Mental Relaxation

 Planes, trains, cars and boats are not always at the ready to take us to dreamy destinations.

Work, finances and other life responsibilities sometimes get in the way of traveling even though everyone needs take occasional breaks from their surroundings, especially if life is particularly stressful or painful.

You can’t always take a vacation even if you really need or want one.

But you can read a book.

I saw this wonderful saying from Dr. Suess (posted above) on one of my favorite websites, The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com) and was reminded of the magical healing power of reading and books.

I don’t mean for this to sound simplistic but books can be short-term solution to an ongoing need to give your brain something else to think about.  It doesn’t matter what kind of book it is or what the subject matter.  Reading gives your brain a well deserved break.  I understand how read in general can be difficult after a loss.  After my husband died, I would try to read the newspaper every morning but I just couldn’t concentrate.  Every morning I would go out and get the newspaper from the sidewalk and try to read it and couldn’t get past a sentence or two.  It was frustrating and I would end up tossing the newspaper.  This went on for months.

Then I discovered reading poetry.  Slowly, I would let my eyes go over the words and try to absorb them.  Sometimes I discovered that I had been momentarily transported in my thoughts and sometimes not.  Eventually my ability to focus returned but I learned it’s a process that you can’t hurry along.  Healing happens at its own pace.

Reading is truly a gift.  Movies can give you a similiar mental break but I always think our imaginations are better than anything a movie will show us.

Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, poetry, it’s all good.  To loose yourself in a book is so relaxing.  Ever since I learned to read as a child, I have loved books and sometimes hold on to a book that I’ve already read just so I can go back and read various parts of it again.

There are some books that grab you right away and totally bring you into the story to the point that you feel as if you know the characters and you don’t want the story to end.  I have read books where this has happened and as I am nearing the end of the book I purposely slow down my reading because I know it’s going to end and I really want to enjoy each and every last word the author has written.