Right now the world is kind of in shambles. It’s difficult to find anything noteworthy on the internet and everyone’s kind of in a panic the likes of which I’m sure most of us have never seen. The only natural disaster I have to juxtapose what Covid-19 has done to the nation is Katrina, and even that was regional.
In response to the mayhem going on everywhere, what I’ve found to be most calming is to spend some time actually searching out the good in the 24 hours we are allotted daily, especially between myself and others. Recently a brother of mine texted me out of the blue and asked me why was reading my hobby of choice and how had it added to my life. For me, moments like this mean so much to me, especially when they come from somebody that I respect as much as I respect this brother. So when they come, I zone out and try to give my response my undivided attention. So here are two of the ways reading has improved my quality of life that I shared with him.
Reading saved my life…
The very first thing I told him was that if you asked me reading saved my life. Since this conversation was taking place inside a text message thread, I was brief when it came to being expansive on just what that means. I’ve been reading almost as long as I’ve had the ability to speak. When my mother taught me how to do it, I pretty much ran with it. I would read all the time, so much so that I can remember her saying she couldn’t confine me to my room during punishments because she knew that I would just be in there escaping through the words I held so dear.
As I got older, I got more involved in the world and finding my way in it. I strayed away from books and found myself really straying away from the path and it showed. Once I regained knowledge of self and began to study myself, I noticed that it was through books that rebalanced me and gave me the focus I needed to become who I wanted to be. Will Smith always says there are two things that have proved to be transformative to him: running and reading. If you can silence your mind when it tries to get you to stop running then you’ve begun to master yourself and if you find that you have a problem, you can rest assure that there has been someone throughout history who has written about it.
It slows down time…
Another thing that reading provides is a process that’s a lot like meditation. For me, reading slows down time in a world that really doesn’t appreciate it. Before I returned to reading, I was just as much apart of the hustle and bustle of the world. I wasted countless hours watching tv, using social media and little to no time actual creating something of substance. Not only did reading force me to take time to sit and be with my thoughts, it also granted me with thoughts to hone in on. Reading allowed me time to wrap my mind around concepts that I couldn’t find anywhere else except within the pages of the tomes left to me by those who gave of their time to create the books I devoured. I began to be able to pull from them like Will Smith alluded to and add to the universe what I wanted. Once you’ve made a choice like that, you’ll find that the universe becomes water and moves to make way for you.
Reading equals knowledge and the possibility to properly apply that knowledge to advance yourself and those around you. Ultimately that was the last and final idea that me and my brother expounded on and I’d like to know what you guys think about that statement? Chime in and join my #QuarantineAndBuild hashtag on my IG page!
