Be humble

I have noticed that people who are reading have a propensity to praise this activity, and I could get why, because there is a great deal of information which is gathered via books, and a lot of it is useful. Besides, and most importantly, a work of literature might represent a portal to another world, an escape from the cruel, unfair, brutal at times reality with which it is difficult to cope. In my case, during teenage, I was struggling with depression and a severe form of insomnia, from whose excruciating pain I could not be free except by immersing myself in the world of an adventure, sci-fi novel. Sure, my vocabulary was extending and I was learning multiple interesting things, meanwhile losing more and more the contact with the practical aspects of life, issue of which I became aware significantly after my 20’s when I stopped to read voraciously and grew down to earth, acquiring a precious state of inner peace of which I wouldn’t have dared even to dream, although before I had kept leading a miserable existence only in an ivory tower. So the important element here is to have balance and to learn that your mind needs to have some rest, and it gives signs to slow down whenever this activity isn’t enjoyable any more. And I do not think that I am surprising anyone by saying that books, even the most beloved, can lose their cham for a while, telling you that you must make a pause.

Another problem reminiscent of the previous one is the fact that, as I noticed observing myself and other intellectual people is that we tend to have a condescending attitude towards those who do not share this passion, sometimes even despise them, which represents drag for us, because we might be isolated, anxious of the presence of other persons in whom we do not see a kindred spirit, and so we are not only bolstering our pain but more importantly depriving ourselves of a very deep, fascinating facet of the world which is the social interaction in its totality, not merely restricted to nerds. Also, we have to pay more attention to the whole universe and discover the exquisite pleasures of the contemplation.

I realise that my advice is far easier said than done and I fail to implement most of the time due to the routine or other petty excuse, but that’s not the point that I want to make here. What I am trying to get to is the idea that, ultimately, literature is just another art form, and we should not rely on it too much. Being human and compassionate matters most. And I learned all this both through reading and experience, unable however to reach to the definitive conclusion until I had the guts to question my adored books and live independently from their influence for a while, which had seemed impossible and unnecessary before.