A Little Secret to Growing Your Whole Long Life
Dad – this one is for you!
My father celebrated his 96th birthday on August 29th, and that is one heck of a lot of candles!
I have many terrific memories of dad. Even though the Atlantic ocean separates us, those memories keep us close.
One memory stands out to me among the rest as a secret to his life, and now consequently to mine.
The Morning Paper
My morning ritual has been influenced by his. Every morning, even to this day at 96, my dad can be found reading every word of the (his) “Telegraph” newspaper from front-to-back cover! He kept his mind open to new information, ideas and studied the world through the print before him.
I found the perfect birthday gift for him! I found it in The Telegraph bookstore. Imagine this: his very own and personalized book containing the 96 front pages of the Telegraph newspaper since 1925!
Dad may not have consciously identified all the effects reading had on his mind, life, and viewpoints. But science has revealed a host of benefits from reading.
But this is not the secret.
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The Benefits of Reading
To mention a few:
- Mental stimulation
- Stress reduction
- vocabulary expansion
- memory improvement
- stronger analytical thinking skills
- improved focus and concentration
- better writing skills
- significant moments of tranquillity
- of course, knowledge
Amazingly, all are included in the package of gifts that we receive when we read!
This, however, though important, is not the secret.
Today is INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY
International Literacy Day is September 8, the day I am posting this article. There is no better time than now to celebrate reading and the power of a vital skill like literacy.
Because we often take reading for granted, and I love quotes, here are 11 to remind you about the remarkable power of reading and what it does for you, our communities, and our world.
Let’s start with someone called Dr. Seuss.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Here are some others that I like.
“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.” — Sasha Salmina“All the reading she had done had given her a view of life they had never seen.” — Roald Dahl – Matilda
“You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I – you can never be. I had a mother who read to me.” — Strickland Gillian
“Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” — Vera Nazarian
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” — Joseph Addison
“A house without books is like a room without windows.” — Heinrich Mann
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” — Jorge Luis Borges
Fabulous support for the idea, but NOT THE SECRET
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THIS IS THE SECRET!
If you are able to convince yourself to carve out 16.7 minutes a day to read, I promise you, it will change your life.
Why 16.7 minutes, you ask?
Because that is the time, it takes the average reader to consume 10 pages.
A typical, single-spaced page is around 500 words, and 10 pages a day will allow you to consume between 16 to 20 books a year!
Do that each day, and you will experience nothing short of a massive transformation of who you are today.
Thank You Dad
For so many reasons, I am grateful to my dad. For all the reasons I have described, my passion for reading is right up at the top of the list. I know you will be reading this, dad, and I dedicate this post to you.
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