The Good is Close at Hand
“All these squalls to which we have been subjected are signs that the weather will soon improve and things will go well for us, because it is not possible for the bad or the good to endure forever, and from this it follows that since the bad has lasted so long, the good is close at hand.”
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote
This is the epigraph at the beginning of one of my favorite books, This is Happiness, by Niall Williams. The final part of that Cervantes quote reads like the best kind of promise, doesn’t it?
“The good is close at hand.”
Maile and I have been clinging to that hope during this difficult season of loss. The good is close at hand.
And in fact, the good is already here, in many ways: spring has blanketed our world in green grass and pink blossoms and the sparkling river rapids, which we can still barely see through the trees behind the house; we spend our afternoons watching Sam run track and Abra play lacrosse and our two littles play soccer; our oldest will be home from his first year of college in two short weeks; and Lucy prepares for her last summer before college, curating her first two art shows, and getting ready to fly from the nest.
The good is close at hand.
The good is also close at hand for those of you who are paying subscribers! In the next few months, your $7 / month means you’ll be receiving the following from me:
By the end of May, I plan on updating a book of poems that I wrote a few years back (see an example of the kind of poetry I write HERE) and mailing out a paperback version to all paying subscribers FOR FREE. Stay tuned, as I’ll need to collect mailing addresses, etc.
I’m also hoping, in the next few weeks, to post a new short story I’ve been working on.
If you’d like to make sure you receive all the good stuff, you can become a paying subscriber by clicking the link below.
What good things are close at hand for you?
Don’t miss our latest podcast episode with author Douglas McKelvey (Every Moment Holy). We get to hear him talk about the role of darkness and violence in novels. You can listen HERE.