There Are Rivers in the Sky

by Elif Shafak

Home is where your absence is felt, the echo of your voice kept alive, no matter how long you have been away or how far you may have strayed, a place that still beats with the pulse of your heart.

Mesopotamian lore understands that water is the defining force of life. Trees are “rooted water,” streams are “flowing water,” birds are “flying water,” mountains are “rising water,” and, as for humans, they are, and will always be, “warring water,” never at peace.

In the end, perhaps what separates one individual from another is not talent but passion.

And what is passion if not a restlessness of the heart, an intense yearning to surpass your limits, like a river overflowing its banks?