Change Your Life Through Reading

I have crouched behind an overturned table in a dark, damp castle in Scotland, and watched as Queen Mary’s faithful friend and advisor is brutally stabbed by her own husband. I have hurtled through the streets of Paris on the back of a moped with an opera diva’s stolen evening gown flapping in the breeze behind me. I have zoomed through space at warp 9, watching the stars flying by, sitting next to the dashing Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I have observed long lost lovers discovering each other again after 20 long years of separation. I owe all of these experiences to the simple act of picking up a book and taking the time to read it. I have a passion for reading and believe that is an under-utilized method to enhance your personal and professional life. There are four distinct benefits that come from reading for pleasure, not to mention the joy and satisfaction that comes from the experience itself.

Reading is about the power of words. Words can transport us, uplift us, give us the power to explain, negotiate, and describe. Words can be the difference between interesting and spellbinding. Words that transport us to another time or place have the power to take us away from our tense and overwhelming worlds, even if just for a little while. Uplifting words peppered throughout a story or a novel can have a fantastic effect on how we feel: exalted, exuberant, glorious, triumphant. Take a moment to say those four words, slowly, enunciating each syllable. How do you feel when you say them?

Words describe colors, smells, sounds, surroundings, feelings, and conditions. Sizzle. Can you smell the bacon frying? Or maybe you feel the steam coming up from the street on a hot and humid day. You may have even thought of something that made you sizzle with pleasure or with anger. Aquamarine, putrid, savory, sparkling, murky. Can you see it? Can you smell it? These are a few examples that demonstrate the true power of the written and spoken word. Think about how reading one book could increase your power to describe, explain, or negotiate. Reading increases your vocabulary.

Read for pleasure and relax.

Credit: Chris Amisano

Copyright: Chris Amisano