Read a Good Book Lately? A little peice of my heart...

I don't put very much weight into statistics- I think they are easy to make up, easy to control and easy to come up with to support anything. I recently read one to the effect that more than 70% of Americans do not read an entire book cover to cover after graduating from HIGH SCHOOL! As tainted as this statistic might be, it was still shocking to me as I am inclined to believe that whether that percentage is correct, the truth seems likely to be that there is a vast majority of people who do not read books when they are not required to for school purposes. (whether high school or college or..)

I feel like I have gone back to school since being in Miami. I don't have animals to take care of, (other than my own little ones...and husband...=) ) no yard to tend, no property to maintain, no house to finish painting/building, no family or friends to visit with or go see and on top of all that I have an awful hard time falling asleep. Soooo I read... A LOT. I probably read about 1000 (one thousand) pages a week down here. This is not normal for me by any means. I often go months without finishing a single book. I usually need something to come HIGHLY reccomended before even attempting to get "into it", and even then if I wasn't "grabbed" in the first 15 pages or so- I was done with it.

But reading the way I have been down here reminds me why I love it so much (and nearly got a double major in college in English). When I read, I tend to read books that I can learn from.- Not to say that there aren't many fictional books that I can learn from, many that I read are fictional but most are not.
Reading these books reminds me how small I am.
The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know... And I like that.... It is exciting to me to think of all that is out there still to be figured out and experimented with. It gives birth to hope for new things to be discovered, it reminds me that THIS is not all there is to life and that ideas and opportunities are endless. I can't help but wonder if this "excitement" is lost on a lot of people these days. I'm not big on imposing my "stand" on anyone, I often feel I am too easily misunderstood or don't represent where I am really coming from well enough, but tonight I just feel like sharing my thoughts on this, so if you are still reading this post- here they are... Majority of people are selling their "excitement" for watching television shows that don't pertain to real life at all, don't give any sort of wisdom, no experiance and simply burn time in a day. And for no better term... it is a CRY'N shame! What a waste of life...not just those that do this, but everyone that comes in contact with them (and many that don't).

I will be the first to admit that sometimes an hour spent zoning out watching a show that requires no thinking what-so-ever is well worth the hour spent in order to just get a chance to "shut off" my brain. But I am finding myself more and more impacted by how many people spend 3+ hours a day "shutting off" infront of a tv or game system of some sort and then expecting "someone else" to pick up the slack on what they don't have enough time for. (finding a job, CREATING a job, making real meals, playing with or teaching their kids, learning how to fix things rather than just throw them away and get another for $50, etc...) 24 hours in a day is A LOT.
A LOT, A LOT, A LOT can be done in 24 hours. If you work a typical 8 hour day and sleep a refreshing 8 hours at night that gives you 8 (EIGHT) hours left in your day...(These figures vary for everyone, but please try and just focus on the point)... what do YOU do with it? Seriously. I am curious if you would be suprised to watch yourself on camera for a typical 24 hour day what you would think. Or even just seen documented time slots of how your time was spent for 24 hours.... are you impressed with what you accomplished? If you are, good for you. Really.
 I fear that many, if looking with an honest eye and open heart, may have a life changing experiance by such an observation. 8 hours is A LOT. Even 5 hours if your above numbers differ... I'm just saying... really think about it... THIS is IT. This- right now- is what you get. Are you keeping "it" for yourself or sharing it with others? Using "it" to grow or just to survive?
In under 2 weeks it will be a new year. Many use this to start new goals, new dreams and new ambitions. Why do so many peoples (my own included) "resolutions" fail? I could easily throw in some statistic here about how many people actually keep their "resolutions" for the whole year.. but you know for yourself... have you ever kept yours for the whole year? Know anyone who has kept theirs? Heard of anyone? (point made.) If someones heart isn't changed-their actions will not change. If your heart is changed it is changed-PERIOD. Not "changed" in 2 weeks, not "changed" tomorrow, not "changed" when my circumstances change... CHANGED. Do what you believe you ought to be doing RIGHT NOW. If you really believe (here's where the heart is involved) you ought to (or ought not to) be doing something, isn't that truth for TODAY? Not 2 weeks from now? Won't you be better off with a 2 week "headstart"? I encourage you to be who you ought to be RIGHT NOW. Everyone will be better for it.
I may be more impacted by this post than anyone reading it.