smiles, tears, sighs and dreams

Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved. Thus can something as insignificant as a name - two syllables, one high, one sweet - summon up the innumerable smiles, tears, sighs and dreams of a human life.
~ Anita Diamant, The Red Tent

This morning I gathered with a small group of women to discuss a book we recently read: The Red Tent. It was my second indulgence in this beautiful novel about mothers and daughters and friends. The first time was over 10 years ago and I was very happy to immerse myself again in the life of Dinah, an unremarkable character mentioned only briefly in the Old Testament.

In this work of fiction, Diamant gives voice and emotion to Dinah and other female characters from the Book of Genesis. She weaves their stories of love, jealousy, suffering, and celebrating with events otherwise told only from the perspective of the men in the tribe of Abraham.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, this is a priceless story as old as time. How women relate to one another, share their stories, create and preserve traditions and memories...From birth to death, through childhood and motherhood, it is a story full of smiles, tears, sighs, and dreams.

As Dinah is about to embark on a new phase in life, after periods of tragedy, she looks hopefully to her future and remarks:

The painful things seemed like knots on a beautiful necklace, necessary for keeping the beads in place.

It is an important lesson to keep in mind, especially when we find ourselves in times of turmoil: these are the knots that make us strong and which string together the precious moments.