Third Week of Reading - Reflections

Week Three of my reading started off with a bang.

I finished Snow Crash as I expected I would. Such an amazing book! I loved everything about the book (given what it is - which definitely is written with the typical chauvinistic flare). The characters were compelling. The story line was engaging. And at certain parts I felt like I was reading a masterfully crafted reality that combined the elements I loved from The Matrix series, Ready Player One, and Hackers. Brilliant - I can see why Stephenson is a favorite author for so many. It was delightful as I was able to chat with someone during an after-work appointment about the book - turns out he is a huge Stephenson fan too.

I also spent some time finishing The Four Noble Truths. Between the New Moon on January 5 and full moon on January 20, it seemed like the energy was really pulling me into a deeper exploration of my own pain and suffering in order to propel myself forward. I enjoyed my diving into Buddhism so much this book now sits on my shelf, and spent time earlier this week with a dear friend and mentor understanding her journey and growth from her travels to India and exploration of the temples there. It put India on my list of places to potentially travel as I continue to grow.

As I reflect on what I've been learning from my readings and dialogues with others, I find that our society is conditioned to believe selfishness is bad. I've come to understand a new perspective on selfishness - namely that taking care of oneself and needs is the core of selfish. When someone calls someone else selfish, what they are really saying is, "How dare you care more about your needs than mine." And to me, the expectation that we would put others ahead of ourselves to our detriment is selfish - it leads to a great deal of suffering as our own needs are trampled or ignored, crippling our spirits and souls. I'm as guilty of this as the next person, confusing sympathy with empathy when in fact they are two very different things. I have been able to understand some of these concepts better, and am working on realigning my own mind as I move forward from my own "pain and suffering" into a more enlightened state - and I'm absolutely okay being called selfish by taking care of myself and spending the time and energy to become a better person.

As I begin week four, I am almost done with one of the new books added to my list in week two: Scrum: The art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. I am also hoping to read Celeste Eg's Everything I Never Told You since the library auto-checked it out for me, as well as Joe Dispenza's Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and another Moore book - Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story. That way I can focus on some lighter stuff when I am traveling for vacation and work over the next few weeks.

Happy Reading!
Jennifer