Priority of Goods: Entertainment
Reading Classics Will Make you a Happier Person
I’ve always loved the good things of life – leisure, literary sagas, poetry, romance, and classical epics. But for years, I struggled to allow myself to truly engage with them. It seemed like work, responsibilities, boredom, and guilt always got in the way of my happiness. Instead of writing poetry, I played Candy Crush. Instead of curling up with a good book, I binge-watched another Netflix Christmas Movie. I found myself turning away from the truly fulfilling things and spiraling into a vortex of empty-headed, passive entertainment. When I ran out of lives or my movie ended, I would blink my eyes back into the real world and feel deeply empty and unfulfilled.
My Journey to Finding Happiness
This year, though, has been a turning point for me. I finally decided that I had had enough of wanting to be happy, and instead, I would just be happy! Happiness comes to us in small ways – often not so much with a change of attitude as with a change of activity. So I started being honest with myself about what brought me happiness, I started doing it, and now, I can’t stop being happy!
Happiness comes to me through deep entertainment – words and stories that challenge the misery of life and pursue hope. Stories that ask ‘Is misery in life all we can hope for?’ ‘Can we love better?’ ‘Can we learn from the past?’ I find so much hope, thought, and joy in people who were not afraid to ask big questions, and who passed on their thoughts to us! People like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, T.S. Eliot, and so many more.
These people dedicated their lives to pursuing the good things in life, to asking deep questions, and most importantly, to telling great stories! Stories with happy endings and joyful characters that are full of hope, because people who write introspectively are hopeful about life.
Steps to How I Did It
It wasn’t easy to start reading more often, but I want to share with you the tools and steps I used to find happiness, just in case you’re like me and want to find more fulfillment in life, but find yourself floating aimlessly through mindless entertainment.
Goodreads Reading Challenge
First thing I did, in January, was create a list of 50 books that I wanted to read. Some short, some long, but they were books I had wanted to read for forever, but never seemed to get around to, or else, I had read a long time ago and needed to revisit.
Then, I turned that list into a Goodreads reading list, and signed up for their Reading Challenge. That was, by far, the most motivating thing I’ve ever done! It’s so satisfying to plug in a new book when you finish one – it gives you the rush you need to keep going! And it’s good to have a list to refer to when you finish each book, so you don’t just drop your reading habit because you can’t think of what to read next.
Serial Reader App
The next thing I did was discover Serial Reader, a free reading app. I’ve been wanting to read Moby Dick for years, but I always thought I never would. I knew it would make me happy, and yet I avoided it, because it just seemed too hard.
But when I discovered Serial Reader, I finally felt like I could handle it. Serial Reader delivers a short reading, 10-15 minutes, onto your phone every day, accompanied by a friendly reminder, and a fun congratulations message every time you finish a story. The app is full of classic novels, novellas, and short stories, and more are always being added!
Librivox
I’ve known about this for years, but only recently began really using it. While Librivox was once a compilation of poor-quality audiobooks, it is now a rich resource of well-read stories. Some, such as Little Women, are even fully dramatized! If you’re strapped for money or want to find a reader you like, use Librivox. I can’t recommend it enough.
Library
I cannot, in one short post, relate the wealth of resources available to you at your local library. For me, the most helpful resources are 1) Holds and 2) Audio-books. Many libraries now participate in inner-loan programs with other local libraries, and it’s rare that you can’t find a book that you can put on hold. Once you’ve put a hold on it, it will arrive in your library within a week - most of the time just a couple days - and then it’s just a short drive to pick-up a free book.
Audio-books are even more instant. If your library has a subscription to an audio-book app such as Hoopla, then there are so many books you can check out and listen to right when the fancy takes you! You can check out up to three audio-books a month which, with the big classics, is usually more than enough. Ask your local librarian if you are uncertain about how to use any of these features.
Takeaway
These aids made my resolve easier to act on, but you must make that resolve yourself, or these resources will do you no good. Do you want deeper, richer entertainment? Do you want stories that stay with you for years, giving you food for thought, beloved characters, and multi-faceted stories? Do you seek a fulfilling happiness in your leisure hours?
Empty entertainment has its place – sometimes we need a break for our brains – but until we build a habit of enjoying fulfilling stories, we will fail to find deep happiness in our life.
Will you join me in this activity for happiness?