I mentioned earlier I’d brought two books on my trip to the Netherlands. The second one was a bit of a last minute, surprise choice for me. Not long before I left, the Chaplain and I were taking one of our evening walks past one of the Little Libraries that dot our city.

As we sometimes do, we stopped to look inside. I’d actually brought books with me to put into the library, another way of losing weight before the trip. I hadn’t planned to bring any back home.

Then, I saw Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. I knew it was a classic. I think it’s common high school lit reading. I’d never read it. The talk on the cover of life lessons was attractive to me. The slim size of the paperback appealed to my traveler’s sensibilities.

I tucked it in with a couple of other books I’d chosen, and we went on our way. 

I packed the book in my bag and didn’t pay it too much attention until the day after the psilocybin trip on the retreat.

I was starting to think about what it would look like to live in the world with my skin peeled off, my armor removed. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it.

After I was finished a session of journaling about my experience, I picked up Tuesdays With Morrie and started reading.

It felt like a spirit-filled choice, because it was perfect for where I was. It’s about what’s important in life. It seems like dying, illness, and psychedelic trips bring a lot of the same ideas into sharp focus.

The book is simply written. It’s not heavy. The chapters are brief. I read it slowly over the next few days, and finished it about a week and a half after I got home.

I felt grateful that it had been written, grateful that I’d picked it up when I did. It’s a gentle little read, and well worth the time it’ll take you to get through it.