Dragonsong, the Sweet, Simple Book that Changed my View of the World, Reality, and Everything in it

Dragonsong, by Anne McCaffrey. It's just a fun young adult short novel about dragons and the usual "coming of age" themes you find in most novels for teens.

But it did change me.

Dragonsong introduced me to the world of science fiction, which started me down the road to questioning reality, the universe, religion, what it is to be human, and my place in the world.

While Dragonsong seems to be your typical fantasy, the series slowly leads into a backstory of real science fiction, especially genetic engineering, AI, Terraforming and many of the other genre basics.

Being my introduction at a young age to these foreign concepts, it fascinated me and led me to deeper books that really get to the heart of the basic questions.

Who AM I, and what the heck am I doing here? And what really, is "here" anyway?

Four decades later, the book is still on my shelf, but I have come a very long way in those 40 years.

I have read hundreds of books relating to the basic issues brought up in science fiction.

Reading, coupled with years of thought and personal experiences that defy logic and can only be called spiritual in nature, I have questioned every aspect of human existence that I have knowledge of.

And I say that because I've begun to realize that "this", whatever our reality is and what we can comprehend, is only the tip of the iceberg.

We are like ants, with limited minds, and ignorance of what is going on in a wider world we can't even see.

Recently, I experienced something that I can't explain. A bare glimpse of something about our environment that we can't see. At least, not yet.

I think that when we question things, and KEEP questioning things, we begin to get answers. Real ones.

I don't think the larger world is "out there" It's not really inside, either, like mystics say.

It is right here, alongside us. We just can't see it.

I think we will in time. I think we are starting to see it now.