August 27, 2019
I realize that, as I get further along in life, it's even more important to maintain a regular reading habit for continual education. An idle mind tends towards complacency, complacency tends towards ignorance, and ignorance is what ultimately lures us into giving in to our emotions, especially the most sensitive ones. Anger, hate, lust, indulgence, misanthropy, and guile. These feelings are something that were not a problem for me when I was young, but now that I'm older there is an unwanted emergence. A manifestation of being taken advantage of, getting hurt, an ardent and unrelenting desire and pursuit for self-gain. However, understanding the humanities, history, psychology, and general human mannerisms has helped with coping with some of these emotions. I understand this is not enough. The battle against our darkest emotions is not merely psychological. There is a spiritual aspect I have come to also regularly neglect like a swinging pendulum. I do not want to be a swinging pendulum. I need consistency, temperament, stability, and strength. I believe establishing a regular reading habit will address these concerns, or at least it's a good start. Each couple of months I would like to read and complete one book of several categories that are important to me.
What are the things I believe to be important to me? First, the spiritual aspect. A healthy regard for the things unseen and beyond my control. A belief of a higher and wiser power that I should fear and respect, but I could also find comfort in. These spiritual things have been interpreted for me through the Holy Scriptures and through the help of spiritual books.
Category One: Spiritual Book
My literacy and vocabulary have always needed help. I'm constantly encountering words I'm not familiar with and I still unfailingly mis-spell common words. Through reading biographies, autobiographies, novels, and well-written works about the humanities I aspire to strengthen these skills.
Category Two: Novels, Biographies, Humanities
I've always enjoyed technology. The running of electrons through copper wire and circuits, producing a translatable language with the help transistors, resisters, switches, and micro-controllers. The synergistic relationship between the hardware and the software has enlightened me since my youth. I am especially interested in how we interact with these devices, the design and layout of data so it not only looks clean, but runs clean.
Category Three: Programming, Computer Hardware, Software Data Structures
How will I obtain these books? Probably with the use of the median that's so prolific in this country. Our economy, trade, and consumerism is what provides for our needs and our wants, while at the same time bringing to light our truest forms of habits and intents. When it comes to money management, I could use all the help I could get. I hope to one day run a business, learning how the market operates in the U.S. and local region is important.
Category Four: Money Management, Business, Economics
Anything more than these four categories would be too ambitions for me. I don't consider myself a fast reader, it's more of an exercise for me. Like going to the gym - sometimes I just have to force myself. By establishing a healthy consistent habit I hope to find joy in the bindings I surround myself with. I even might find some rest it in, to the point where if I had a choice to either watch TV or read one of these books, I would chose the books.
