Books offer amazing gifts in so many ways. I know many book lovers who are saddened that the evening is the only time that they have to read. Unfortunately, they relish a few pages but then are consumed by sleep. I truly believe that this is not the sign of a poor book or storyline that has bored one into a blurry eyes coma. Instead, these books offer us the opportunity for a calm and quiet moment that is often hard to find in our world of connectivity. We focus our mind on the words and their meaning while the rest of the senses are given a much-needed respite. We do not hear with our ears, smell with our nose or even truly feel the texture of soft, cool grass tickling our toes. All of our senses can rest as our mind transports us to another place and time. And in most cases, the body finally has the opportunity to slow down and realize just how exhausted it has become. At that point, even the mind cannot counterbalance the weight of heavy eyelids falling. It is time to give our bodies the rest that they need. But it all started with the peace and calm that we found as we opened a book with our hands and allowed our mind to carry us inside the pages to discover their hidden secrets and wisdom.
I saw this neat little quip one day : Reading a book is dreaming with your eyes wide open….
That is so true Larry! Books can take you to new places far and wide, teach you anything that you have the desire to learn and provide you with a view of the world through the eyes of someone you would never otherwise even know existed. They are the connection to our past trials and successes as well as a peek into the future in some cases.
Kathy, you are such a blessing to me for putting into words something I truly never thought about as a lifelong lover of books, now wanting to read them all again, including new ones too appealing not to add to my growing collection. What this post has triggered for me is the realization that I will (1) strive to add reading time to my day when I am fresh and can sustain reading for longer than 10 minutes or 10 pages; and (2) think twice about buying a new book and if I can’t resist, pass on three books to our library for their used book sale. Sending you love, light and much appreciation, as always!!!!
Returning to the stillness in our inner being is returning home to our true nature. Let it be a book, a voice, a gentle light, whatever serves to extract us from the ongoing turbulence, that is our beacon.