Love libraries! Libraries exude an air of sacred space for knowledge to freely move and enter the individual and collective minds groping to understand the mysteries surrounding our life. Entering a library, one feels the solemn ritual of a person trying to gain new insights and absorbing what the world offers. Silence pervades the hall lulling sleepyheads that use meditation as an excuse to occupy cubicles and try to sleep in a half erect sitting position as others refer and discuss notes in a hushing manner lest the librarian slash your hush with some tongue lashing.
A library in the traditional sense is a place where books are kept for use but not for sale. It has expanded its scope in present times to include musical, artistic, or reference materials that people can use for whatever purpose they have in mind. It is in this place where you can find the literary works of the communist Karl Marx, the fiery philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the capitalist Ross Perot serenely stand side by side in the shelves without the usual debate on class struggles and the correct social system.
But it is always the books that fascinate the imagination as it stands quietly in the shelves waiting to share knowledge and share stories to the next person. Reading books gives an individual the experience that transcends one’s physical boundaries by leafing through the pages and absorbing the magical letters transformed into words that breathes life, stories, and knowledge to the readers. To read is to add up to the cumulative learning of every individual giving each one the chance to absorb wisdoms culled from the experiences of individuals and societies. It’s a fascinating trip that can bring one from the apex of happiness to the abyss of gloom and misery depending on one’s whims and mood at the moment.
In the era of fast food and high speed communication technology where our basis of efficiency and effectiveness lies on how we can accomplish tasks at hand with the least time expended, we are expected to speed up whatever we are doing to get to other tasks diminishing our mindfulness in the present moment. Reading slows down the pace as one discovers the thoughts and minds of authors putting us back into the mindful state of sitting still and quiet solitude that creates space for creativity. As one saying goes, Revolution begins in quiet places.
Habang nakasakay sa LRT papasok sa trabaho, nakita ko itong tula, sa tren, (kaya nga tulaan sa tren) na sulat ni Rio Alma. Nagandahan ako talaga. Sana ay mas dumami pa ang mga ganitong obra at ikalat sa kalakhang Maynila. Sa likod ng mga taxi kaya? sa Loob ng Jeep? O Bus? Sana mga paintings din mag-post ang mga gumagawa ng ganitong mga proyekto.
