If I had to choose between reading or writing you ask? In all probabilities I would choose reading. Even though both reading and writing share a deep connection.
Reading
Reading has helped me in becoming the person that I am. Books have shaped me, my thinking process, my world views. Reading has helped me form my opinion and perspectives about many a things of the physical as well as the metaphorical world. It has helped me escape from the harsh realities of life and spend a lot of my time in the fantastic wonderland of books. From Harry Potter, Narnia, Faraway Tree, Sweet Valley, Mills and Boons to Kite Runner, Interpreter of Maladies, Thousand splendid suns, The vegetarian, God of small things, Angels and Demons, they have all helped me grow. This was not even the tip of the iceberg in terms of my ARL(Already Read List), but its nearly impossible to enlist all of them here.
Stoicism
Nowadays I often find myself veering towards philosophical reads. That is definitely new for me. In particular, I am enchanted by the concept of Stoicism.
Stoicism is a type of philosophy founded in 3rd century BC, Greece by the great thinker Zeno. Gradually it gained popularity as one of the most significant schools of philosophy.
Stoicism emphasizes living in a virtuous manner. It includes always being in agreement with nature in order to gain peace of mind. According to wikipedia…”stoicism is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics shaped by its system of logic and views on the natural world. It asserts that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia. Eudaimonia in turn is a Greek word which is commonly translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘welfare’ or state of ‘good spirit’.
When I read about stoicism, I realised that I have myself been trying to practice it for long time without even realising what it was.
I was pretty young when I had decided that being good means that you are being kind and thoughtful even inside your mind where there is nobody to judge. Not thinking bad about somebody even when you are alone. I have always tried to practice this and have succeeded sometimes and sometimes not. But still, it definitely has given me a a great deal of peace of mind and happiness to some extent. However, it was easier when I was younger. As I am growing older and more jaded, I am finding it a bit difficult to practice time and again.
Being close to nature has given my life balance and focus. This is why wherever I go I try to carry my garden with me. This too is a form of stoicism that we practice without realising it!
I will continue to try and follow the concepts of stoicism and definitely read up more on it!
Writing
Writing in turn has helped me express my emotions in times of turmoil It is more of a cathartic process. A release of sorts. This is because, I realised pretty early on that it is not possible to share all my thoughts with people around me. I have always been an extremely introverted person with an extra helping of shyness. These two in combination has often been perceived as arrogance and caused a lot of pain.
I gradually learnt to not those judgements affect me and be myself. In this process I had to repress a lot of emotions that found a form of expression in my writing. But soon I realised that I often had to censor what I am writing on the blog. Apparently its not safe to write about everything you feel on the internet! So the pleasure derived from writing truly, 100% heart felt words, waned a bit. But gradually I found the release again when I started writing for particular causes that are close to my heart.
So to wrap it up, I guess maybe I could go without writing for a while and continue to have a good time inside my mind. But going too long without reading pains me nearly to the core. I always feel safe and secure to have a book or two ready and downloaded in my kindle to read after I have finished reading the current one!
This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop and written in response to the prompt, “If I had to choose between reading and writing”.
True, even I could go without writing for sometime, but reading must happen every day