How many of you read actual books anymore? If you’re like me, you spend most of your time trolling the Internet, reading articles of depressing current events or watching viral videos. We need a shift in how we’re using and exercising our minds. After your day to day, it’s easy to get lost in the interwebs, but it’s much better to get lost in a book. I remember loving to read, but somehow life took that away from me, and many of you. It’s time to get that sacred place of relaxation and imagination back.
I spend so many hours staring at a screen that I don’t understand why I want to stare at it any more when I come home. Sure, I have to use my computer to write my blogs, but do I really need to scan through Facebook, Pinterest, Google News… etc.? Is this mindless “reading†exercising my brain? Am I gaining anything from it? Maybe… but it could be absorbing more. As someone who works in film and TV, I love a good story and to be transported.
Reading makes you a better writer, it expands your vocabulary and it helps you relax. Reading allows you to paint your own picture from your interpretation of the words. I believe that reading keeps our inner child alive. It fuels your curiosity. With all this being said, who feels guilty for sitting down with a book for hours a day? I know something in me says, “There are other things you could be doingâ€, but then I think about all the other things I normally do and I feel pretty dumb. I choose TV and Internet over books. That makes me incredibly sad.
So here is my proposition. After work, dinner, your favorite TV shows, or whatever you do at night, I want you to sit on the couch or in bed, and read for one hour. Make it part of your nightly ritual. On the weekends, take your book outside and read in nature. Let the silence around you soothe you as the words jump off the page and the characters speak in your head. Reading is a great way to take care of your mind. You work it so hard all day, give it some time to dream, create, and learn for its own benefit.
