June 14th, 2020
Right when the first protests and riots were happening (maybe 10 days ago), I found myself glued to the TV, glued to Instagram, and glued to Twitter.
Checking and refreshing for the latest news-bites and feelings of "what is happening in our world right now" but also, "I can't look away".
A few days passed and I kept doing the same thing - wanting more "news" and more drama.
But, nothing was really changing - just more of the same, regurgitated news and social media.
But I wanted more. I felt gross.
I decided it was time to take a break from social media.
I logged out of Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
I go on those sites and never feel fulfilled. I feel animosity and judgment towards the people in my feeds. I don't enjoy it, yet I keep going back.
I'm tired of watching TikToks, seeing Instagram posts with cringey taglines, or 140 characters of false wisdom.
I decided I want to read more. I want to be a "reader".
I want to read classic fiction from 1920, not quasi-intellectual motivational tweets from 2020.
I want to think more about the meaning of life from philosophers centuries ago, not from Joe Shmoe Motivational YouTuber.
--
I went to the bookstore the next day.
I picked up Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - a classic novel.
I read it in 3 days.
This was the first real physical book I finished in years. I've listened to lots of audiobooks, some Kindle reads, but this was the first physical book I read cover to cover in as long as I can remember (fucking sad, right!?).
I got "lost" in this book. It took me to a new world, a fantasy "dystopian" world that was so interesting to be in.
I forgot that books can do this.
No other medium can do this. TikTok definitely can't.
--
I'm vowing to read more.
It's not about reading the "classics" or the best self-help books.
Reading is about introspection, finding yourself, and it is a form of meditation. It doesn't matter what you read, just that you're reading something, consistently.
After finishing Brave New World I went back to the bookstore, but this time I spent almost an hour there, looking for a book.
I didn't go online for recommendations and I didn't care to look at Amazon reviews.
I just picked books off the shelf until I found one that looked cool. It's called "The Dog Stars".
Now I'm almost done with that one.
--
How much time did you spend on social media today? 30 minutes?
Imagine if you spent that time reading?
If you did read a book for 30 minutes a day for the rest of your life, you could read 1,000 books in your lifetime. Imagine that!
I know we are all busy, but 30 minutes is doable.
On the subway? In a cab? Eating breakfast? Driving to work? Let's fill the time with books, not checking our phones.
Books are amazing. More to come.
Checking and refreshing for the latest news-bites and feelings of "what is happening in our world right now" but also, "I can't look away".
A few days passed and I kept doing the same thing - wanting more "news" and more drama.
But, nothing was really changing - just more of the same, regurgitated news and social media.
But I wanted more. I felt gross.
I decided it was time to take a break from social media.
I logged out of Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
I go on those sites and never feel fulfilled. I feel animosity and judgment towards the people in my feeds. I don't enjoy it, yet I keep going back.
I'm tired of watching TikToks, seeing Instagram posts with cringey taglines, or 140 characters of false wisdom.
I decided I want to read more. I want to be a "reader".
I want to read classic fiction from 1920, not quasi-intellectual motivational tweets from 2020.
I want to think more about the meaning of life from philosophers centuries ago, not from Joe Shmoe Motivational YouTuber.
--
I went to the bookstore the next day.
I picked up Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - a classic novel.
I read it in 3 days.
This was the first real physical book I finished in years. I've listened to lots of audiobooks, some Kindle reads, but this was the first physical book I read cover to cover in as long as I can remember (fucking sad, right!?).
I got "lost" in this book. It took me to a new world, a fantasy "dystopian" world that was so interesting to be in.
I forgot that books can do this.
No other medium can do this. TikTok definitely can't.
--
I'm vowing to read more.
It's not about reading the "classics" or the best self-help books.
Reading is about introspection, finding yourself, and it is a form of meditation. It doesn't matter what you read, just that you're reading something, consistently.
After finishing Brave New World I went back to the bookstore, but this time I spent almost an hour there, looking for a book.
I didn't go online for recommendations and I didn't care to look at Amazon reviews.
I just picked books off the shelf until I found one that looked cool. It's called "The Dog Stars".
Now I'm almost done with that one.
--
How much time did you spend on social media today? 30 minutes?
Imagine if you spent that time reading?
If you did read a book for 30 minutes a day for the rest of your life, you could read 1,000 books in your lifetime. Imagine that!
I know we are all busy, but 30 minutes is doable.
On the subway? In a cab? Eating breakfast? Driving to work? Let's fill the time with books, not checking our phones.
Books are amazing. More to come.