“A reader lives a thousand lives before [they die]… The [person] who never reads lives only one.”
(George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones author)
The more we read, the more we experience the world vicariously through foreign narratives. We are a connected world. Reading, figuratively and literally, each other’s thoughts allows personal growth by encapsulating within our memory and imagination potentially as many varied mental constructs as there are humans. Through reading we unlock the gateway to heaven because wisdom is enlightenment and enlightenment is the essence of heaven.
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.”
(Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian essayist)
To reach this state of heaven, we must educate ourselves by reading various literature without the specific aim of capitalist specialization. The aim of wisdom is metaphysical and philosophical, a spiritual goal that directs the knowledge to a fulfillment of equality and love through compassion and inclusivity of various ideologies. To become educated strictly for work reasons is to limit one’s capacity in the same way as putting blinders on a working horse. The beauty of life escapes the person who does not read, just as it escapes the horse who is not free.
