Friday, March 18, 2005

Zen through Harry Potter

I was reading this letter in Salon, and I realized that I get my spiritual centre through Harry Potter.

Spiritual isn't exactly the right word. Harry Potter doesn't tell me about the meaning of life or why I'm on this planet or what happens after death, but that's okay because I am quite comfortable with the fact that all of these are just random flukes of biology. What Harry Potter does is give me, as the letter-writer says, "a centered, warm, safe place that makes the rest of this crazy world seem tolerable." When I'm stressed or tired or grumpy or can't sleep, when I want to cry or panic or drink more wine than is strictly appropriate, when I just can't concentrate on my work, I go into the Potterverse. I read fic, theorize, watch my favourite bits of Prisoner of Azkaban, or just bury myself in Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, and then I emerge calm and centred and ready to deal with stuff again.

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