“Wise words are like arrows flung at your forehead. What do you do? Why, you duck of course.”

-Steven Erikson, House of Chains

Advice. Everyone seems to have some. It’s not bad in and of itself, but too often we forget that what may work well for someone else might not be right for us.

Only a fool doesn’t consider what one more experienced than him or herself has to say. But it is equally foolish to blindly take a course just because it worked in another time and place for an individual’s own particular circumstances. Accept advice, but use it as a tool to forge your own path, rather than a rigid track from which you never stray.

Note to readers: Each week, I share a fantasy quote and indulge my inner philosopher with a brief essay based on said quote. Share your favorite quote with me and I might feature it in a future newsletter! Email: dtkane@dtkane.com.

“It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers… That way, when he finds the answers, they’ll be precious to him. The harder the question, the harder we hunt. The harder we hunt, the more we learn.”

-Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man’s Fear

Each time we pick up a book, we go on an adventure of discovery. Fiction? Non-fiction? Doesn’t matter. If you haven’t read it before, you’re about to learn something. Nestled in every book’s pages await new facts, desirable skills, and worthwhile lessons, all there for the avid reader’s taking.

Already read the book? Even better, as now you can look for nuance, really get to know the text since you already have some familiarity with it. 

So whenever someone tells me they don’t read, I feel a tinge of sympathy. Most complain that they’d love to learn new things if they only had the time. But not so for readers. The amount a reader can learn is limited only by how many pages they can turn!

A special thanks to Linda, who suggested this week’s quote!

Note to readers: Each week, I share a fantasy quote and indulge my inner philosopher with a brief essay based on said quote. Share your favorite quote with me and I might feature it in a future newsletter! Email: dtkane@dtkane.com.

“Aslan is a lion―the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he―quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Many of us trick ourselves into thinking it’s safety we want. Safety is status quo. Safety is comfort. Safety is security. We’re all told we want these things, and that we’re “successful” if we achieve them.

But undertake some self-reflection. What is it you really want? How far are you from it? What will it take to get there? If you’re like most people, the answers to those latter two questions are likely “far” and “a lot.”

Well, you won’t get to that distant horizon by playing it safe in secure comfort. Instead, subject yourself to some purposeful discomfort and watch as you grow!

Note to readers: Each week, I share a fantasy quote and indulge my inner philosopher with a brief essay based on said quote. Share your favorite quote with me and I might feature it in a future newsletter! Email: dtkane@dtkane.com.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

Where would we be without imagination? I’d argue that we wouldn’t exist as a species. There’d be no innovation, no progress, and—most importantly—no joy. 

Without imagination, we’d lack the capacity to dream. And if there’s one thing that’s responsible for giving life meaning, isn’t it dreaming? What are accomplishments but fiction made truth? The act of pulling from the ether a reality that didn’t exist until you put in the work to make it manifest.

So, the next time someone turns their nose up at that fantasy novel you’re reading, remember this and smile, for you grasp the power of imagination, the ability to create reality. Actual magic.

Note to readers: Each week, I share a fantasy quote and indulge my inner philosopher with a brief essay based on said quote. Share your favorite quote with me and I might feature it in a future newsletter! Email: dtkane@dtkane.com.