let me tell you a story:
back in my college days (which we call university here in Australia) I was a real book fiend. Would spend hours each day in the campus library, perusing different sections, different shelves. A real eclectic reader – history, science, psychology, philosophy, literature – basically everything. And where did this intense curiosity spring from? one work I encountered in my post high school days: JM Robert’s magnificent ‘Penguin History of the World’. (the Penguin here being the publisher, not the animal :-))
this one book triggered an intellectual landslide. All those subjects not treated in my formal schooling days; here they were brought up in a beautiful narrative history; one that excited the mind, elucidated the field, and sparked a thousand other avenues of thought. Reading and re-reading this blockbuster tome (coming in at 1000+ closely printed pages) blew me away. This is an Awakening, in every sense. We’re talking about the History of the World here folks! that means everything comes under its purview; dictators, kings, and empires may form the broad brushstrokes of history, but inside of that the rich endeavorings of humanity are taking place: philosophical enquiry, inventive science, art and dance, the struggles of the family within the societal structures. History may be the canvas here, but it is by painting the little details that the true image is formed.
This book I read and re-read two or three times over when was 19. It fairly well set my course for the next 10 years. Intellectual pursuit of answers, book knowledge in every form. I read and read and read. I lived the life of an omnivorous gorging bibliophile. That was my life.
and against this backdrop the rest of my life was spinning away. I studied, I worked, I studied some more, and I worked some more. The sustenance of my life had to be maintained, but every spare minute I had was ploughed into those never-ending pages of knowledge and insight. Biographies gave me a glimpse into the manifest lives of great men; popular science informed me of the latest findings in genetics, evolutionary psychology, particle physics, and cosmology. Spiritual works informed the meaning and purpose of all things. Literature fired the imagination full of possibilities, poetry set the heart alight. It was a glorious Mental Awakening.
I left those years behind me a little way back. Fully sated, I needed time now to digest. Put all the pieces together.
but that story, my friends, is for another day.
<>
blessings and peace
String Trio #1 :: scored for violin, viola, and cello
March 23, 2009 at 9:50 am
Sounds like my youth. Eventually you lose some of the energy. Earning and loving take reading time. I became a professor so I could be paid to read. Didn’t entire;y work out that way.
My list might be different than yours, but I have shared the passion and believe it beautiful.
March 23, 2009 at 9:51 am
The Penguin History of the World is still a cherished book of mine, too. I still have — and use — the very tattered paperback copy I picked up in college. That and my almost-complete collection of the old 1950s-1960s hardcover HORIZON magazines are my favorite first resort for reference material on a LOT of other stuff I read. It’s GREAT stuff!
March 23, 2009 at 9:57 am
Hello Maestro – ggw_bach
Thank you for sharing your love
for a wonderful music with me.
It is a great pleasure meeting you on line.
In my city we have a Winspear Center
where I go from time to time for a concert.
I love Classical music…Bach, Chopin, Mozart
Just a few to mention…Great Composers!
Lotus1150
March 23, 2009 at 10:14 am
LOL
That looks like my study room in deed 🙂
March 23, 2009 at 10:21 am
At least fully sated you could digest. I digested, and it all went away.
Music and art now my passion, can’t seem to read anymore without going to sleep, sad but true.
March 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
OMG, you’re me! 😀 When I was 9, I used to skip the playground and go hide out in the library instead. Being a librarian is a dream of mine. *mind wanders*
Wonderful tune! This one is going to hold a special place, indeed.
March 23, 2009 at 11:08 am
I am honored that you took the time to include me in this post, A feeling of bliss and warming comforting feelings surrounded me as I read and listened to the wonderful music and insightful writings of someone gifted with enough talent to take center stage and hold it. You my friend are one of my best finds….
March 23, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I always have a couple of books going. And a list of things to read. So many books, so little time.
March 24, 2009 at 1:25 am
Fabulous post, GGW. And inspirational music as always.
March 24, 2009 at 5:46 am
I’m intrigued…history per se was not so much my muse, but books – mostly spiritual books from virtually every tradition and mystic that ever bothered to write…and they are real to me, and still shape me moment by moment…so I’m interested to read more and find out where you went from here…
March 24, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Thank you.
March 24, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Dedicated to Ggw_bach
The books can tell a story
Of a one man’s life,
Him searching stubbornly
To find directions, a light
For the future so divine-
Soon he discovered that
Music was to be his love?
The tunes grew inside his Heart
Muses called his gentle soul
The future soon revealed
Cello, Viola and Violin
Those were the wonders
Instruments in his hands
And a true Love for life?
March – 2009
By ZuzannaM
March 26, 2009 at 9:14 am
yes I have that book too! Its dry, but dry like a good vintage wine…
March 26, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Hi,
Thank you for your comment in my blog. My late father used to say that there may be billions of people on this earth, but there are only few of them will become good friends because they have the same brain wave lengths.
I was brought up in a remote small town of Burma ( Myanmar),but my late father never failed to bring home all sorts of reading materials, Life, Times, Readers Digest, Beezar and Beeno cartoons to Classics and Semi classics.
Your post remind me my childhood and University years.
Regards,
Kyaw Kyaw Oo
March 27, 2009 at 11:29 pm
What an interesting place you have going here! I just stopped on by via your Twitter request, and I must say: I am certainly pleased to read what I’ve found here.
I play the violin & the viola, and the string trio you posted has lovely harmonies. Your influences are more my style, to say the least. 🙂
March 28, 2009 at 4:26 am
What a wonderful, magical site – thanks so much for stopping by mine so I could find you here. I will be a frequent flier.
April 12, 2009 at 6:12 am
Thank you for the wonderful music and thoughts. This is a great picture too- reminds me of wanting to jump into a pile of leaves in the fall. I could happily jump into that pie of books and be lost for days.