I used to love to read, unfortunately, three kids, two dogs, a job, volunteer work and demanding house chores have greatly reduced my free time, and that means reading is out of the question. I have tried. I hate to use the excuse, “I’m too busy” as I believe that is a cop out for anything in life. However, before bed, I’ve tried hundreds of times to open a book and get through just one measly chapter. My eyelids get heavy, the words begin to blur and I nod off (actually I go immediately into REM sleep, only to wake up 8 hours later). The very next evening, with high hopes, I eagerly open my book and begin the next chapter, only to realize I forgot what I had read the evening before. Not only do I have narcolepsy, but memory loss too! This is a huge bummer, for someone who loves to read. I love to be inspired by others, to gain insight into their minds through word imagery. Getting out of my routine world, I use creativity and imagination to take me to new places introducing new insights through reading. For a long time I really missed that, and I felt heartbroken. There must be a way I could work around these difficulties. And one day it hit me, my aha moment…books on tape. So I spent the next few hours researching the best apps for audio book listening and downloaded the book I had been attempting to read, Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly (I believed I was daring greatly myself embarking on new technology to fix my dilema) This was a life changer and here’s why.
I had increased my motivation. I decided to invest in a good set of noise reducing headphones and begin to walk the beach while listening. Day 1, I walked 2 miles and got through 1 ½ chapters of the book. Not only that, I was able to retain all of the information, as if my mother was reading a bed time story, it felt warm, fuzzy and I had fallen in love with audiobook listening. By day 5, I was walking 3 miles a day and getting through 3 chapters each and every walk. Today, I walk and listen every morning before I even have my first cup of coffee. I’m up to 5 miles and 4/5 chapters a day, doing the quick math, that’s 4 books a month! I find joy in this process, I am motivated, inspired, somewhat fit, and grateful for the company on my walk each morning. This week, I walked with Oprah, she read to me her life lessons on What she knows for sure. Her soothing voice touches my soul as if she and I were physically having a conversation as friends on my walk. I smile and laugh openly as if I were in her physical presence. Last week I walked with another favorite friend (I mean author) of mine, Liz Gilbert (notice how I call her Liz, her formal name is Elizabeth, but since she read to me daily I felt a familiar connection with her message, and I now call her Liz for short). Her book Big Magic along with the daily sunrise on the horizon, heightened my inspired thought process, sparked creativity and left me motivated for the rest of the day.
Next week, I plan to re-listen to my friend Wayne Dyers book Wishes Fulfilled. Wayne’s soothing, gentle voice creates a calmness like no other. This means, I must plan ahead as my walks with Wayne take a lot longer to complete. My pace slows, my breath gets deeper and I become more mindful of my surroundings.
“The greatest gift that you were ever given was the gift of your imagination.”
― Wayne W. Dyer, Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting
So what I know for sure, there is big magic in reading, sparking creativity, allowing your imagination to manifest wishes fulfilled…