Refuge. Inspiration. Love
Three Ephemeral Reasons For Reading
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Loneliness, in moderation, can be a blessing. Everyday for sixty minutes at least, I seek a solitary refuge in reading. Beyond just a hobby, reading is a deeper expression of my self. It inspires me to dream and to never forget that I can make a difference. The world is not just a realm of reason but also a figment of an imagination. At times, my normal life becomes a metaphorical hammer that wants to drive nails in a casket with my imagination entombed in it. I suspect these feelings are not solitary. For a lot of occasional misfits like me, words offer comfort and love like no other instrument in this world. Perhaps, not even humans. I am not describing a delusional darkness. I am describing a regular succor. This article explores three reasons why readers around the world enjoy reading. In doing so, it also provides examples of great books to read.
Of Jibes At Social Gatherings
You overrate my capacity of love. I don’t posess half the warmth of nature you believe me to have. An unprotected childhood in a cold world has beaten gentleness out of me — Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd
I am sure no one is born acquiring the age old wisdom that says “if you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all”. And so it goes, we frequently take jibes at others in order to temporarily feel good about our own life. It is a tempting activity.
“The glass is half empty!”, “you are short”, “you need to do this better!”, blah, blah, another jibe, blah and blah. We have all been there before.
The inner anguish a child faces can be similar to the feeling that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein would have felt if he was living among mortals. I could also imagine Alice in Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland. She disappeared in a rabbit hole that made her feel alive again. Suffice it to say, everyone needs a place they can belong to without putting on any pretenses. Reading, then becomes a refuge for those seeking solace and freedom from judgement.
