Reading Time: 2 minutesRead a Book and Rediscover the Joy of Reading
Simple Instructions:
- Every day this week, read a book for ten minutes.
- You can read on an electronic device, but disconnect from the Internet while you’re reading.
- You may use an audio book to fulfill this practice, but you must not be doing anything else, like driving or housekeeping.
Watch this video for an explanation of this Well-Being Practice from Whole Life Challenge co-founders Andy Petranek and Michael Stanwyck.
Why Is This Practice Important?
It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of books to who we are. They allow us to spread ideas. They teach valuable lessons through stories. Maybe most importantly, they allow us to pass vast amounts of valuable information from one generation to the next. Without them, human culture could not have evolved to the level it has.
Yet, how many people sit down to read a book anymore? More often than not, we consume bites of information, the whole story in 500 words or less. How often do we soak ourselves in the luxury of the written word, in the kind of wisdom and knowledge that only time can offer, in the sorts of stories that compel and transport us?
Humans have learned and shared most things throughout history through stories. It’s how our brains are wired. So this week, we’re going to revisit what many of us probably enjoyed in our childhood — sitting down to read a book. Practice this for just ten minutes a day and see what it brings to your daily experience of life.
Stop for a moment and remember the last time you read a good book. Remember how satisfying it was. You can have that feeling back any time you like. Just pick up another one.
He graduated from UCLA with a BA in philosophy as well as a degree from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, and feels food is one of the most important parts of a life - it can nourish, heal, and bring people together.
Michael believes health and well-being are as much a state of mind as they are a state of the body, and when it comes to fitness, food, and life in general, he thinks slow is much better than fast (most of the time). Stopping regularly to examine things is the surest way to put down roots and grow.
He knows he will never be done with his own work, and believes the best thing you can do for your well-being starts with loving and working from what you’ve got right now.
