My trip last week to the bookstore, one of the coolest places on earth, made me remember my childhood moments. Back then, I thought reading would just bore me. I would rather play with video games and dolls than read. When people around me started reading books, newspapers and magazines, I wondered how it felt to glance through pages with no pictures at all.
I challenged myself to try reading as I grew up, and noticed that I wasn’t bored. Aside from reading’s effect on mental development, I found that it also shapes emotional maturity. Here are what some famous writers say about what reading can do for you.
“We read to know we are not alone.”—C.S. Lewis. One of François de La Rochefoucauld’s maxims reads, “We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.” That is, if we have problems, we tend to look at the bigger troubles of others to make us feel better. This is common human behavior to ease personal pain. If we have problems, it also helps when we read books or true-to-life accounts in newspapers or magazines. We find out that characters or other people have bigger problems than us, and we learn that somehow, we are not alone in our loneliness, and if they can endure and solve problems, we can, too.
A few nights ago, I listened to a radio program where the host was repeatedly cursing the caller because of her confessed love problem. If that makes you feel better, and if you feel that it’s constructive criticism, okay. But instead of shaming yourself by letting a DJ curse you on air for confessing how you feel, try reading about love and heartaches instead because it may help ease the pain. Somehow, we discover that we can pick up the missing pieces of our broken hearts again, and maybe, move on as the character moved on.
Reading during dull moments of the day lessens wasted moments in our lives. I come across people who read in the library during break time, people who bring their favorite book to coffee shops, and people who read self-help or inspirational books, and others who read horror books for a thrill. They say they are able to direct movies in their head.
Ticket to everywhere
As Mary Schmich said, “Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” Reading adds to the social well-being of a person. It is hard when people talk about something and you cannot relate. It creates a feeling of being left out. If we have knowledge about what is happening in the world, and if we know about current situations or trends, we will also know how to argue to defend our principles. And with the rapid change in fashion and style, reading can help us keep up with what is new.
Knowledge and humor acquired from reading can make a person look good. A professor once told us a joke about courtship. If a man tries to court a lady, it helps when he knows a lot of things. He even joked, “You will always have something to say when you are talking to a good-looking person.”
Reading can help you create a better world. My friends and I interviewed a health reporter, and one of the many insights she shared with us that struck me most was, “Other jobs can be lucrative. You can be earning that much, but you are not happy. And you can’t make a difference.”
Some articles and stories really make a difference. We learn what to do and what to avoid. We’ll also know when to help, and when to help ourselves, as well.
