There is a place in every city, town, or village that was the "hub" of knowledge, the place to soar above the humdrum everyday. It gave you the ticket to countries one might never visit in a lifetime, meet individuals who are an inspiration to many, and actually learn the history of your country, your family, or events that happened before you were even born.
Today, the chair is empty, the light is dimmed, and the door doesn't need any oil because it doesn't open and close as much as it did in the past. The floors are shiny, the tables are just beginning to show signs of "dust", but the "silence" speaks volumes. Right there on a side table is a token of civilization, a tool that led many to the hardest decisions of their life, and in many cases, it eased anger, hostility, and violence because it told the truth, presented the facts, and did it all quietly, 24 hours a day and sometimes even in the dark hours of the night. This fabulous tool of mankind was the simple but mighty "book". The shelves are all aligned, and the jackets are straight, but the hum of minds and imaginations turning and discovering is nowhere to be found. Its miracle lies in wait for those who just don't come, the little ones who fingered the pages, and would you believe it, imagined what the pages gently guided them to. While there were facts and figures, there was also "pretend", a land of imagination, peace, and delight. Children were transformed into pilots of planes, engineers on a train, a graceful ballet dancer, a nurse who took care of life's little hurts.
When you woke up during the night with a bad dream, there was a companion on your nightstand. You could turn on the light and rescue frayed nerves by paging through a story you might have read a thousand times, but tonight it would be a beacon to safety, and to making dreaming possible again. On a cold wintry night, a book on a table near the fire was heaven with a cup of cocoa. It let you delve into a Sherlock Holmes mystery, while snuggling under a warm tartan blanket and listening to the hiss and snap of a lively fire. It may even have lulled you into peaceful repose, as your mind drifted with visions, dreams, knowledge, and adventure. This book held the key to open the vault of learning about life, and why we do and what we believe in. It gave you an opportunity to redo the story your way, but still gave you a safe road to keep moving forward, with the railings of vintage, ancient and make-believe watching your steps so you would not falter in the land of hopes, love, and success.
Today we have hand-held devices, with bright lights and chimes. You are never unconnected as your cell phone, iPhone, or hand-held computer will find the answers for you, spread the news, and even remind you what your calendar for the day is and when you have to walk, sleep, or run. With all this, your mind is strangely quiet, and gets heavy with its own weight as you ignore its tremendous powers and potentials. Your "device" doesn't even let you waste a single mini-second without making sure you have twenty opinions, directives, and features, but - just one thing is missing - your input of who you are and what you want. The machine now steps aside the realm of wonder as it directs you to other "apps" that hold even more answers that truly are not yours, but intended to influence, manage, and change you as a person. While grown-ups with all their responsibilities feel they need "instant" answers, even they miss out on a small part of being human - research, checking things out at your pace and what your inner mind directs you to. The young need to stretch their God-given talents through reaching into worlds they may never have heard of, but which they found on their own time, in their own way, and with a tool that could help them repeat it if they wanted to, put it down for a bit, and know that when their thirst for this subject arises again, they can continue through the jungle of life but they would be a leader, the director, and the ghost of past, present and future.
The next time you see a book take a moment to finger the pages, stop for a respite on a certain page, and take the time to relax, enjoy, and be you. Put the device on hold, because the majority of the games, information, and comments are not you, they belong to those who hope to influence, admonish, or alter not only you but what you believe. Your little device does not want you to grow in vision, but to follow its directives. It wants to circumvent your creativity, and special gifts of imagination and take you down the path that leads to the conclusion it finds suitable for you. Simply, take back being human, being young at heart, pretending you are a lion tamer, and get back to marking your own roads, coloring your own scenery, and building on what is such a wonderful part of you - your brain and what it can accomplish with you in charge.
https://ezinearticles.com/?The-Keys-To-Everything-You-Could-Imagine&id=9389924
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