The Magic of Reading
As many of you know from living though it, this week Texas experienced a snow storm that wiped out power all across the state. Most homes experienced a lack of running water and power at some point during this past week. It was not only physically trying for us Southerners but a mental challenge. Our homes here are built for warm weather. We do not have insulation, wood burning fireplaces and snow plows. Essentially most businesses were competely shut down. Even mail stopped running this week. It was a doozy if I’ve ever seen one. But Texans are pretty creative souls and amidst the insane weather we found ways to make memories and find humor. For myself, it involved getting lost in printed books and magazines.
The first two days of Snowmaggedon were pretty fun. The snow came down in pretty flurries, we went sledding on top of storage lids and many used laundry baskets to race down hills. It was like being on vacation but then things started going downhill in a not so fun way. Copper plumbing in many homes burst flooding the interiors and causing damage. Roads turned from snow to ice as temperatures continued to drop. It was intense. There was a power and water shortage on top of all the damage that occurred. By day four I felt pretty stressed myself and after a good workout I decided to pull out printed materials and get lost in my imagination.
Since I was a little girl books provided me an escape. We moved a lot growing up because my dad was in the military and spent tons of time in transit. I remember being six years old and when we arrived in Germany we had three tv channels that spoke English. Similarly when I was in High School we moved to Asia and there was limited tv. My sister and I grew up playing countless hours of board games and dolls together but when we were exhausted from that I would sneak of to my room and pull out a good book. Hard back binding and crisp pages with printed lettering took me away from the concrete walls of military housing and provided an outlet for my imagination. To this day, whenever I feel lost or down I pull out my favorite books and am instantly transported out of my current environment.
Some of my favorites are classics like Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, The Giver, and A Wrinkle in Time. Other favorites include The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, and 1984. When I’m in need of something more spiritual I always open the trilogy of Conversations With God which offers a deeper insight to metaphysics and the role of our unconscious in a present world. I’ve underlined so much throughout the course of the past 14 years in this single book. A few other favorites include the Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer and Your Roadmap to Success by John Maxwell. When you are focused on improvement and gratitude it seems like the worst of conditions can be dealt with.
What inspires you? What makes you forget about your current world and take you a million miles away? Whether you are enduring a snowpacalypse or just stuck deal with the global pandemic at home… we all have challenges and struggles. How are you going to condition your mind?
