Just a wayward soul, looking for the Way
Just a truth-seeker, looking for the Truth
Just a lifeless man, looking for the Life
I seek the way through this world to find a true existence, a real life. But I want to go on this journey with you. I need your help just as you need mine. We are all Merely Human. Please feel free to comment on any part of this work. It is a work in progress, and it is a communal effort. I will most definitely read your comments, and I may even change my mind. Who knows? Let’s go through this journey together.
Why Read the Book?
Before anyone reads a book, what are they looking for? Another way to ask this question is why does a reader even pick up a book? More specifically, why should you read this book?
The adage don’t judge a book by its cover is essentially in understanding the purpose for reading any book. We do judge the book by its cover. We look at the title. We look at the picture(s) on the front. We look at the quality and skill that is placed into its manufacture. Essentially, we are making a judgment based upon an aesthetic attraction on the perceived content of the book. We may think that old books had no regard for aesthetics, because we are far removed from their culture. But in monastic manuscripts, there was extreme care placed into the ornate pictures and calligraphy of which the book consists. The quality with which old books were bound also demonstrates through aesthetic means the importance placed upon the words and ideas that are held within. But books have not always existed. Before books, scrolls or parchment still had care placed into their production. First of all, the necessary time spent even preparing the scrolls or parchment was a long and arduous process. Therefore, anyone wanting to write something down had to have something important to say. But additionally, these forms of written communication were not on just any scrap of writable surface. For scrolls, the very best papyrus was chosen. For parchment, the animal skins had to be tanned and stretched, not merely taken straight from the back of an animal.
Aesthetics may seem to be a marketing tool developed in the late 20th century, but all cultures and generations have placed an emphasis on the aesthetic value of their form of written communication. Today, through the mass media tools like the printing press and the internet, it is relatively efficient to produce written communication. This does not, however, downplay the importance of the aesthetics involved in the production. We place importance on what the cover of a book looks like. We decide to read an internet website or blog based upon the skill with which the website is presented.
But ultimately, the aesthetics of a piece of written communication are primarily visual in nature. No one would continue to read a book, no matter how aesthetic its cover if the content was poor. Thus, we the adage is true; we must not judge a book by its cover alone. The content is vitally important. If you as a reader have already read this far, you probably have already appreciated some sort of aesthetic value in the visual presentation.
But why should anyone read further? What makes this written communication important to be read?
This question cannot be answered by the author, but by the reader. What do we, as readers, believe is important? But this is a loaded question. There are a variety of topics and ideas that catch our interest, because we are all individuals. Therefore, there will always be someone for whom these words are not intended to be read. In this case, I believe that no one contemplating the necessity for life should read any further. This book does not adequately answer the age old question posed by Hamlet: “to be or not to be.” First, as a reader, we must believe that life and the process of living it is important. Now, if we assume that life is important, in what manner should we live life? A bestselling book in recent years is Purpose Driven Life. What made this book so wildly popular? Many humans relate to the questions posed by the book, namely what is our purpose in life. Another way of asking this question is how should we then live?
If we want to determine what purpose, if any, we have in life, then this book is an attempt to address the most vital questions about how we should live our life. On the other hand, if this question does not engage our interest, then please feel free to put this book down. Or better yet, pass it on to someone that struggles with this question.
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