Calamus Gladio Fortior.

I read a lot, mostly non-fiction. Every once and a while, I come across a written page (or series of) that forever changes my course; I equate it with those tiny intersections on the palm's life line. I picked this book up recently and the instant I started skimming the pages, I was affected by the relevance that it held with my own current personal battles.

In Russia circa 1882, Tolstoy's memoir discussing his struggles between belief in nothing vs. faith in something; a journey to understand the meaning of life, was subject of such controversy that it led to his eventual ex-communication from the Catholic church. What I have found is nothing less than a letter of recognition of sorts, a piece I feel has been written specifically for my guts to devour, my brains to absorb; one that defines my own internal conflicts, and couldn't hold more relevancy some 100 years after it was written.

- C.