Thursday, January 6, 2005

Dear Dad,

For your birthday, I got you THE BOOK OF SECRETS. But even if you don’t read this book – although I really hope you will – consider this a symbolic gift. The title is “The Book of Secrets”. This title is important, because it represents every story and every poem – books are filled with secrets for us to realize. These are secrets about ourselves. These secrets tell us about who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going.
One day I will not be here, or you will not be here, but this ‘book of secrets’ will still be here. And inside this book will be our story. About all the struggles we have endured. All the happiness we have felt. We are the character of our own novels. Our lives are just stories. And unlike us, these stories will never die. We leave this world, we leave behind to story of our life.
God has given us a mind by which we understand, and an imagination by which we create. And just as God has given us his books – the Quran, the Bible, the Torah – we have written our own books. We have created stories, poems, philosophies and art that communicate our ideas, values and beliefs. We have written books that document our history, and open our minds and imaginations. Every time I write or read a poem, I understand a little bit more who I am and where my place is in the universe. Books contain idea, and ideas help us understand and create change, and this helps us live better, more fulfilling lives.
Please read this book, and many others. Please write your own story, discover you own “secrets”. A poet that I read when I was young wrote: Why worry? We are but leaves rustling on a tree. Let the tree worry.
I am who I am because of you and mom. If you ever doubt the impact you have had on the world, you need only to look at me. My success is your success. This is a debt I can never repay.

Your son,
Jehangir