This was an assignment from my English class in which we had to write about a place, which could even be the bathroom if we wanted. I chose my vast library. It was fun to write and I thought I would share it with everyone. I finally gave it a title too, which I hope is fitting.

My Dream

In Memory of three of my heroes

My library is a world of ideas and dreams in which the future is mixed with peaceful coexistence of the religious and non-religious, science and science fiction, fantasy and history, love and war, passion and compassion. It is a planet of its own that lives in peaceful harmony as it expresses its deepest passions. It is a world that communicates in silence, but has many languages.

At the core is what holds the world together. Psychology or the study of the human mind, with all its intricacies and complexities is in the very center of my library. The human brain and its function is the basis of what generates all the other thoughts that one has. The grey matter that these books discuss dreams, analyzes, creates, and considers a vast array of possibilities. The human psychology is what keeps all the rest of the inhabitants of this world together and helps it strive to better itself by sharing everything that exists on this special planet and updating the information within the covers constantly.

Below the core is fiction and non-fiction. Jackie Collins mixes it up with John Jakes as their two worlds meet and join as one as though the past and the current meet sharing their common bonds. Eric Segal shares his Love Story with everyone and Sidney Sheldon's Rage of Angels meet peacefully within the same world along with the non-superstitious Psychologist in the center and the Humanists above it, without any diagnosis or criticism.

Across from the raging angels is a futuristic world of Star Trek and Babylon 5 that join with a race of telepathic humanoid cats and vampires. Mixed with all these strange and unusual people are Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek Creator, and Nichelle Nichols's biographies, not to mention books on caring for cats. The Vulcans and the Klingons cohabitate together in this vast world of ideas and passions without any logic or violence and the telepathic cats are not without good health care and grooming tips in this large world that my library collection has become. The Ferengi also wheel and deal with their Rules of Acquisition, so Quark is not without some sort of gain on this wonderful planet. He just has to deal with Worf, Kira, and Odo on occasion.

Once again the future meets the past because sitting near Gene and Nichelle are two more great people from the past; John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. These people are supported not only with Psychology concerning race relations, but also a knowledge of the history that unites them in this wonderful world. The Antebellum and the Civil War eras tell their ancestors' story as a memory, but one that should not be forgotten, lest it repeat itself as they study the vast regions of space with various astronomy books.

These people are not alone without any rule or government, for Princess Di is nearby with her royal beauty and grace showing her great humanitarianism to everyone and along with her she brings not only the Anglican Church, but a fine bishop named John Shelby Spong, who is still living and trying to change religious beliefs to a more reasonable, peaceful, and loving ideology by Rescuing the Bible from the Fundamentalism. Even Billy Graham, surprisingly, can be found discussing Angels as God's Secret Agents without condemning those who do not agree with him in this world nor is he criticized for believing in supernatural undercover angels playing spies. One can also find a rabbi talking about When Bad Things Happen to Good People without reliving the horrors of the holocaust because he is a Jew and Robert Price drives reason into this great society's life. Karen Armstrong tells A History of God while Richard Dawkins attempts to remove delusions and Christopher Hitchens complains, "God Is Not Great!" To which Victor J. Stenger suddenly asks, "Has Science Found God?"

Along with their ideas are the Humanists, Gnostics, Pagans, Hindus, Atheists, and great philosophers all living peacefully together without fighting over their religious differences. The Native American is not pushed off this planet either for they share their culture and religion too within this large world. No one is being charged with heresy and burned at the stake or even sentenced to death for lack of conforming beliefs in this world for it is truly about the human and the ultimate goals in life. They are living together in harmony and sharing their ideas about the past, present, and future, as well as their beliefs without fear of persecution.

If things do get a bit out of hand, Sam Harris just shouts, "Alright! That's it! If you guys can't play nice we'll just have The End of Faith now!" and Hemant Mehta cries in response, "But I'm the Friendly Atheist! After all, I Sold My Soul on eBay, didn't I?" and Earl Doherty replies, "I want to finish The Jesus Puzzle!" To which Robert Price grumbles and shrugs, "Eh, he's just the Incredible Shrinking Son of Man. Let's just get back to The Reason Driven Life again and be done with it." They then settle down and get back to their little "Jesus Seminar".

Near all this philosophical thought and religion are the mythical gods and goddesses of the past. Zeus, Prometheus, Mithra, Horus, Apollo, all exist together with Yahweh and Jesus. In this world Jesus does not mind sharing with the Greek, Roman, Babylonian, or Egyptian gods. In fact, he has a great time with them as they share their common stories as dying and rising gods. The women goddesses share in equality too and are hardly neglected by the gods; much less they are not hated by Mary Magdalene. They all sit at the table together sharing food and drink as they laugh and joke with each other and sometimes the various people of this great society join them without fear of being zapped by a lightening bolt if they say the wrong thing to the gods, for these gods do not sit in the sky judging the inhabitants. No, they co-exist with everyone and enjoy life to its fullest.

This world is not without its entertainment though, because Barbra Streisand, Cher, and Diana Ross are there with a lot of music to accompany them. Shakespeare has his books concerning writing and publishers, not to mention his handy dandy dictionary and thesaurus to help him write great plays with other mythical characters. Mixed in with them is Erma Bombeck who brings her own unique brand of humour to this precious world.

Everyone communicates not only with the written word, but also with the language of the deaf, for hidden in all of this is yet another silent language. It is a language that uses its hands to speak and shares this form of communication with anyone who wants to learn sign language and the culture of the people who use it.

This world my library holds is as amazing as The Origins of Life it keeps on its shelves. This forty-plus-year-old bookcase, made by my late grandfather's hands, is overflowing with books and the top of it is swayed-backed, yet it holds this over crowded planet together in a peaceful, loving, and compassionate existence that is filled with many dreams and hopes for the future of human beings. It is not just a collection of books, but rather it is all about the human. It is not just one part of the person, but multiple parts with all the intricate thoughts s/he holds. There is really no clue as to what sex the person may be or even if it really is one person's mind. It would be hard to know for sure unless you were told this world was the creation of one person. The world the individual created is truly all about the human; any human in which every thought and idea, every person, and every creature is treated with respect and dignity. Along with all that everything that humans could create or even dream of is appreciated. Their past is cherished as much as humanity's potential future.

This library is a world in and of itself that is growing and expanding to include many other things about the nature of humanity. It began just as the real world did, as a single organism and grew into an intricate society of its very own. It started out as one man's dream to be a house for books and after his death it became his granddaughter's visionary world. It not only houses tears of lost memories of her grandfather, but also her passions, dreams, philosophy, hopes, heroes, and loves which focuses on the human conditions, ideas, and desires for a future that not only remembers the past, but also looks to a future of unity and peace. It is a world full of love and happiness without sadness for all things great and small. No one, not even their most radical thought, is oppressed as they Stride Toward Freedom for everyone.

© Mriana, September 2007

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