Reading

 Reading is important to me because understanding others’ ideas enables me to understand how others are different, and to develop my own thoughts. The books I have read within the past year are mainly classic novels. The thing about classic novels is that they often make moral or philosophical points.

The way I live is important to me, and the justifications I give myself while embarking on new goals and journeys, as well as my outlook on life are crucial to shaping my effort and decisions. For example, the realization that life is often unforgivingly and unpredictably difficult is liberating in the sense that I don’t need to trouble myself over comparing myself to others. I can attribute differences between myself and others to factors other than the actions we have taken. If, instead, I dogmatically believed that life owes me something, or that every event necessarily is driven by all but chance, I feel that my hands would be tied, and my sense of freedom would be removed.

If I realize that the world around me is not entirely driven by my actions, and that I can act as my own teacher and guider (within the freedom I have within my life--A servant doesn’t have much control over his daily tasks, but can choose the zeal with which he tends to them), I will feel encouraged to be bolder and more independent, I will also realize that I am freer than I thought before, and that I can control my own fate by disciplining myself, choosing to make myself the best version of myself, not for the sake of someone else, but for myself, a realization that can take place only after realizing what drives an individual (and choosing to reasonably negotiate meaningful tasks with oneself, and within one’s capacity, rid oneself of those that are less meaningful).

Good books to me are those which involve characters similar to me--similar enough that I can understand their motivations and struggles, but different enough that I can adapt the lessons to my own life. The latter comes fairly naturally, especially with books from different settings and time periods. One such idea is in Steinbeck’s East of Eden, with the characters of Charles and Adam, who can both be considered successful and “good”, despite their stark difference. Charles tends to his work on the farm very well, but fails to keep his house clean, while Adam is kinder but not interested in mundane but fruitful work.