WHEN YOUR MIND SEEMS TIRED AND DRY …
It was my favorite pastime during the summer months. Sitting under the huge willow tree in the front yard and reading. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy hanging out with my best friends, or going to the park or the pool, or riding my bike all over the city. Of course I enjoyed those things. But there was something special about getting lost in a good story.
The Count of Monte Cristo.
Mysterious
War and Peace. (Yes, that War and Peace and yes, I actually enjoyed it.)
They brought me to new lands, drew me into new experiences and deepened my love for good stories.
The years past, I grew up, and many things have changed.
I’ve lived in cities big and small from coast to coast and border to border. I’ve lived in houses and apartments, also big and small, some with yards and some “without” (the kind that belong to everyone and no one, including their dogs who for some reason believed that the best place to poop was wherever I wanted to relax).
I currently live in a nice home with a big yard. No huge willow tree but plenty of pines and a bevy of other trees and brush to keep me and the wildlife feeling relaxed on warm, sunny days.
Over the years, while my library still holds the old classics, mostly collecting dust on the top shelves, the new books dominate the eye-level shelves. Business and management, health and wellness, faith and spiritual growth crowd the hand-built, long wall-length library. Where once my collection was the catalyst for new ideas and deep creativity, it has become more oriented to communication processes, business improvement practices and inspirational albeit practical applications for “a better life.”
Gone was the wonder of my youth and the notion that I could do anything.
Until I opened an old favorite.
“Are we rising again?” it began.
“No. On the contrary.”
“Are we descending?”
“Worse than that, captain; we are falling!”
And suddenly I was back on my way to Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island.
Do yourself a favor.
Read a book.
Preferably something fiction. Something that renews your sense of marvel, curiosity and sensation.
Your mind and soul will appreciate the diversion from the sometimes harsh realities of life.
Posts
Well Said! Recently having (finally!) read the Count of Monte Cristo (my dad's favorite from when he was a "kid"), I can (finally!) highly recommend it :)
ReplyDelete