Grateful for Books

I am grateful for books. I am privileged not only to have the resources to buy and access them but moreover, the leisure time to read them. Lest I forget, leisure is the ultimate luxury. The time I have for books is precious, being both for pleasure and education. I am grateful for the teaching properties of books; that I may extend my thinking beyond its provinciality, this narrow slice of life I call reality. If there is a window into other ways of life, then books are that window. Through books, I can see the world through the author's lens, magnified by the context of his time, place, and beliefs. I have the chance to feel the world as he felt. Embedded between the pages are more than words fortified by ink. There lies a mind, dedicated to its craft, willing to share that which it thinks is worth writing, to me. I have in my hands that mind, that distilled knowledge, but knowledge insofar as I am capable of embracing it, if I can suspend my flow of thought and just listen. It’s a chance to know more. It’s a chance to know again.

I am grateful for books.