Milkmind

Today is a totally separate theme for an article. I have made up a new word however to keep that ball rolling. Milkmind is what I decided to write about today. Milk is a very useful source of vitamins and minerals that help us grow up to become healthy adults. It helps our bones grow strong from the calcium contained within. Milk also contains vitamin D and sometimes several other vitamins that are added during processing. Drinking milk has been a valuable source of nutrition for most of our young lives and continues on through adulthood if you are not lactose intolerant. The second part of the word is of course mind. Our mind grows throughout our lives also, but it is fed a very different set of nutrients. We feed it information through our five senses. Sights, sounds, touches, smells, and tastes feed our minds with its nutrients for growth. Today, I am going to talk about the one nutrient that feeds our brain above all others, the milkmind nutrient of reading.

In the not so distant path, reading was a very limited ability and only those who were “schooled” had the ability to read. Most people in those times were hard working laborers who did not “need” to read to function and support their family. As time passed and the Industrial Revolution hit, scholastic growth fast became a requirement to succeed in the world. You were required to have the ability to read or you were basically forced into some unskilled labor that would not be sufficient enough to support you or a family. Reading had changed from a “wanted” skill to a required skill. Of course these generations who were not used to reading, loved having the ability that was so far out of reach for previous generations. They would willingly read books, newspapers, and magazines. They would read anything and in turn, they were feeding their mind. Reading was exciting for them. No longer were they chained to their farms and daily labors of life. They could escape and learn from reading a book.

Where has the zest for reading gone? Sure, we have multitudes of bookstores filled with books. We have public libraries full of books where all you need is a library card to reserve any book you would like. We have magazine rack after magazine rack available to peruse through. However, do you know many people in your life that read more than a few books a year? Yes, people “read” a lot of magazines, but they can in no way compete with the information or story telling ability of a full length book. Do you know someone in your life that actually admits to enjoy reading? From a poll taken in 2002, it proposed that less than 60% of the adult people in our country had read just one book in the last year. Think about how long it takes to read one book, any book. Over 40% of the adult population didn’t accomplish that. Books can also be a pretty lenient sense of definition for description. We are not talking about 1,000 page books here. It could be something as simple as a 100 page short story all the way up to some of the most intellectual writings available.

Another poll suggests that on average, half of the population read more than 4 books a year and half do not. Is that bad? I think so. Reading four books does not make you a literary scholar. Reading four books equates to one every three months, or one book every 90 days. Let’s just say that the books are on average, 300 pages, that turns out to just a little over 3 pages of reading per day. How long does it take to read a page? I guess somewhere around a minute or less so that gives us about 3 minutes a day of our life devoted on average to reading. One of the most important nutrients to our mind and we only “feed” it for 3 minutes a day. You might be saying that you read all the time, just not books. You would have a valid argument, but is the reading that you are doing actually fulfilling an intellectual need or some need of time passage? There are thousands, if not millions, of avenues to “read” and waste your time. Reading a magazine, probably doesn’t count here. If you’re reading the newspaper, there is negligible content there. Oh, the internet you say? There is a lot of information on the internet, but are you actually reading it? I can show you studies saying different.

As we make our way into the future, we see people reading less and less to feed their mind. We see a focus upon the other nutrients of our mind. We feed it with sights and environment. What’s the difference? One is easy and does most of the work for you where one requires your own effort. Reading requires your effort to accomplish. Sight and environment happen. You may say that you don’t have the time to read. I say start by devoting 10 minutes a day to reading books. Don’t read the internet, don’t read magazines, and don’t read the newspapers. Read a book. 10 minutes a day would turn out to be a 300 page book per month. For the year, we would then be at 12 books per year rather than 4. Can you spare 10 minutes per day for feeding your mind? Reading to me is one of the most important mind nutrients available. It teaches us without us being forced to learn in a school system or by training. We learn by using our mind. Our mind will grow as we feed it information. Studies have shown people who read are generally smarter than those who do not.

Feed your mind the milk that it needs to grow. Our minds are ALWAYS growing and we need to provide it the necessary sustenance or it will shrivel up in a metaphorical way. I’m not saying your mind will disintegrate, I am saying that you will pay a price for not reading. The price you will pay will be your own intellectual ability. By not reading, you are harming your own ability to succeed. Reading does not have to be books that are deemed to be the best by society. You can read a variety of fiction, non-fiction, biographical, or comedic material. Read material that suits your tastes, but read books. Magazines can satisfy your immediate need, but it’s like sugar. It gives you a rush, but doesn’t last. Books are the protein for your mind. I know, it’s all pretty metaphorical, but in the end, books are where the vast majority of the mind’s essential nutrients exist.

Let’s start feeding our mind the milk that is requires. We can grow our minds and intelligence with a little effort of our own. Don’t fall into the half of society that fails to maximize their growth or potential. Feed your mind what it needs! I challenge everyone who reads this to begin reading a book a month. If you can accomplish that, start trying to read 2 books a month. Read to satisfy your mind. Can that be accomplished, a total satisfaction of the mind? Doubtful, but we aren’t even on the cusp of finding that out. I’ll challenge myself accordingly. Will you join with me? I hope so!

Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20381678/