Of Bookworms and Kill Joys

Bookworm, Nerd, Kill-Joy are some of the names my friends refer me with. My question is am I indeed all this? In my perspective, I shall call someone a bookworm, if the person finds solace only in books and neglects every other necessary and essential aspect of life, like sports, exercise, friends and socializing. I don’t know what my friend’s perspective is on me and what character of mine makes them nicked as bookworm and nerd.

During my first year at college, I faced a problem when spending time with books. I reside at a hostel and as soon as I pick up some book, whatever it is, academic related or not, someone or the other passing by would stop and ask, “Hey Jithin! Started studying so soon?” Well I do have the habit of reading something or the other a bit everyday, be it academics related or otherwise, but my practice was seen as something bad and I was mocked upon. I indeed felt unhappy that the people around me were not realizing what enjoyment is and when it is ripe to enjoy. Many I met spent their time lavishly in some activity or the other neglecting academics. I didn’t want to make that a habit as I did not want to take the burden at the end.

I don’t believe I spent the whole of my time on books. I do take time off to relax, enjoy and spend time with friends, chatting and joking. But, what I could not tolerate was when friends teased me telling that ‘I spend all my time in front of books and I could not even spend a minute without them’, when I was not what they told I was. But I am happy I have learned to live through embarrassment and ridicule, and continue what I wanted to do. It is will power that enables you to survive when your interests are not entertained by people around you.

Enjoyment depends on how we look at it. I know many who tell, they find books boring and reading a burden. They neglect something essential, education. It is the mind that controls us. Mind is a charioteer of our body. How our mind controls us, depends on how the spiritual ‘you’ control your own mind. Rather it should be that the mind feels free to get you what you want, without the need to enslave it.

The physical existence of the mind is unknown; at least I am unaware of it. That is what, which makes you realize the life in you, making meaning to your existence. Books are a beautiful medium that enlightens us about life; it’s materialistic and spiritual faces. Life is an ever rotating wheel, with joy and sorrow occurring periodically, the one who survives the sorrow is the one who realizes the joy in sorrow and the sorrow in joy. So enjoy when you really have to, “Cause Too Much of Anything Isn’t Good.”