My Interpretation: You..yes..yes "You", You are going to die someday, eventually we all are -Kaboommmm!! and everything will be over. Just like breathing we take most of the significant things in life for granted until we reach to that point in life where we long for it - but the time has long gone. Reading is one such tool that helps carve the Greatness that lies deep within everyone of us.
It's one of those skills we all have, right from the time we started reading those stupid signs/expressions - all the people around us made when we were busy sightseeing from our cradle.
Phew!! this philosophy gets the better of me always, so before you guys fall asleep - let me list down a few reasons to emphasize the importance of reading.
1. Discover a whole new world
We all are over burdened in one way or another which gives us little room to replenish our mind with new surroundings. Not everyone can afford a lavish vacation in the bahamas or enjoy the mystical sunset while floating on a gandola in Italy - so does that mean we cannot really explore new worlds, Hell yeah !!We can. We all have access to that indigenious magical carpet on which we can glide over the world as & when we choose,glide through mountains, sometimes dense forests, sometimes in a land far far away.This magic carpet is also known by another familiar name called"BOOKS". Wow, my moms going to be so happy when she reads this :) Books allow us to be in two worlds at one time, you maybe travelling back home after a busy day in a crowded train or a bus whereas at the same time your mind maybe witnessing the story of a shepherd attending to his sheep in a breezy, soothing farmland far far away. Books have the potential to create wonders, they can really work as catalysts in cheering us up or raising our spirits when we least expect.
2. Repairing that Inner bridge
Its believed that as kids- we were more attentive, more connected to our soul. As we grow up, somehow - somewhere down the line this connection starts getting blurr till we reach a point where it completely shuts. Reason: we start focussing on tangible possessions to derive happiness,peace or content. When you're reading, all the senses in your body automatically focus in the direction of your thoughts guided by the imaginary world built by those words. When you're reading, you're mind is at peace because its not running in 100 directions at once. There are times, some parts of a book actually make you realise every breath you inhale & exhale, make you conscious of the inner silence that the body desperately deserves in order to rebuild/repair that bridge with the soul. It'll be rare that after reading a book will you ever feel disappointed or left down - most of the time i promise you that it will only rejuvenate you.
3. Enhances creativity & thought process
Books as most of you will agree are a seperate world within themselves. I am not trying to promote any particular genre of reading nor any author in person but every book has a uinque universe, each book has something or the other that you can take away from. Reading expands that box we have created inside our head & boosts creativity in a way of generating new ideas, tackling an existing problem with a brand new approach or simply(like in my case) help to break certain notions that may or may not have been true.
4. Self Improvement
Now, now.. dont expect yourself to transform into Einstein or something after reading, god knows how many books you'll have to read to reach there :) The point i am trying to make here is reading only enhances or improvises you. At the end of each reading session, you are more knowledgable than you were before - its like upgrading yourself no matter how slowly but regularly upgrading to a better version.
5. Confidence
At times in school or college, i hated myself when i was surrounded by those Smart little Complan boys & girls who had more to discuss on a topic than the textbook itself. The inability to participate in any of those conversations really hit my self confidence at times but i learned sooner or later that you dont have to open your mouth everytime & everywhere(No offence to all those Mr.& Mrs.Gossip - we still love you). Reading a certain subject, article or a book also helps you participate in such discussions that will definitely boost your confidence. Imagine a situation, when the girl next door talks about reading that one book she just finished & you're busy grinning with all might just because you know its going to be a long long coversation :)
6. Real life experience
Biographies, travel adventures, how to survive in a desert etc etc.. all these books have rich content & experience that will take ages if we had to learn them first hand. In a biography of any iconic person, there are so many takeaways that can be applied to our daily lives. Indeed, no book knowledge compares to the real experiences of life.. but a little guidance will only do good than bad. Life may look too long but its really short to repeat the mistakes that have been penned down in such autobiographies. Rags to Riches stories may sound like fairytales at times but they indeed guide you through your chosen path.
Reading is a very important exercise as it develops the mind. The mind is a muscle & hence it needs exercise as well. You dont have to start reading becuase someone told you to, read only if you want to. I hope this post motivates atleast a few of the readers to inculcate this beautiful habit,it has done wonders to my life .. I hope it does to your's as well.Since i started the post with a quote, its only appropriate i end it with another - so here goes:
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
― Joseph Brodsky
