Have you ever wanted to escape from reality?
Leave everything behind and get transported to another world?
Maybe you’re bored to death with the mundane
daily routine. Maybe your life’s troubles are weighing heavily on you. Your
job, your career, your family, your friends, all of it becomes too much to
handle at times. You want to get away, if only for a short while.
I bring good news for you. You can escape from your reality. Today, if
you want to.
All you have to do is find a good work of
fiction to immerse yourself into. A story that draws you in, and doesn’t let
you go till the last page is turned.
When a good story gets a hold of you,
something magical happens. From wherever you are, you can teleport yourself to different
world. A world created by the author’s imagination, and completed by your own. There,
you’ll meet interesting new people and go on adventures with them.
You’ll live vicariously through their trials
and tribulations, struggles and rewards, pain and joy. They’ll become part of
your life during the time you inhabit their world.
When you embark on this journey with your
new friends, you’ll begin your escape.
You’ll forget about the problems of the real
world, of the day-to-day struggle. For a brief period, you’ll be free. Free to
be lost in the realm of your imagination. Free to be like a child again:
enchanted and full of wonder.
Now, I know what you’re going to say.
Oh,
I would love to read a good story, but I just don’t have the time. My work
keeps me busy, and then I have so many things to do at home…where’s the time?
What about all the time you spend on your
phone, that addictive device that never leaves your side? How often do you find
yourself scrolling through some newsfeed, watching random videos, distracted by
sporadic tidbits and forwarded messages, rapidly switching between apps?
If you spend a little less time on that
small screen that saps your attention with the frivolous and the random, you
can instead redirect your attention towards something more compelling.
Consider this: you found time to read this,
didn’t you?
Surely then, you can read a story for half
an hour a day. Maybe, before going to sleep at night, maybe during your commute
(or maybe even in the bathroom). When you find a story that captivates you, the
time for it will materialize in your day.
What should I read, you might ask?
Read anything you want. Be it romance or murder
mysteries, courtroom dramas or young adult stories, fantasy or horror….whatever
floats your boat. Follow your curiosity. Find a story that makes you forget
your surroundings, and takes you away to another place, where you can’t wait to
find out what happens next.
Maybe you’ll enjoy dark fantasy horror
stories with zombies chasing vampires. Maybe you’ll like a plain old love
triangle, boy-meets-girl, girl-meets-another-boy, etc. Your family, friends and
colleagues might look upon your choices with condescension and disdain. But who
cares with other people think? Remember, you only have to please yourself. This
is your escape. Yours and yours
alone.
The human experience is a difficult one. Our
lives are chaotic and full of uncertainty. We’re constantly inundated with
challenges and decisions. We have so many expectations to meet, and so much is
out of our control. We’re often blindsided by things that hurt us. We have a
wardrobe full of unfulfilled desires and forgotten dreams.
It’s only natural that we need to escape
every now and again. Some people turn to meditation or spirituality or
religion. Some turn to alcohol and drugs and other medicinal substances. Some
travel to exotic destinations. Some get lost in the world of sports, living
every game with their favorite team. Some are swept away by music and dance,
art and craft.
In the end, we all need an escape. Something
to dispel the dark fog that descends on our minds. A respite from the painful,
suffocating, and at times unbearable experiences that life puts us through.
So, have you found yours?
