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(NOTE: This is an adaptation of a post from May, 2006…when I blogged a lot more regularly and rather well at times! The re-post is occasioned by a reading tear I’ve been on this month. Be gentle.)
May has brought about a kind of “renaissance” in my attitude and in my take on things.
One of the new commitments I’ve made is to get serious about reading again. I’ve always loved books, and I want to keep up with the latest/coolest/hippest/hottest books that people in my field and in the world are reading.
But my commitment to getting serious again about reading is also due to a desire to read books that have indicated and influenced the human condition over the centuries.
I sat down and thought about this whole “renaissance” thing a couple of nights ago, and this is what fell out of my Moleskine…
Why I’m Getting Serious About Reading…
- I’m reading for my ego. For someone who’s supposedly “educated,” for someone who prides himself on being knowledgeable, I sure don’t know a whole lot!
- I’m reading for my mind. I want to be intellectually stimulated, to get in contact with the Great Themes, the Great Ideas, the Great Thinkers, who have molded, shaped and influenced the world with their ideas and words!
- I’m reading for my writing. I’ve always wanted to write, and in the past at least, I’ve been pretty decent at it. To put words on paper, to follow the Great Tradition of writing, to sharpen my meager attempts at the craft of writing: these benefits come partly from reading.
- I’m reading for my heart. I want to feel deeply the pull and tug, the ebb and flow of powerful ideas and stories.
- I’m reading for my spirit. I want to soar, to get more in touch with God and His world. I want to hold up the mirrors that have reflected the human spirit, as it is and as it could be. And I want to be better for it.
Do you read? Why not? What are you reading right now? How is what you’re reading influencing your life? Jump in!