Are we the books we read?

They say we are the food we eat.  Are we also the books we read?  I don't mean that lovers of murder mysteries are murderers.  More that we are attracted to the books that chime with some of our dearest wishes, our fantasies, lifestyle or how we feel about life in general.

Myself, I don't want to read books - fact or fiction - about child molesters, serial rapists or violent and murder.  I know these things exist, I can read about them any day in the newspapers (every day probably in some papers or on the Internet!) but for my leisure reading I want something more wholesome. Am I alone in this?  I can enjoy the occasional whodunit, but I prefer the sanitised variety of writers like Agatha Christie, where there is very little violence. 

I can understand the demand for romance and adventure stories, as it is a form of escapism.  The same applies to most chick lit, which I admit is my guilty pleasure.  I can understand anyone reading for a form of escapism - fantasy sci-fi for instance; but does escapism really include the full gamut of horror, death and destruction?

Do the people who read really violent novels (or violent biographies, or watch violently terrifying films) feel they are mere voyeurs?  Is that the thrill?  A guilty pleasure, like fantasy sex?  More importantly, should we indulge our fantasies, our baser nature, to this extent?  Is that what gives rise to pornography, sex-based killings, violent sadism in military contexts and marriages etc?

We worry about the influence on our children from watching violent computer games or films.  Do we adults think we are exempt from being influenced by such things? The more we indulge in these off-limits pleasures, the more they seem acceptable.  I have a particular fear and conviction that the more we hear about underage sex and child porn, the more acceptable it becomes, because our shock- reaction gets dulled.

Richard Bach, of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull  fame, says in The Bridge Across  Forever, “Touch all the books of Nevil Shute, they’re encoded holograms of a decent man… The writer printed the person he is on every page of his books, and we can read him into our own lives …”  Probably my two favourite writers currently are the Dalai Lama and Alexander McCall Smith.  I love their gentle and gentlemanly approach to life.  It reminds me, that amongst the rest of life's mayhem, there is another way to live - and one that we would all be the better for attempting to emulate.

 

Buddha and the power of thought

With the Wesak festival of the Buddha coming up, it's a good time to remember one of the Buddha's sayings as recorded in the Dhammapada:

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakeable.

It is always interesting when you hear someone complain about how rude everyone is, how unhelpful, or how surly.  It is hard to resist the thought that that must be an unhappy person, who either attracts ill-will or who only sees ill-will in those around them.  It is not a fact that 'everyone' is obnoxious; it is merely one observer's opinion: one observer's thought which is of such an energy it becomes - to him or her at least - fact.

How many of us have started the day in a neutral mood, only to come across one person who is less than polite or helpful.  Before we know it, the day turns into one of those days where everybody we come into contact with is irritating or abrasive.  How much of this have we brought on ourselves by absorbing the energy of the first encounter and 'passing it on', often by dwelling on it and endlessly repeating the story?

When we see a scintillation of starlings circulating in the sky, we wonder how it is that they don't collide.  Humans do tend to collide, not so much physically as emotionally.  We are always bumping into other people's emotional space and we can cause great damage.

When someone does us a kindness early in the day, we feel better able to cope with any irritations that arise; and quite often we can pass on our good vibrations to the next person we meet.   For instance, if someone lets me out at a busy junction and then the opportunity arises for me to let someone else out into the traffic, I am always pleased to return the favour.  It makes me feel better, and the energy goes on repeating itself even though none of us will ever see the end result.

When someone makes us feel better, regardless of our irritation or bad temper, how often do we stop and wonder how much it has cost that person?  Nearly all of us are adversely affected by someone else's irritation, or low vibrations, so when someone is understanding, warm or caring regardless of our ill temper, we would do well to remember how difficult that may have been for them.  They have given us something invaluable which we have probably taken completely for granted.

Our thoughts and actions affect those around us whether we are conscious of it or not.  Do you ever think about the film, 'It’s a Wonderful Life' in the context of your own life?  How different would be the lives of our friends, families, workmates and others if we had never existed?  Would it be worse – or would it be better?  It always makes me realise what an impact I have on others and the responsibility I have towards them.