"This Sounds Like A Shameless Plug For Reading Rainbow."
It's just a little past midnight, and I have just finished enjoying the quietest day I can recall in a very long time. The last three and a half days were spent entertaining Mel's family while they visited up here...well, Mel did most of the entertaining, as I had that pesky "work" thing going on for a greater part of the visit.
But in the aftermath of their departure around noon today...yesterday...Sunday (I hate it when it's too close to midnight to properly guage these things!), Mel spent most of the afternoon catching up on some much-needed sleep. And I in turn spent most of today reading a book.
It's been a while since I've just taken the time to curl up with a good book over the course of an afternoon or a day. These days, I typically read during whatever breaks I'm able to finagle amidst my work shifts (a bigger apartment does sadly mean a bigger rent), and those are becoming more rare. Evenings are usually devoted to spending time with Mel or writing.
Come to think of it, the last time I can recall sitting down for an entire day with a great book I haven't read before was at least 4-5 years ago. (Funny enough, that book was also written by the same authors of the book I spent today with.) There's something incredibly cool about reclining on the living room carpet and allowing yourself to get absorbed into a story. There's no time limit, no other pressing duties, and best of all: the comfortable quiet. No distractions, no outside noises...beyond the frenzied screams & honks of drivers who wished to share with the world that Portugal won its World Cup match today, at any rate.
My life seems to have reached a saturation point in terms of outside noise and static. Most of everything I do is immersed with annoying auditory clutter (ie: customers), and I'm finding myself almost ferociously guarding whatever opportunities for that quasi-conceptual "peace & quiet" I'm able to sieze.
This makes me wonder if I'm ever going to become an angry Zen. (Certainly a contradiction in terms, yes, but it would make for a fascinating psychological study.)
Memo to books:
Lovely afternoon spent in your company.
We must do this again sometime, and
definitely not just in another 4-5 years
from now.
posted by Phillip at 9:06 PM
