Reading

There is something to be said about the differences between reading a book in a very public place; such as a cafe, park, or library, and reading in private. In public, it is exhilarating to be immersed into two worlds at precisely one moment. For you are as much a part of the world around you; people might see you, mention you, or even admire you in passing. Your physical body is continuing to interact with its environment by breathing, scratching, and otherwise fidgeting. However, your mind is quite a different matter. At least, mine would be. I become completely immersed in the fictional settings that are typed before my eyes. In fact, my mother once gave me a gift of bookends which read, "Books fall open, you fall in," and these have become some of my favorite possessions over the years. To be so divided like that, body from mind, is somewhat transcendent of other spiritual encounters. During prayer or meditation, you are conscious of pursuing that detachment from reality, and must create mental barriers between the tangible and the intangible. I speak from personal experience, of course, and know very well that people do exist who find prayer and meditation to be the deepest way of connecting to the world. I prefer reading. I prefer to start something innocently, putting letter after letter and word after word together in my mind and have them take me along a journey far away from the place where I am. It happens both unconsciously and completely.

On the other hand, while reading in private will result in many of the same ends, it is a more conscious effort. Putting yourself alone is halfway to melting the world around you away, and the book must do hardly anything to complete the effort. It is less spiritual in that way, for knowing you are pursuing God and expecting him (I use the term loosely), and coincidentally finding God are two very different things indeed.