When the mind is cluttered, it is easy to lose focus. On a daily basis we lose our perspective and we forget about what is truly important. I’m as guilty of doing this as anyone else.
Unforeseen problems arise from minute to minute. I think it is the uncertain outcome which stirs fear and feeds it’s flames. We like to know what is going to happen. It makes us comfortable. Without this comfort our minds wander. We ask questions “What if?”
I look around and witness friends bothered by petty unimportant events. If we run around trying to control everything surrounding us, we end up controlling nothing. Or worse yet, we end up being controlled by our surroundings. The key is to master ourselves. We should learn to control our thoughts, our actions, and our emotions. Think about it, if you control your own emotions, you can be happy. Surely the mind is where all of this takes root. The mind tells your body what to do. Your mind is the place where you store your emotions. Your mind has the ability to destroy or the ability to heal. It is by far the strongest and most amazing muscle in the body.
The mind is nourished with knowledge and learning. From the years of learning sprout wisdom. Anyone who has gone from illiterate to literate will tell you it’s like having a million doors open before them. Suddenly options are available.
Illiteracy doesn’t just chain someone mentally; it can lead to a person straight to a place with cold steel bars. You might not believe the statistics or the scholars but surely you must take the word of those who have made their mistakes and suffered the consequences. I have sat hand in hand with people who could not read. It is painful to see a grown man unable to comprehend the words that my son could read at the age of five. I promise illiteracy is preventable. Everyone has the capacity. It just takes a little bit of effort and someone to care.
There are many reasons I champion the cause of literacy. In my youth, it gave me a source of comfort. In my boredom it gave me entertainment. In my life it has given me confidence. These are things I think everyone deserves to have. But, think of how much more productive our society would be if every prisoner around the world were transformed into doctors, teachers, firefighters, philanthropists or artists. Do I sound idealistic? I’m sure I do. But it’s only because I dream as if I’m gonna live forever and I live as if I will die tomorrow. I believe I read those words from James Dean.