WHAT I LEARNED AT THE TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

We have just completed a three-week road trip to Arizona. It feels like we have been away from home for a long time.  We have missed our friends in Cheyenne ever so much and are happy to be home. However, it was a great trip and our hearts have been refreshed.

Tucson Festival of Books

We began our adventure by driving to Tucson, Arizona, to meet some friends and attend the Tucson Festival of Books. We had a wonderful time with friends we have not seen in several years. For two days we hung out with our friends, and attended lectures given by famous authors, some we had read, others who we did not know prior to the book festival. I was reminded how interesting the world is and how many interesting people are all around us, all the time.

What all the authors, across a wide range of disciplines, had in common, was their desire to learn, an adventurous spirit, endurance inspired by hope, and the courage to take risks. Every author we met not only wrote good stories, but they also lived good stories. The authors were persistent in knocking on doors that were closed, quitting jobs that were not satisfying, traveling into the wilderness, admitting ignorance, and were always open to learning more from others. Most of them waited years to get published, and while they waited, they kept writing and learning. They never gave up.

BOOKS

Willy Nelson enjoying a break from the lectures

God has created such an interesting world, full of interesting people, places, and ideas. The 21^st century makes it easier than ever before to explore this world and meet these people. I often think of how the availability of books increases my opportunity to meet people and travel. Until the last hundred years books were expensive and hard to obtain, but now through the magic of Amazon and the public library there are millions of books available for little or no cost. Books allow me the opportunity to take mental trips to other places. A good book can leave me with the feeling I have really been to the place which was described. Exploring new places is such an enjoyable part of being alive, and books allow me to travel to far off places very inexpensively and without jet lag.

In the same way I also meet people through books. For example I feel like I know Jonathan Haidt, David Brooks,  Martin Luther and Plato and thousands of others. Of course, it is not like having a conversation with them, but I feel like if I ever did meet them, I would know some very significant things about their life and beliefs. It is easy to discount how much we can learn from others by reading what they wrote. Writing is hard work and people who are good at it put their soul into it. I believe that if a stranger were to read my blogs and then have lunch with me, they would know a great deal about my soul before we ordered.

Books also expose me to new ideas and teach me about all kinds of things. If my mind was cleared of everything I have learned from reading, I don’t think there would be much left. Even the things I have learned from good teachers, most of what they taught was something they found in a good book.

TRAVEL

Travel is also easier than it has ever been before. A hundred years ago there were few cars and fewer roads. Today there are interstates and autobahns lined with hotels which connect much of the world. And we seldom think about how easy it is to fly across the country or around the world. Just yesterday, in just a few minutes, I was able to buy an airline ticket and in a couple of weeks I will fly 2,000 miles in one day!

Travel takes some time and some and some money, but mostly it just takes the will and the courage to go. It is easy to stay home, home is comfortable and predicable. The father you get from home the more uncomfortable and unpredictable. Going to Europe for the first time in uncomfortable and unpredictable. Going to Africa and Asia gets more uncomfortable and unpredictable than Europe. I am thankful or the opportunity I have had to travel. I been to most states and major cities in the USA and have spent time in 28 countries, and lived in four.  All of my travel has been with a purpose. To explore new territories with others, spend time with friends, help someone in need, learn or to teach others what I have learned. I think travel is best when your purpose for traveling is clearly articulated.

CONVERSATIONS

Unlike the availability of books and ease of travel, the opportunity to have good conversations has always been possible. However, too often people settle for Facebook and virtual conversations rather than talk to the people they are with. While we were in Phoenix we stayed with Bill and Donna. Before arriving in Phoenix, we had only met Bill and Donna briefly and did not know them at all. We stayed in their home for two weeks! In those two weeks we had many conversations. They were interested in our lives, but they had incredible stories! They had adventures when they were young, and Bill was in the US Army. Adventures finding God and following Him. They also have recently experienced medical

Our New Friends Bill & Donna with their dog Auggy.

adventures with four near death experiences. I am so thankful that Bill and Donna welcomed us into their home and shared their lives and stories with us. I get the feeling that many people pass Bill and Donna all the time and never ask them about their incredible adventures. My life is so much richer because of our conversations.

I WANT TO LIVE LIKE THE AUTHORS I MET

It is sad that so few people take advantage of opportunities to read, travel, and engage in rich conversations. Too many people get busy with things which are trivial, watch too much YouTube, grow complacent in what they know, and are imprisoned by fear. I want to live like the authors I met. I want to read, travel, and have good, rich conversations. I believe I can live like this; it will only require that I have desire, courage, and an optimism about the world and other people.  The authors I met at the Tucson Festival of Books inspired me to keep reading, keep traveling, and to always engage in good conversation whenever possible.  My prayer for you, wherever you are today, is that you would read, travel, and engage in good conversations with the people who are around you. I pray that you would be courageous, optimistic, and have a deep desire to live well.