Listen to this tale I’m about to tell. A tale about taking a trip to a faraway place that’s closer than you may think.
You pack light and go whenever you want. It’s at the tip of your fingers. Something you hold in your hands.
Open your mind to all the possibilities. Anywhere you want to be.
You want to climb a mountain? Climb. You want to swim in the lake? Swim. You want to go on a date in Paris? Paris it is.
Black and white ink turns into the sound of a beating heart, the taste of rain, the smell of fresh earth, the sight of a familiar stranger and the touch of a light breeze.
You don’t have to take this journey alone. Talk to your friends and family and encourage them to join in the adventure.
People create lifelong memories they pass down to their children. Parents read stories to help their children develop and grow, but they also raise them to have an imagination and spend quality time with them.
The pandemic separates us from those we care about, not just physically, but emotionally. We reach out to those we love to find a common ground, a place to feel connected, a time to forget obligations and the evolving, lurking virus.
Books contain the wisdom of the world. They teach you what’s right and wrong. Sometimes that line is blurred, and you need to decide for yourself what’s the best course of action.
These paper rectangles full of ink contain the real world hidden beneath a fantasy. We love to read scenarios where a couple goes through ups and downs and make it out stronger together. It’s the happily ever after we seek in our own lives, though this isn’t always the case.
Do I remember the experience of picking up and reading a book for the first time? No. Do I remember every book and story I’ve ever read? Sort of.
When I pick up a book, I recall the stories vividly, as I read them the day before or hours ago. Sometimes I don’t remember every detail, but it’s a part of me in a way I can’t really explain.
It’s a familiar stranger, yet a deeply rooted friend. Books give you company when you’re lonely or needing an exciting story to spice up your life. They open your imagination and allow you to be out of this world for a few hours.
You get so lost in your own head and the words you are reading. You get in the book zone. You tune everything around you out. It’s like having tunnel vision inside your mind.
You teleport into the story. You feel like you are there instead of on the couch.
Scenes unfold in front of your eyes as you scan the pages. All senses are tuned into the story. You taste the apple pie, smell the flowers in springtime or hear the ocean waves crashing along the beach.
It’s a freeing feeling to escape reality for fiction.
Sometimes people enjoy reading books because it gives them a better outlook on life. Sometimes people see a better life amongst the rough pages and choose to live there instead of in the present.
Do not choose a book fantasy over the beauty of real life. When life gives you lemons, the best thing for you to do is make lemonade with as much sugar as you can handle.
Sweeten your life with books but also moments with those around you. Don’t let life entirely pass you by while your head stays up in the clouds. You miss so many precious moments if you do.
Kim Stager can be reached at arg-opinion@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @journalismgoals