Monday 28 October 2013

The books that I haven't read and the discovery of a whole new Universe hidden behind things we see as chores

Continuing with the thread of 'you cannot be bored', I would like to tell you about what I felt - or what I usually feel - after visiting one of my favourite big bookstores in Central London. As always I prepare myself for the experience that is without fail mind-boggling.

I enter the building and start wondering around going through different sections and spending some time dipping my eyes into a whole array of worlds - new and old - and getting in touch with the things that I would like to know.

Such visits last about 3 hours and at the end, I leave with mixed emotions - the frustration of not being able to grasp all the knowledge that is readily available and the satisfaction of having spent a glorious and exciting time opening my mind and allowing myself to taste the pleasures of an intellectual voyage.

More than once I have found myself talking to my children and telling them that being an adult means that you are aware of all the things that you don't know and of the fact that you wouldn't have enough time to investigate, to enjoy, to get involved, to taste, to research and get a real feel of what the world is really about.

I reckon those of the younger generations that get into trouble are basically intellectually deprived, unable to experience and get involved in more constructive endeavours. I feel that the so-called Pop Culture has castrated them from an intellectual point of view. At my age, my sense of curiosity is stronger than ever before. I feel more intellectually thirsty than ever before. I cannot possibly be bored.

My sense of experimentation also includes the use of new machines, new gadgets, new tools and this includes ordinary chores like repairing, cleaning, installing, painting, et cetera. If what you need is instant gratification, I do recommend cleaning the grout and the tiles of your bathroom or to spend the day vacuum cleaning. If you focus on the tasks in hand there are some intellectual lessons that you could learn learning to do things in a different way. Thus, washing the dishes or cleaning up the kitchen is no longer a set of chores. It is a learning process, a cleansing experience, a way of becoming more disciplined and more grounded.

To sum up, there are many lessons to be learned, many activities that you could enjoy and you will find intellectuality where you least expect to find it. A change of attitude opens the gates that lead into a completely new universe.

I was fascinated watching a scene of a movie called Karate Kid. The old master is training a boy that wants to become a Karate fighter. The master asks him to polish some cars using his hands that move around clockwise and then anti-clockwise. The boy does not see the link between the humble act of polishing a car and basic Karate moves. Life works in mysterious ways and things that are apparently unrelated can be part of a chain.

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