Thursday, January 9, 2014

#365Grateful : Day 9 : Books

*I am grateful for books!
(Some of my book collection)

 I am grateful for books…

…and their pages which offer us insight into unknown worlds. I am grateful for the endearing characters which sprinkle fairy-dust on the walls of our imaginations.  It’s books which have allowed me the opportunity to unravel mysteries and to explore the history of bygone eras.  I have discovered foreign customs, cultures and peoples who have enriched my own life.

 I am grateful for the wisdom I have gleaned from the pages of books, and the windows they’ve opened for me - to other paradigms and ways of thinking. I am grateful to have been educated by books which have inspired me, authors who I admire and occasionally mimicked. I’ve been forced to weep when discovering the appalling living conditions which some people and animals have to bear, and I have been encouraged by their strength and perseverance in these difficult circumstances.

When insomnia hits me, I reach for a book to find found solace…  It never fails!  I drift away into the talent of the authors and the stories they bring me.  How often have I chosen to escape for a few hours, beverage in hand, ensconced in a blanket? I engross myself in tales yet to be discovered; sometimes pondering over the talent of photographers who have brought images to me of places I will never get to see.

Books have shaped my thought and my life.  I have discovered laughter, tears, fears, foresight, hope, encouragement and the joy of imagination. I've discovered my faith in the greatest book of all - God's Holy Bible. Some books have even forced others around me to interrogate my mirth.

I am grateful for the dedication of the writers who offer us pages upon pages of their imaginings; who provide us with a channel to escape this world for a short while and who offer us hope for a better world. I am grateful for their dedication and commitment; the hours which they have spent paining over their choice of words, and the angst they have gone through when editors have performed surgery on their personal masterpieces.  I am grateful for the sleepless nights they have endured whilst they've pondered over a single idea, and the "mountains" they had to climb to finally offer us their works of art.

I am grateful for the books we so often take for granted. And I am grateful for the ones I am yet to discover.
*I am grateful for books!