I Look to You
I read Nectar in a Sieve in high school. Don't read it. It will make you cry. A lot. I went through a box of Kleenex during the entire middle of the book. Worst of all, it made my suffering at the time seem completely negligible. After all, SATs and aloof water polo players who refuse to pick up on your subtle glances (I'm talking to you, Freddie Brewer!) can't hold a candle to famine and poverty and dying children. But what I loved about the book, and still find myself drawn to, is the raw sense of hope and survival that it gave me.
I went through a bad spell a couple of years ago. Betrayal and hurt, extreme stress, even having to lay off hard-working employees. It seemed that the universe was intent on slapping me hard across the cheek, no matter which way I turned. And when I hit my lowest point, I couldn't bring myself to call on friends or family or faith. Instead, I lay frozen in bed and thought of Nectar's main character Rukmani, the ultimate survivor. And I knew. I would have to get my then-bony behind out of bed and DO something. And no one in the world could make that happen except me. It might sound egomaniacal, but when things go wrong, I steel myself and turn inwards. Sure, the crap the universe throws at me may never compare to that of a poor Indian villager, but I still have the capacity to deal with it. And that has to count for something.
