begin, don’t worry if you have not yet read Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library; I won’t be sharing any spoilers in this post.

I just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, a book filled with surprises and personal challenges that, at times, made me feel as if the pages were mirrors themselves, requiring me to see myself in Nora Seed, the story’s protagonist. It’s the kind of book that I love: one that spins a good story but also makes me think about my own life.

I guess that’s what makes a good book, right? Entertaining and relatable.

As a writer, I kept guessing how it would all end. For the most part, I stayed in the literary ballpark with my predictions, though how it all wrapped up was a much different way than I was thinking (and I love when that happens). It reminds me of playing a good game of chess; this time, Matt Haig was a few moves ahead of me.

Anyway, people (and reviews right there on the book jacket) have compared the story to a modern-day It’s A Wonderful Life. But it’s bigger than that, a universal and timeless theme of love and embracing what you have and what you do with it. Haig quotes Thoreau and a few others throughout (but mainly Thoreau), and one particular Thoreuean comment stands out:

“It’s not what you look at that matters; it’s what you see.”

There are so many other great quotes in the book, but I absorbed this one more than the others. Awareness is one thing; what you see in that awareness is another.

When I finished the book, I wanted something on the nonfiction side that might complement what Haig had to say, and I found one book on my shelves jumping up and down, waving its little spine, shouting, “Pick me! Pick me!”

And so I did.

It was Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Mastery of Love, which is part of The Four Agreements series. (And for the record, I’m not a fan of the title; maybe The Acceptance of Love? The Embracing of Love? The Finding of Love? Or what about, Love?)

Without giving anything away in either book (Midnight or Love), there is this recognition of Fear vs. Love, a raging battle brewing within and among us since long before we were ever born into this world. Each book breaks down the grip fear has on us, the origins of those fears, and how we can overcome them by embracing the power of love.

Now, this is not some hippy doofster stuff that is reserved for carnation-carrying peace people. I think that’s been a mistake of ours for some time now, where we divide people by how they love and what they love.

I think that needs to change.

Embracing love over fear should be a universal truth for all of us, as it is rooted in the origins of who we are as humans, both collectively and individually. The problem we face is that fear is passed on to us when we are very young (Ruiz calls it a poison), and it becomes a part of who we are (not who we always have been -BIG distinction there). And recognizing it is only half the battle; we need to make a decision about what to do with it, and how.

The first thing we can do is stop distributing our own fears on to others. But honestly, the only way we can do that is to recognize the fears we already have – and most of them are directed within, at ourselves, as a form of punishment or protection from – you guessed it, Love.

I can’t remember who said it, but I read a quote recently where somebody said (and I am paraphrasing here), “I can’t remember much about the individual books that I have read, but I can recognize the profound impact they have had collectively on my life and the way I live.”

Powerful stuff right there.

When we allow ourselves to read books like The Midnight Library and The Mastery of Love, we allow ourselves to become aware of our fears so that we may do more than look at things and actually see beauty, hope, and love. Nora Seed’s name might fade from my memory, but the message from the book, and its addition to my internal library of meaningful books, will not.

What books are you reading that you would add to the collection of Love over Fear works?