A good book can save one’s sanity in trying times, of which there have been no shortage in recent memory.
As far as leisure activities go, reading hovers near the top of any list for what it brings to your life. But not just any kind of reading. According to author Eve Sedgwick, there’s a difference between “paranoid” reading and “reparative” reading.
Do I really need to know everything going on with the world at all times? is a question I don’t ask myself anymore, because I found my answer: No. Reading can be a great (and a more preferable) alternative to the news, endless feed scrolling or algorithm-driven media. In a constantly connected world, we seem to have forgotten we have other options.
Sedgwick’s idea of ‘reparative’ reading is to be fundamentally more invested in finding nourishment than identifying poison.
Soak that in for a moment.
And then reflect on how you might extend this insight onto other facets of your life.
Finding nourishment than identifying poison.
As Austin Kleon says, you can identify all the poison you want, but if you don’t find nourishment, you’ll starve to death.
And there’s plenty of poison to be found. It could be anything from the quality of thoughts to ideas to what you choose to do with your time.
Finding nourishment means focusing your precious attention on what actually fuels you, builds you, helps you expand and sustains you, even—and often, especially—if it doesn’t seem popular, or come wrapped in bite-sized, shiny wrappers. Instead of avoiding danger or numbing yourself, you can choose what helps you survive, move forward, and come alive.
This is how you lay the groundwork to cultivate the resilience, creativity and strength you will need in trying times. Along with a few good books, of course.
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