How Reading Changes Our Understanding of the World

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.

🌲🌳🌴🎋Magic So Sublime 🌲🌳🌴🎋

“Do you see anything dramatically different today?” I quizzed the husband. He looked around him. We were standing outside the home before setting off on a walk. He looked blank, looked around, and then settled for his safe-bet. “Did you cut your hair? It looks good!”

I rolled my eyes. Honestly! 

“Nice try, but no!” Then, taking pity on him, I gave him a hint. “It is more to do with the immediate surroundings.”

He paused, looking up at the roof. Yesterday’s rains had us both rattled a bit. It isn’t often that we get up to the sounds of heavy rains lashing against our windows. It is a beautiful sensation, but a little fraught for us this time, since the last time, we found a pool of water had managed to seep in. This, after the roof repairman had stomped on the ceiling repairing things for sometime already. 

“Not the roof either! Look at the flora and fauna.” I said.

“Ahh – okay – that is easy.” Then went on to gabble on about flowers blooming, some plant surviving till I stopped his rambling, and said, “It is okay to give up, you know?”  

Then, with a dramatic flair, I pointed to the cherry blossom tree that only a day ago was fully white filled with blossoms. To be fair, I did not see it while it was raining. But one day later, it was there fully clothed in fresh green leaves – not traces of the tree in full bloom from just a day ago. 

How I wish the tree would tell us when it would do this? I would love to just set up a time-lapse video and sit watching it in slow rapture. When do you think the leaves actually sprout? Has anybody actually seen a leaf grow? This has to be some of the most sublime magic on the planet. 

🌸🌸🌸 Oubaitori in Spring Time 🌸🌸🌸

I felt a pang for the beautiful blooms of that tree – gone so quickly and completely, and then remembered that a month ago, it was bereft – a tree in abscission. Beautiful in its starkness, then resplendent in its white blossoms, and now lovely in its fresh greens. It is no wonder that cherry blossoms have captured the hearts and minds of philosophers for centuries – the simple lessons of enjoying the beauty of the moment, the oubaitori to bloom and sprout at your own pace.

Witnessing Nature: A Baby Egret’s Journey to Independence

 

No swimming No diving No fishing

The sign that greets the visitor to the riverside can be daunting. 

If one wonders why they never heard the whooshing sounds of the gushing river waters as they made their way up to the riverside, it is because there usually isn’t any. The mighty river retains its classification by becoming a river for about three days a year when there is heavy rainfall. Like a courtly princess who only dresses in regalia at Christmas.

The rest of the year, it trickles like a stream, while the major portion of the riverbed is lush with vegetation. It is the teeming home to plenty of wildlife – deer, blue herons, geese, coots, ducks, grebes, red tailed hawks, blackbirds, egrets, harriers, turkeys, turkey vultures, owls, wild cats, squirrels, rabbits, the occasional fox or coyote, possibly small snakes and fish in the simmering strip of waters. 

The trail by the riverside is, however, a charming place and one that always manages to lift your spirit. The stirrings of spring are in the air all around us, and we decided to go for a run / walk / bike / drive (No guesses for matching the family member with mode of transport ) to enjoy the river. Pale pink and white cherry blossoms on thick dark brown branches, clusters of chamomile in gardens, squirrels bustling up and down garden fences and hugging trees, geese squawking their way out in the world. It is a beautiful world and one that can ensure one forgets all the breaking news if only for the hour or so by the riverside.

An Egret’s Dash For Independence

A few minutes into the run, I watched fascinated as a baby egret chick stood by its mother in the marshy waters. Even in my first glimpse, my heart leaped, for the egret chick showed a fierce determination for independence. It edged away – throwing a look towards its mother, and the mother let her (or him) go. By this time, I had jogged on a bit, and the egret chick had clearly had enough of waddling away from its watchful parent and took to flying. The mother let it go, and then followed a few minutes later, setting herself down a little further upstream so she could keep an eye on the little one. It was a charming scene, and the egret and the watchful mother kept me entranced for several minutes. 

There is so much to learn from springtime with regards to parenting. Nest building is happening in earnest, and it is a common sight to watch a crow or a wren pick up some twigs to line their little nest. The geese will have their goslings soon, and those are the best to watch. The same loud, sometimes rude geese, somehow have the most obedient goslings. 

I was attracted once again by the egret chick and found myself looking for the mother. This one had certainly taken off a ways, and I watched a little nervously as a rambunctious dog broke into a run and came careening into the riverbed. I almost stopped and called for the egret mother and urged the chick to run. But I needn’t have worried. Long before I saw the dog, the chick had heard, and flippantly flew across the stream landing elegantly on the opposite side. The egret’s mother flew by too, and went back to fishing a little further away. 

I was impressed – she kept an eye on her chick, gave it the space to learn to navigate danger, and kept giving the little one the space and security to grow. 

All was well. Everyone was having their fun, their adventure and their springtime joys. I smiled and peered ahead to see the son way ahead of me.

Did You Know? Fun Facts About Mailboxes and Family Humor

The husband had a Did-You-Know look on his face as we pulled out of the driveway on the way to school. The son was peering at him agog – the kinds of information these fellows find interesting is worth a list one day, but I shall leave it for now.

Ever since YouTube shorts and streaming services made everything from byte-sized to bit-sized I’ve been somewhat helpless at the enthusiasm for these Did-You-Know fests. Typically brain fuzz takes over as all sorts of things are bundled together and dumped my way. This is what it sounds like to me, when presented with facts related to cookies, Poland, lizards, ferns, and the first world war in one shot:

🦎Did you know a lizard can eat three cookies at a time if it suns itself for 4 hours a day? 

🪴Did you know that Poland’s alternate timeline means it could have produced hundreds of pteridomaniacs? (before the intelligentsia comes after me with pitchforks, I think that means people who love ferns) 

Still, stoic as ever, I said, lowering the car window even as we pulled out. “Just tell us quickly – we’re already late!”

He pointed in triumph to the red lever by the postbox. It was raised like a flag in protest. Upside down. “This is how to position the lever when you want to show that you have mail for the mailman to pick up. So, even if we don’t receive any mail, the postman or postwoman knows to open the mailbox and take the letter for delivery.”

Here’s What It Means When a Red Flag Is Up on a Mailbox – Reader’s Digest

The son looked awed. “Oh I didn’t know that!” The husband swelled with pride at a piece of useful information. 

“Me and my friends never knew that when we were little. So, we used to put the lever up on all the mailboxes in our street!”.

The husband and I felt a startled bubble of laughter escape almost simultaneously. Seriously! Children do the darndest things! 

I pulled out of the driveway still laughing and asked the fellow whether they just walked about lifting the red levers, and he gave me an offended scoff. “We weren’t that jobless!”

He must’ve seen my face for he said, “Okay we were – but no. We just used to do that as we ran around playing tag. Got to multi-task. That explains why the mailman was sometimes irritated with us huh?” he said, with a meditative glaze in his eyes.

“Yes – glad that was straightened out!”

The Mantra of Mass Misery

It was a beautiful weekend after a rushed week. On a whim, I decided on a walk by the bay. The waters of the bay with its myriad reflective powers, always helps to bring on the magic of expansive thinking. No two moments are the same here – the shimmering colours seldom fail to invoke that glimmering feeling of hope, the waves helping us think of the ebbs and flows of life. 

Meanwhile, out there, the world continued its dip further and further into its dystopian gloom, and I felt only something as powerful as nature itself would help. As I watched the birds titter and start their early morning songs, I mused on the callings of power. 

Promises, Promises

How ironical it was that every fascist dictator who came to power, rode on a promise of better times – often divisive slogans, and increased prosperity to certain segments, only to be followed by a regime running on a mantra of mass misery. 

After all, a prosperous populace is a demanding one. They want accountability, progress, intellectual discussions, better this and better that. They want to achieve prosperity, feel valued, etc – all the things abhorrent to total power. 

It isn’t even a month since the latest one assumed power and already society is reeling from the clutches of the many pronged tentacles of misery. It seems anything related to the finer and higher order thinking of humankind is not to be spared:  Art, education, humanitarian aid, medical aid, international peace. 

For once we get people worried about the daily grind, they would not have the power or splunk to protest, would they?  If they do, the next rule in their book states to create more and more distractions so that strife and misery are so widespread, no one is keeping track anymore. Keep moving their attention to the base of the pyramid.

It is astounding how so many fascists do not even bother to change that strategy, for it has worked every time throughout history. Every time the vulnerable and the gullible get taken in by promises of prosperity, till it comes back to bite them. Every time. 

“Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

While musing on the world’s spiral into fascism, my attention was brought back swiftly to the skies where a war was waging between a hawk and a couple of crows. Maybe the hawk had attempted to take a chick or attacked the crow’s nest, but the crows weren’t having it. If I hadn’t seen the savage anger and relentless driving away of the hawk by the crows, I might never have believed it.

Just like that, nature had shown the way out. Humans have spirit. We may not feel like we have much agency over what is happening now, but when things get out of hand, wouldn’t we, like the crows, rise against the hawks in our lives?

Understanding Neurodiversity: Books and Podcasts Guide

Helping Families Navigate Neurodiversity Disabilities

The latest episode on the podcast, Sitare Spotlight, aims at helping families navigate the many challenges and pitfalls when a child is diagnosed with a disorder on the neurodivergent spectrum.

Sitare Spotlight Ep.3: Sujatha Ranganathan on Navigating Neurodiversity Disabilities

Sujatha Ranganathan serves as a Board Chair on Family Resource Navigators(FRN) , a non-profit organization. FRN is a family to family agency serving families with special needs children in Alameda County. Family Resource Navigators works with families of children with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum and other disabilities.

For those of us wishing to understand more about the disabilities in the neurodivergent spectrum, here are a few resources that Sujatha recommends.   

Podcasts to support families with neurodivergent children:

  1. Turn Autism Around with Dr. Mary Barbera

Focuses on practical strategies for parents navigating early intervention, speech delays, and behavioral challenges.

2. Two Sides of the Spectrum

Hosted by an occupational therapist, this podcast challenges misconceptions and highlights neurodiverse perspectives.

3. Autism Parenting Secrets

A podcast designed for parents looking for actionable tips and advice on raising autistic children.

4. The Autism Helper Podcast

Hosted by a special education teacher, this podcast provides insights into behavior, communication, and educational strategies.

Books:

  1. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity – Steve Silberman

A deep dive into the history of autism, neurodiversity, and how society can better support individuals with autism.

2. Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism – Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D.

A strengths-based approach to understanding and supporting individuals with autism.

3. Parenting a Child with Autism: A Modern Guide to Understand and Empower Your Unique Child – BCBA Karen Kabaki-Sisto

Practical strategies for parenting an autistic child with a focus on communication and daily life.

Please listen to the podcast when you get the chance. It was a wonderful conversation in which I learnt so much from Sujatha’s journey. The community FRN helps create for families with family members in the neurodivergent spectrum is truly inspiring.

Exploring Handwriting: Cursive vs. Digital Age

Cursive superpowers

The white board was littered with alphabets and numbers. We were discussing the different ways in which people wrote their numerals or alphabets. 

“How come nobody seems to like cursive writing as much anymore?” I said, and off we went writing our little cursive numerals and alphabets like artists swirling their best hieroglyphic characters.

“Is that an ‘I’? Truly? I have never seen an ‘I’ like that before!”

“Wow – that ‘J’ is wild! No wonder teachers moved away from cursive. “

“Well, there is a lost skill – imagine the superpowers teachers had deciphering everyone’s handwriting and essays.”

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia anyone?

That was true. It is a superpower. Writing fast was a superpower too, one that was made easier with cursive. How beautifully could we go on in one pen stroke for a word like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? How many people suffered from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia back then compared to now (fear of long words!)?

“I think in terms of the keyboard locations when I spell a word.” said a much younger colleague, and I drew in a breath – the places where generational differences get you is truly mind-boggling. But then I realized their generation spent more time typing things out in word documents, or in chat screens than any other generation preceding it, and it was only natural for their brain to associate the keyboard with the spellings..

One person said that when they added numbers, they imagined them as dominoes being added together. “Were you a gamer?” 

“Yes!” they said, looking a little sheepish.

The Cognitive Processes of our Brains

Truly, the brain is such a multi-layered immensely capable and adaptable organ. Neuroscience must truly be fascinating to study and research. How many visual thinkers were there among other species? What percentage were analytical? Many would possess kinetic intelligence. Once we stop only thinking of the narrow spectrum of human intelligence, the world becomes that many dimensions more fascinating. I peered into the bookshelf at a book that has been on my tsundoku shelf for ages: ‘How the Brain Thinks’ and resolved to read it soon.

The picture of the brain was on the front, and I smiled as I thought of a friend who told me that they don’t like eating cauliflowers because it looks too much like the human brain. What was that type of thinking called? Visual or Associative.

A Reflection of The Rise and Fall of Tech Trends

Rise and Fall of Trends

“Well – sorry! That was a waste of time!” I said, looking a little sheepish. I had meandered through the walk with half-formed thoughts. Then I realized I had probably done what my writing process looks like – out loud. I had a vague nebulous idea and it sounded brilliant in my head, and by the time the walk was done, only a loving listener could have endured. Without the benefit of editing and moving sentences for clarity, it sounded terrible. When a friend suggested that I dictate my thoughts out to a vocal tonal converter, I was skeptical. Maybe this would become the next big thing, or it may be one of those things that fade out like the CD player (all the rage while it lasted and then sunk without longing)  

“In technology, buzzwords think they are all about being cool, but it really is just plain confusing! “ I said. “Really, two years ago, you thought you were a damp squib if you didn’t know this-or-that, now it is Agentic-AI-this and Kool-Aiding-AI-that.” 

Technology, Companies Vs Longevity 

The husband and I were discussing the rise and fall of great companies, right after the rise and fall of technological trends. It all started with the husband referring to a term that was popular all of two years ago, and was waning in popularity now, and I had blabbered on.

Tell the husband something like this, and he would launch into one of his explanations. I zoned out. We were out on a walk, and all of nature seemed to share a secret that we had long forgotten. There was more to life than technological advances. With technology, everything seemed to just become faster, and faster. The deer did not seem to have any of these problems. The river bank was green with grass after all. The next generation of deer probably just wish for the same thing: Give us green grass pastures and some space in which to raise our young.

Why were human-beings so finicky?

Book on reawakening after ages

“You know I cannot understand all these people who want to live forever and all that. I can barely keep up with the trends from yesteryear – why would you constantly feel like you have FOMO?” I said, invoking one of the terms of the college-going daughter (FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out).

I told him about a novelette I read recently, in which the hero and his family awoke after centuries and tried to figure out how they were to live. The whole time, I felt disconcerted. I feel disconcerted in rapidly growing cities – visiting after a few years of rapid growth can make you feel strange and lost, even if it was a street in which you roamed without needing maps previously. 

This need for billionaires to go into a cryogenic sleep, so they can revive when it is possible to live forever is a scary one. Would friendships be possible in your woken up world? Wouldn’t you miss your loved ones who accompanied you on your life’s journey?

I am fairly sure if I were to wake up today from just 25 years ago, I would be pretty lost. How to pay for things, how to listen to music, how to read? So many of these fundamental things have changed in the past two decades, imagine two centuries. 

With recent advances in technology, how many of the skills we pride ourselves on today would be obsolete? Art, writing, navigating: they are all up as potential candidates.

I tried explaining all of this to the husband and said, “Maybe there is a point to making the human brain gain clarity, but do you think we’d be any better?” I wondered how much longer I could go on walking – it was a beautiful night with breeze and stars after all.

The husband, wily man that he is, said with a smile, “Aah – another topic for another walk. Come in now!” and dragged me inside. Foiled in my ploy to take a longer walk. Again.

Knights of Rain

“Don’t you feel like a Knight of Rain?” I said. The words must have sounded somewhat garbled for the rains were lashing, the winds were whipping, and the trees were swaying somewhat alarmingly.

The husband shouted out a response lost to the elements. It sounded like ‘WHAT?!”

“I moved so I could use the wind’s direction to my advantage. “I said, don’t you feel like a Knight of the Rain?”

He lifted his umbrella momentarily to give me a withering look. A mistake. For the winds elegantly made an upside down lotus of the black umbrella he was holding, and he danced to right it again. I saw a neat few buckets of water making use of the interlude to rain its droplets all over him. 

I smiled. “Using our umbrellas as shields, we make our brave foray into the wild world frenzied up by the elements.”

I heard some grunting and tutting, but nothing more.

This year, the rains have been particularly sparse. Yesterday was only the second day of proper rainfall, and I’d yearned for it. Obviously not wanting to miss the fun, I dragged the husband along for a short stroll – in my defense it was not as bad when we started out. There were no warriors required then – merely prancers. Every little raindrop whispering its presence out to the world craving for its sound.

I’ve always loved the piece by YiruMa with the sound of the rain in the background.It feels like the magic was music was just waiting for that sound to make the transition from beautiful to sublime.

If They Could Do It, So Could We

🌲🌳🌴🎋 I peeked out from the umbrella at the branches of the pine trees and willow trees swaying and dancing in the rain, I felt the joy building up inside me – if they could do it, so could we! 

🦅🐿️🐦‍⬛🦢I heard the sound of the winds and the rains against our flimsy shields of cloth, and marveled at the wood ducks enjoying themselves in the waters. When the rains stopped, they took just shook themselves off, with a little dance, didn’t they? If they could do it, so could we!

🐳🐟🪼I felt the trickle of chill water droplets that managed to shimmy past my umbrella’s shield and my jacket’s hood to slide down my neck, and gurgled a bit. I peered out. Were we lost – where were we? If the lost fish could find their way to the streams, and the streams to the rivers, and the rivers to the mighty ocean, so could we!

Who needs raincoats when there are rain quotes?

When finally the pair of us stepped into the home, one euphoric, and the other helpless. “Wasn’t that the most marvelous walk in a long time?”  collided with “Only an idiot would step out in this weather.”. It was like watching hydrogen peroxide mix with yeast and water. The laughter shaking out of our systems with the rain droplets. 

“I need a change of clothes before heading out now.” he grumbled but I caught a smile, as he shook his head and said, “A walk in the rain!”

Who needs raincoats when one is busy looking for rain quotes?

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”

– Roger Miller

Sonder and Saudade: Reflections on Travel and Books

Sonder

Traveling anywhere in the holiday season brings this fact to the fore. Airports, railway stations, bus stops, freeways – every place is packed with people, more people and more and more people. It was faintly unnerving at times to see this many people out in the world, all seemingly busy doing their many things. How many of them thought deeply, what did they do to occupy themselves, earn a living, attend to their loved ones? How many of them were loving and giving, and how many selfish and cruel?

That feeling of realizing the sentience of our fellow beings can be especially acute when traveling in crowded places. There is a beautiful word for it: sonder.

But wherever you were: one thing was apparent. Business was thriving. Clothing stores, eateries, perfumeries, jewelry stores – they dotted every city, country and airport. One time, I remember gazing out the window as we rode from one end to the diagonally opposite end of the city, and seeing shops after shops after shops. There was an apparent unending need for clothing and electronics, for consumption. One cannot help wondering about the ecological impact of all this, but there you are. ‘Better’ means the old has to go somewhere, and make place for the new. Maybe the next wave of innovations will be in making biodegradable plastics, electronics and clothing. After all, the waste that we are generating now can hardly be a scalable problem.

Lack of book stores in all the airports, cities

Even as I gazed out through the window taking in the local sights though, one thing sent a pang through me: the lack of bookstores anywhere was truly tragic. I felt their absence keenly. I had asked my siblings to fit in a visit to the bookstore. The only one in the vicinity was a little like a wild goose chase. The shop had moved they said, you cannot see the billboard from road they said. When finally, we found it, the reason was apparent. It was tucked away underground, as if hidden away from population. Only if you truly had the magical three things, could you find it: the will, the means, and the luck.

The bookstore had a passionate but regretful owner. “No space madam. Only so many books!” He said, gesturing apologetically to the small collection he had. To be fair, the little store had a fair amount of shelf space for children’s books (maybe those are the ones people are actually buying), but other fare was slim pickings. They were a few translated classics (which was a new section I admit) – it was heartening to see A Hundred Years of Solitude translated into Tamil. We picked up some books including a Tamil version of 1984 to donate to our local library in the USA.

The Hidden Bookshops of Timbuktu

But it all felt like the hidden bookshops of Timbuktu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu_Manuscripts

How many malls, streets covered with stores, and yet for intellectual stimulation, one had to either go scrounging or online? It was the same in many airports too. Perfumes, alcohol, watches, jewelry, clothing, chocolates, coffee, burgers: you could find these everywhere you turned, but good old fashioned books were tucked away in a corner (if at all), and hard to find.

What would it take for every coffee store, every clothing store, every jewelry store to have a reading nook that people could browse and buy books if they wanted? Wouldn’t that be marvelous? A tiny art nook that one could spend time creating their own art and craft while others shopped? I know reluctant shoppers would gladly accompany their friends and family if they could be tempted with the right incentives.

Was that utopian thinking?

Image: The beautiful hotel in which we stayed in Zurich that had a large marvelous library in its lobby. My heart sang, my spirits danced, and my soul settled, here in the presence of greatness!

Saudade

Our own town in US lost its bookstores to the great Amazonian sweep a decade ago. But luckily stores like Target or Costco still have a small pecking section for those really wanting to buy books or see them before picking them up.

Oh books! When did you go from being ubiquitous to precious to rare?

Could this be referred to as Saudade? That feeling or yearning for lost experiences?