Reading, Absorbing, Retaining
We were discussing books and one of my friends said wistfully, “I like what I am reading, but I don’t know how much of it I will be able to retain afterwards.”
The rest of us nodded. It is a problem and one that I have yearned to be better at too. How marvelous it would be to quote with ease from our various influences! The internet truly is a savior for folks like me who have a vague idea. I don’t think stunning speeches are made by saying things like: “Remember that saying by Shakespeare where he said something about wise men knowing they are fools, and fools being very sure of their awesomeness? Or something like that?”
Aah….here it is:
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”. – Shakespeare
So, it is with knowledge. The more one yearns to learn about the world around us, the universe, and the lives we lead within it, the more one realizes how little one actually knows. There is no surer path to humility than learning.
“Even if that is the case, I suppose we retain things that appeal to us subconsciously.” I said.
The conversation meandered after that but I found myself thinking back to that statement. It was true enough.
The OverStory – Subtle Influences
I read The OverStory by Richard Powers a few years ago, and loved many aspects of the book – its lyrical language, the poetry of the trees, the rich interweaving of nature in its stories etc so much that I wanted to read it again with my book club. It is when I started it again that I realized the Hoel family tradition of photographing their old chestnut tree must have appealed to me. Why else would we have started taking photographs of this particularly gorgeous maple tree every fall? I did not even realize this till we started re-reading the book, and I visualized the hundreds of pictures taken generation after generation. The only surviving chestnut tree for hundreds of miles in every direction.
There is a timeless charm to a tradition like that.
Reading is a critical part of Becoming
Reading is a critical part of Becoming. Things we read voluntarily, can influence how we think. The characters in stories that appeal to us? They appeal to us for a reason. The actions of flawed individuals? They appeal to us for a reason – maybe we learn to be more forgiving towards follies – our own and of others when we catch them.
There are many studies proving fiction readers were generally more empathetic.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/
Read Across America Week
It is Read Across America Week in schools honoring Dr Seuss’s birthday, and I found myself loving the rich world of stories once more. We each have a world of stories within us – stories that shaped our beliefs, joyously transported us to different realms, acted as escape mechanisms at times, stress busters at others, and just a marvelous source of shoshin otherwise.
Languages all over the world have a phrase or word for the vastness of knowledge, and I suppose I am grateful for it all.
Anantha gyana, gewaltiger umfang, enorm kunnskap, Abhijñā
Happy Read Across America Week – may we all read more about hopeful, brave, courageous, witty, humourous, compassionate, kind, vibrant personalities, and become like them.
Nourish-n-Cherish 