The Secret Book of Flora Lea

The best stories are soul making. But stories we tell about ourselves, and even the harrowing ones told by others about us, can also be soul destroying. We have to choose what is good and true. Not what will destroy.

Telling stories is one of the greatest powers that we possess. It's like a dream you can fill with what you want. And the knight doesn't always have to save the princess; sometimes she saves herself.

The heart can hold much joy and great sorrow at the same time. It's a mystery. And it's also true.

What a fairy tale is meant to do," she said, "if it's meant to do anything at all, Tolkien says, is give us new perspective on our world, the consolation of a happy ending. A recovery of sorts. Like we leave that world to see ours anew.

Not very long ago and not very far away, there once was and still is an invisible place right here with us. And if you are born knowing, you will find your way through the woodlands to the shimmering doors that lead to the land made just and exactly for you.

That's how easy it was to confess. You just say it. You just drop it onto the table and tell the truth and what comes, comes, she thought.

If you were born knowing, and to be honest we all are, you will know how to find your way through the woodlands to the shimmering doors that are meant for you. They lead to the land made for you.

Despair leads us to stories, of course. We invent them so we can live in a world with meaning.

darkness and in light, in trouble and in joy, help us, Heavenly Father, to trust your love, to serve your purpose, and to praise your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Beautiful untrue things. We all know when we read about Narnia or Middle Earth or Wonderland—we know it’s not true but it’s so beautiful, so damn beautiful that we believe it while we’re there.

She loved knowing why things happened, because if she did, it was quite possible she could keep them from happening again.

Sometimes life breaks your heart to give you the best art.

Stories and books tend to find their rightful owners.

To honor the seasons, curious one. To honor each other. To gather. To remember that we are part of something much bigger than the petty things of today, bigger than gossip and—” “War.” “Yes, we are part of something even bigger than war. Something that goes on and on and was celebrated before us and will be celebrated after us.

Even if he left tomorrow, even if his touch was as temporary as a wild sunset, she had this moment.

I’m not so sure it’s about getting anything back.” He looked to the sky and then back at Hazel. “It’s about having what is right here, right now, and not squandering what remains.

What she was meant to write in the notebooks she was never entirely sure, but there they were, blank and waiting for her when she was ready to use them.

Sometimes the stars make me feel better, but not tonight. "How?" He asked. "How do they make you feel better?" Hazel thought about that for a silent minute. "Maybe because they tell me that there is something more I can't see".

Sometimes we have to face our dragons

The best stories are soul-making. But stories we tell about ourselves, and even the harrowing ones told by others about us, can also be soul-destroying. We have to choose what is good and true, not what will destroy.

Breaking free isn’t always graceful or painless, you know that better than anyone.

A pagan,” Bridie said, “is nothing more than someone who still believes in the very animation of nature and uses the old stories to build new ones.

She stood very still, as if he were a possibly dangerous animal in the wild that she’d never before seen. “Yes.” Only the truth now. “We found Flora.” His hard-set mouth opened, and he let out a cry. “Oh, Hazel! Was it the American author?

bad things don’t always have a blaming place to land.

Magic is everywhere here.” Hazel knew this wasn’t true, but the saying of it made it seem possible while a war raged and Mum sat home alone, awaiting her postcard.

Don’t let others take away good stories so they can feel better about themselves.

Her obsession with reasons and explanations, her desperate need to make meaning of the meaningless and sense of the senseless was destroying what she had right here, right now.

What a fairy tale is meant to do,” she said, “if it’s meant to do anything at all, Tolkien says, is give us new perspective in our world, the consolation of a happy ending.

But if you aren’t living your life, whose life are you living?