Hey all,
today I would like to share a few of my concerns with you. I felt that, for some reason, this week I should have shared a few thoughts that often cross my mind instead of my deeds or passions.
As I read the news, day after day I come to realize that the light of hope for our future world is becoming dimmer and dimmer. We don't know it - or maybe we do, but we just ignore it- but the lives of our children are likely to be miserable because of our own actions. Yes, I know many speak about global warming all the time and everyone must have heard 'do your own bit for the planet' etc. but I will really try to push this concept a little further. I will not only talk about global warming in my future posts, but also war, terrorism, literature and more.
To start with, today I would like to ask: how is it that children don't read anymore? I would not call myself a bookworm but I know the importance of Literature. I know what it feels like to be immersed in a book and to learn from every single comma and character in it. There are very few with whom I could sit today and have a discussion about an author. Children are lazy to read, they have better things to do, they do not have time or they find it boring to let their mind travel in a book while physically staying in the same place. I understand that some may find it uninteresting to read, but when did they become so many? One of the many answers to this question that comes to my mind is: technology.
Yes, it is sad to admit it but, everyone is a slave of technology. Children whoa re bored at restaurants steal their parents' phones or Ipods instead of playing or, well, reading. Personally, I think live in denial: I convince myself that I don't NEED internet connection and I could very well do without Facebook and all other social networks. However, this is ,again, denial. I have grown accustomed to checking notifications, newsfeeds, Instagram pictures as if it were a customary daily routine like lunch. It breaks my heart when, if I occasional wake up earlier than the alarm in the morning, instead of reaching out for a book I reach out for my phone. Before having a computer or an account in every social network possible - I reached out for the book. However, please do not get me wrong, I still make sure that I keep some time of the day to read at least a little, and with the loss of touch with pages I have come to terms with the bitter fact that I miss books. I miss the periods when I had the time and the privilege, to finish books and more books... When I see a random child or a teenager with a book in their hands I seriously put my arms up to the sky and whisper :'Thank you! Thank you so much.' It makes me feel so relieved to see a little boy in my school bus who reads different books every week on the way to school, from 'I am Malala' to 'Geronimo Stilton'.
This may sound a little extreme but there ARE many who haven't read Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Doyle, Dan Brown, Dr. Seuss, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and the list goes on and on.. However everyone knows about the release date of the next Iphone 6; everyone knows about the new picture effects on Snapchat and everyone knows about the latest edition of Facebook. To be honest, I do not disrespect the ones who are passionate about the things mentioned above or who know all about them; however I believe everyone should have balance. There is NOTHING wrong with checking your phone to see what your friend is up to and sharing what you are doing with your friends, as long as that does not build walls around you that shut you out from the rest of the intellectual world and stop you from exploring more knowledge.
Reading is knowledge. Reading teaches you how to write, how to think, how to accept, how to judge, how to dream, how to live and how to imagine. Reading makes you detach from reality and take your mind on a journey in a different world. I wish I had the time to read more and I wish I hadn't let technology take over me the way it has. I wish teenagers, children and parents opened their eyes to see how dangerous this issue is becoming - literature may disappear! Books may become useless and the demand for them may fall tremendously. The beauty of words, of stories and of fantasies may vanish. Instead, we will find ourselves with some sort of technically advanced device stuck to our ties which can project information from the net about anything we want without the need of research, of being curious and of putting effort into discovering things. Books will be replaced by microscopic laptops and our Facebook page will be our identity if the dependence on the internet does not slow down and if the interest in books does not increase. (Books would be a good distraction from Facebook).
There are no limits to the importance of literature. Books like the Diary of Anne Frank or even lighter reads such as Eat Pray and Love can gift us with many life lessons which are so precious.
In this post I was planning to discuss about other issues concerning me presently too, but I just got carried away with the above. For those of you who are reading this: tonight pick up a book and enjoy it. The book does not have to be something deeply philosophical - it can be any read, even a children's book such as Matilda by Dahl; but please learn from it and don't check your WhatsApp every two minutes in the process.
I really really hope I was motivating enough,
to next Thursday for more thoughts like these,
Giorgia.
today I would like to share a few of my concerns with you. I felt that, for some reason, this week I should have shared a few thoughts that often cross my mind instead of my deeds or passions.
As I read the news, day after day I come to realize that the light of hope for our future world is becoming dimmer and dimmer. We don't know it - or maybe we do, but we just ignore it- but the lives of our children are likely to be miserable because of our own actions. Yes, I know many speak about global warming all the time and everyone must have heard 'do your own bit for the planet' etc. but I will really try to push this concept a little further. I will not only talk about global warming in my future posts, but also war, terrorism, literature and more.
To start with, today I would like to ask: how is it that children don't read anymore? I would not call myself a bookworm but I know the importance of Literature. I know what it feels like to be immersed in a book and to learn from every single comma and character in it. There are very few with whom I could sit today and have a discussion about an author. Children are lazy to read, they have better things to do, they do not have time or they find it boring to let their mind travel in a book while physically staying in the same place. I understand that some may find it uninteresting to read, but when did they become so many? One of the many answers to this question that comes to my mind is: technology.
Yes, it is sad to admit it but, everyone is a slave of technology. Children whoa re bored at restaurants steal their parents' phones or Ipods instead of playing or, well, reading. Personally, I think live in denial: I convince myself that I don't NEED internet connection and I could very well do without Facebook and all other social networks. However, this is ,again, denial. I have grown accustomed to checking notifications, newsfeeds, Instagram pictures as if it were a customary daily routine like lunch. It breaks my heart when, if I occasional wake up earlier than the alarm in the morning, instead of reaching out for a book I reach out for my phone. Before having a computer or an account in every social network possible - I reached out for the book. However, please do not get me wrong, I still make sure that I keep some time of the day to read at least a little, and with the loss of touch with pages I have come to terms with the bitter fact that I miss books. I miss the periods when I had the time and the privilege, to finish books and more books... When I see a random child or a teenager with a book in their hands I seriously put my arms up to the sky and whisper :'Thank you! Thank you so much.' It makes me feel so relieved to see a little boy in my school bus who reads different books every week on the way to school, from 'I am Malala' to 'Geronimo Stilton'.
This may sound a little extreme but there ARE many who haven't read Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Doyle, Dan Brown, Dr. Seuss, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and the list goes on and on.. However everyone knows about the release date of the next Iphone 6; everyone knows about the new picture effects on Snapchat and everyone knows about the latest edition of Facebook. To be honest, I do not disrespect the ones who are passionate about the things mentioned above or who know all about them; however I believe everyone should have balance. There is NOTHING wrong with checking your phone to see what your friend is up to and sharing what you are doing with your friends, as long as that does not build walls around you that shut you out from the rest of the intellectual world and stop you from exploring more knowledge.
Reading is knowledge. Reading teaches you how to write, how to think, how to accept, how to judge, how to dream, how to live and how to imagine. Reading makes you detach from reality and take your mind on a journey in a different world. I wish I had the time to read more and I wish I hadn't let technology take over me the way it has. I wish teenagers, children and parents opened their eyes to see how dangerous this issue is becoming - literature may disappear! Books may become useless and the demand for them may fall tremendously. The beauty of words, of stories and of fantasies may vanish. Instead, we will find ourselves with some sort of technically advanced device stuck to our ties which can project information from the net about anything we want without the need of research, of being curious and of putting effort into discovering things. Books will be replaced by microscopic laptops and our Facebook page will be our identity if the dependence on the internet does not slow down and if the interest in books does not increase. (Books would be a good distraction from Facebook).
There are no limits to the importance of literature. Books like the Diary of Anne Frank or even lighter reads such as Eat Pray and Love can gift us with many life lessons which are so precious.
In this post I was planning to discuss about other issues concerning me presently too, but I just got carried away with the above. For those of you who are reading this: tonight pick up a book and enjoy it. The book does not have to be something deeply philosophical - it can be any read, even a children's book such as Matilda by Dahl; but please learn from it and don't check your WhatsApp every two minutes in the process.
I really really hope I was motivating enough,
to next Thursday for more thoughts like these,
Giorgia.
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