Celebrate The Temporary

Celebrate the Temporary

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, archival worthy inspirational messages July 26, 2008 By K. N. Nelson VINE VOICE Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase Clyde Reid's book "Celebrate the Temporary" has been a favorite of mine since the early 80s when I first came across it in Tucson, Arizona. At that time, I was teaching a "Psychiatric Nursing" course at Pima Community College and was often asked by my students for sources that I found particularly inspiring, hence my visit to the bookseller's shop. During the ensuing years, I have bought and "loaned" at least 50 copies to others. They always commented upon how the book had changed their way of thinking of the "here and now". For me, it remains a self empowering message worthy of carrying in one's heart and mind. For many who live in areas of the country where lilacs bloom in the spring for a few brief days, this personal anecdote may stimulate a similar memory relevant to the author's reference to these beautiful flowers. One radiantly beautiful April day, a month before I left Ohio to move to Arizona, I went outside following an early morning spring shower and walked over to several lilac bushes blooming in my yard. Despite their branches drooping with raindrops, I opened my arms and embraced a huge cluster of the exquisite blossoms. Breathing deeply my senses were saturated with the refreshing touch of raindrops and the intoxicating scent of the exquisite deep purple blossoms. I sensed that, however brief, the experience would dwell in my memory as a "celebration" of lilacs, spring, showers and that moment in time. Years later, when I occasioned across this book the memory of that spring morning leaped to mind. What was unique is that I was reading his words about lilacs while standing in the shop in an intensely hot desert climate where this particular flowering bush typically is not found among the cactus and desert flora.