Expressing ourselves. What is it about writing down words or reading what others have written that is so essential? Sharing ideas and thoughts and fears and hopes with others through talking is what we do every day. That sort of use of words allows us to touch another verbally (for better or worse) immediately. Yet, it is the words on the page, written by someone who creates stories, ideas or ways of approaching life that often seem more important.

We all save books. There they are on shelves, in stacks on desks or on the floor, in boxes in basements or closets. When we move, we cart them along as if we can touch our own history or keep special stories or ideas that made a difference through the pages in these books. Looking at that dusty or wrinkled cover I can remember when I was in high school and I read that book. Maybe you were in college and you struggled through that assigned reading and loved it when you finished it.

I have books of Shakespeare on an old bookcase. The book jacket is torn yet when I pick it up I remember a teacher in high school who turned me on to Shakespeare. I can still see her animated face brimming with enthusiasm, her eyes sparkling, as she led us through Julius Caesar.

Coming from a home where education wasn't valued, but getting a job was, my excitement about a writer's words was almost heresy. My Mom read all the time but Shakespeare, to her, was stepping out of our working class lives. I was being uppity and, I suspect, it made her feel inferior. Besides, how could words on a page written so long ago be provocative or the stories relevant to my day?

What I have discovered is that all literature uses the basic underlying themes of our imperfect humanity: unfulfilled promises, heroism in the face of great emotional or physical danger, rising from the ashes of defeat, jealously, sibling rivalry, problem solving, deceit and many more.

"Aha!" we say in recognition of the traits in our favorite characters. This is the story of what happened to these people and this is how they solved their predicament (or didn't). Writers fill the ongoing need for these stories by researching then sharing their life stories, or stories put together out of their human experiences or how-to stories.

Being human and expressing ourselves by being involved with the world, reflecting on it and sharing it with others. That is what at least part of life is about.