Perspective #BookBytes 19

Hello hello everyone. It’s been a crazy two weeks. Festival times are sheer madness what with the children being home for a break. Plus I am in the middle of editing a novel which took up every free moment of my time. All of that translated into a forced blogging break. However I wouldn’t miss an edition of #BookBytes since I do so enjoy doing it.

Here I am then, with a quote I loved from a book I loved too – My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I’d heard a lot about the author and I was eager to read her. The first book I picked up by sheer chance turned out to be Between the Lines, one she co-wrote with her daughter. I just wasn’t impressed – it was too much of a tween thing.

And then I chanced upon My Sister’s Keeper and that’s when I realised why people rave about Jodi Picoult. If you haven’t read it, I’d say give it a shot.

Here’s a quote I loved:

“Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it. There is always another appointment to be met, another bill to pay, another symptom presenting, another uneventful day to be notched onto the wooden wall. We have synchronized our watches, studied our calendars, existed in minutes, and completely forgotten to step back and see what we’ve accomplished.” 

– Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

I loved the quote because it is so much a reflection of how most of us lead our lives these days. Of course the context in the book was more serious but the thought is universal. It certainly applies to me. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in the nitty-gritties of life, too bogged down by the daily struggles to revel in the happiness of what I’ve already achieved.
It’s good to step back and look at things sometimes, to count one’s achievements, to bask in one’s success however small – whether it is always being able to meet deadlines at work or keep a blog up and running, or even running a home smoothly – God knows that needs such consistent effort.

So Stop.
For one small moment.
Think of something you accomplished .
And feel good about it.

Do share with me what it was that made you feel good recently, something that you forgot to congratulate yourself for.

***********

If you stumble upon a quote, a line (or two) or even a passage from a book that leaps out at you demanding to be shared join in with #BookBytes.

Here’s what you have to do:

• Share it on your blog and link back to this latest post.
• Put in the logo (above) so it’s easy to spot.
• Leave the link to your blogpost in the comments so I can drop by too.
• Book Bytes goes live every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. Do join in.

The next edition is scheduled for November 19th. Do join in.