3 August 2011

Have you ever wished you could enter a book?

Today's prompt makes me want to pick up and read "The Never Ending Story". I read books to disconnect and to open my mind to different ways of thinking and different cultures, but I have never thought about what it would be like to be the main character of a particular book that I was reading. I guess that I try to make sure I'm the centre stage of the life I live in the real world (some may call this selfish :P), and not to waste time thinking about a fairytale life, because life is what you make of it.

With the boom of reality programs and the ever increasing consumeristic attitude people are applying to friends and family, it seems more and more people are living a life of soap-opera drama, or their reality is a virtual one. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to not have time for my family and friends or to try and make myself seem cool in all these social networks. I just want to be me. And let's face it, there is nothing more awesome than life itself. We should be waking up everyday, thankful for the gift of life. And as much as books are my passion and I love losing myself in the worlds that unfold before my eyes, I would never substitute them for getting out in the sunshine and living my life. It may not be perfect, but it's mine and I only get one shot at it.

Walt Whitman wrote,

"O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; 
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish; 
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) 
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d; 
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;       
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined; 
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life? 
  
Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
 
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse."    

So, no I don't wish I could enter a book, because I'm living my own personal book, with my footsteps as my ink. I would add to Walt Whitman's verse..."That the powerful play goes on, and you can contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"


3 comments:

Lea Lindfors said...

Yes, all the time!! Especially Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and the Harry Potter series. Both very different, but both would be amazing to experience!

Shay said...

I still have to read "Gone with the Wind". This summer I have set aside the epic "War and Peace" At least I will have enough hours on the plane to read it!! I'm still hoping that a different prompt this month allows me to write about Harry Potter, I can't wait!

Lea Lindfors said...

I've been thinking about this question all night. I like it! I also wanted to enter Little women and A Secret Garden :) Oh, and Twilight.