What a soul-refresher this little whisp of a book turned out to be! I had to look a few times at the author's name, and the date the book was first published, to convince myself it was really THAT Lindberg and THAT old. But everything she says, and she says it so beautifully and poetically (even given the circumstances of her own life)holds true today - and most likely as long as women exist on this earth.
Sometimes it is hard for women to do for themselves because they are trying so hard to do for so many others. This time, take the time for yourself, and read this book.
Using the illustration of shells from the sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh clears away the clutter of life, pares it down to its most simple form, that of an internal life that lends clarity to the externals. Each section of the book is a different shell, and a different lesson learned. Peace within one's self, simplicity, clarity, joy, the validity of each cycle and era of a lifetime, strength, and wholeness are just some of the lessons she imparts.
In about 50 years things have not become any less complicated, and this short, simple little book is even more relevant to our busy and noisy modern lives. The lesson one takes away from the book is not how to get rid of all the things, but how to find a calm, still center within one's self to maintain sanity, and that need never change, no matter what the distractions might be.
Half a lifetime later, while perusing the dusty shelves of a used book store, I came across a copy of that almost forgotten book, presented so enthusiastically but naively by my long-ago English teacher. Now, as an adult, I decided to give it mature consideration; Ic can't believe what a treasure I had in my hands--how I had missed these pearls of human wisdom for decades! But it is never too late to recognize a jewel between covers.
The author felt impelled to take a retreat on an almost deserted island--perhaps to reflect at lesiure upon her roles as daughter, sister, wife, mother, woman and human being. As she strolls carelessly along the soothingly indifferent shore, she can not resist picking up vairous shells--all gifts, as it were, from the sea. Considering each type at length at days' end, she realizes that these various shells represent the the different stages of a woman's life. The bivalves, like butterly shells, remind her of the marriage bonds; the chambered nautilus reflects her home, which needs more rooms as the family expands. For Lindbergh each shell fills a special niche in the multitudinous roles which is a woman's privilege to perform. So I invite all thoughtful, sensitive women to plunge their hands into the foamy surf and contemplate the gifts from the sea...of Life. Don't be afraid to recall the stages of your own past, for all personal struggles have validity in one's private destiny. Lindbergh's gift to humanity is a her tender but timeless insight.