I have a lot of self-help books.

When you’re trying to get rid of books because they’ve taken over your space and your life, it’s a good time to take inventory of what you have in your collection.

I have a lot of building books…books about how to build things so they don’t crush you.

I have a lot of books about other people doing interesting things.

And…I seem to have a lot of self-help books.

This book is one of the ones that I remember seeing on my shelves.  It’s  a book of quotations that was compiled by Dale Carnegie…the guy who wrote “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.

It has quotes like this one:

To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour          William Blake

That’s the kind of stuff that I need out on the route…something to take my mind off the common stuff I usually think, like “STAMPS WENT UP A PENNY, DARN DARNIT!!!!”.  I don’t really understand some of it…but the distraction is welcome.

My wife asked, “What do you think all these self-help books or books about money do for you?  Do they actually help people?”

I don’t really know.

I guess it’s like being in a fast-moving river, heading for the falls, flailing about and looking for an escape.

These books tell me that there is a tree branch that I can grab and pull myself out of danger up ahead …and that things are going to just be alright after all.

The thing that kind of muddies the water is that a lot of them describe a different branch.

So, if you have a bunch of this type of book in your collection, or if you’ve had a chance to read a lot of these types of books…you’re going to go over the falls seeing all the branches but wondering which one would be the best one to grab for your chance at salvation.

That’s probably why the Bible talks about a “narrow path”…maybe it’s not a restriction, maybe it’s just trying to save us the aggravation of distraction.

Too many choices…too many possibilities…can be a dangerous thing.

But…on the other hand….the wishy washy other hand…I do love options….I do loves me some choices.

Where’s Yoda when we need him?