Christmas comes in 2 days so likely I’m too late with this entreaty, but perhaps you will consider it for a post-Christmas surprise.
Buy books for those you love. Buy books to treat yourself. Put your phone in a cabinet, your iPad in a closet, turn the TV off, give your headphones to the dog. Read books and encourage others to read them as well.
Let me go to another level. Read fiction, poetry, history, biography and memoirs. Read books that challenge your intellect and heart. Read books that are rich in stories.
Stories both take us out of our lives to show us the lived experience of other people and also encourage us to contemplate our lives in comparison with the experiences of others.
In that thoughtful, soundless space they create, books tell us who we are by challenging our preconceived ideas and asking us to stay with those challenges over time, without distractions. Books stimulate our thinking while also sharpening that process.
Books incline us towards quiet. Instead of the relentless assault of the electronic world on our peace and our ability to concentrate, books take us inside ourselves at the same time they are imaginatively connecting us to infinity. Our imaginations are so much more powerful and possess a greater magnitude of scale than anything manufactured in the ether.
Have a lovely Christmas, a peaceful Hanukkah, and a restful week. Pick up a book and reimagine the world and your life within it.
