The Thing About Books

Books are my friends.

          Books are dangerous.

                    Books change me.

I’ve met some amazing heroes in the books I’ve read.  One of my favorites is Simon Potter in Og Mandino’s The Greatest Miracle in the World. 

Louis L’Amour introduced me to a whole passel of heroes and heroines in his westerns – especially the Sackett series.

And then there are the ideas that I glean from books.

Here’s a sample:

~You become what you think about.  (Various authors say that.)

~The four things to say to your close intimates before you die:  Please forgive me, I forgive you, Thank you, I love you.  (Ira Byock – The Four Things that Matter Most)

~The journey is long, the journey is hard, and the journey is worth it. (Unknown)

~You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.   (Zig Ziglar)

~When it’s all said and done, be sure and push publish – launch it.  (Based on Seth Godin’s advice said in multiple ways in multiple articles and books.)

~The dice don’t dictate. I don’t live by the roll of the dice.  I live by my ability to make choices.  (Seth Godin – What to Do when It’s Your Turn)

~Whose life are you living?   (Paulo Coelho – Warrior of the Light)

~Remember one thing, replied his master.  You do not drown simply by plunging into the water.  You only drown if you stay beneath the surface.  (Paulo Coelho – Warrior of the Light)

~It’s not our abilities that show what we truly are; it is our choices.  (Dumbledore to Harry Potter – Chamber of Secrets – J K Rowling)

Well, I could go on, and I’ve omitted a thousand great Christian quotes from my spiritual mentors.

The point is this -  books are powerful tools in our hands.  I always have multiple books going at any one moment in my life.  And my main resource for writing blogs is an ever-expanding document on my computer called Blog Ideas.  At present, it is 167 pages full of quotes and quips I have picked up in my reading. 

I wrote a post on May 23, 2016 – ABR - Always Be Reading  and it has zoomed to the top in this blog series.  What a surprise.  Some somebodies somewhere have picked up on that post and I suppose are circling it around in their sphere.  Thank you, whomever you are.

The main point – books are living entities.  They grow and expand a person’s horizons.  They enlarge one’s mind.  Books matter. 

Next time you are looking for something worthwhile to do with your time, pick up a great book and meet some new heroes and heroines.  Let a book expand your mind and heart.  Find encouragement in some great books of inspiration and spiritual insight.

I’ll end with this thought.

“One must be careful of books, 

and what is inside them, 

for words have the power 

to change us.”  

—Cassandra Clare

The Infernal Devices

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

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