Hello everyone, this is Miriam Scott from Amarillo Texas.
Today I want to share with you my thoughts on the Blue Book of Nebo. Stories of a nuclear fallout event are brutal, yet popular in books and on screens. After all, we witnessed the awful destruction and sickening aftermath of the two atom bombs dropped on Japan. After Chernobyl, we knew that nuclear power is incredibly dangerous, even when not used as a weapon.
This inspired Manon Steffen Ros to write The Blue Book of Nebo. It is written from the perspective of two people, a mother and son, the only survivors in their remote home in Wales. Both write journal entries in the Blue Book. The deep love they have for each other is moving. What really got to me though, was how protective they both felt of one another, and how sometimes this resulted in a certain distance between the two.
The mother especially often preferred to show no emotions, rather than risking putting too much on her son. How lonely she must have felt. How isolated and hopeless. You would think she wants the world to return to how it was before “The End” as she and her son refer to the disaster. Yet, she feels conflicted about it.
Why? It turns out that our creature comforts we enjoy today, numerous medias, entertainment, 32 different cereals in the supermarket, eating for fun not for nutrition, schedules, achievements, income, status symbols…all of this seems to make us anxious and disconnected from ourselves. The mother reflects on how before “The End” she always questioned herself, never felt a purpose, never felt like she was inhabiting her life. The anxiety of not being good enough was a constant reality in her life.
After “The End”, there are so many things to take care of and be anxious about just to survive. Every day is filled with hard work and no way to know if they could survive. That sounds anxiety inducing, doesn’t it? Yet, she is sure of her decisions. She does not question herself or her purpose. Of course, she is not therefore happier than she was before, they’re living in an apocalyptic nightmare after all. But it seems clear that she is more at peace with herself.
Even though surviving is beyond hard, there is no one to impress. Nobody to judge you or compare yourself to. Nothing to distract you with useless, mindless, and pointless actions like doomscrolling or shopping for stuff you don’t need. This frees her mind to focus on being as good as she can by learning better every day.
This wonderful insight the author blends so well in her riveting narrative inspired me to take a hard look at my life. How many distractions do I allow daily? How concerned am I with trivial things? How many comparisons do I draw every day? How many of my anxieties are pointless? The answer is: too many. I hope to take this opportunity to simplify my life. I want to free up my time and mind to focus on being the best I can be by learning better every day.
This was Miriam Scott for the HPPR Radio Readers Book Club wishing you all a chance to simplify your life.
