我踏马而来

Why read more books? This is the best answer I've ever heard. People often ask: After reading so many books, aren't you still going to end up in an ordinary city, working an ordinary job, and building an ordinary family - what's the point of all the fuss? Mr. Qian Zhongshu once said: If you don't read, even if you travel thousands of miles, you're just a mailman. Beijing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Luoyang - without the nourishment of knowledge, these places are just familiar names that you've heard before but never really known. The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Confucius Temple - with the illumination of culture, they're not just relics that have been weathered by time, but living things that have been alive for hundreds and thousands of years. Reading not only makes your travels more enriching, but more importantly, it allows your spirit to break free from the shackles of the body and time, and go on a journey of the soul. Reading gives you a way out when you're stuck. A netizen once shared his own story. He had a fight with his partner and was so angry that he couldn't sleep for several nights in a row. He kept thinking to himself, "I didn't do anything wrong, why won't they apologize?" Until he read a book about intimate relationships, which had a passage that suddenly made him realize: Many couples fight not about who's right or wrong, but about who will admit that they need each other. When you think you're completely in the right, that's exactly when you need to reflect on yourself. He suddenly understood, and his anger disappeared, his mood improved, and he felt refreshed. If you don't read much, your horizons are limited, and when you encounter a little setback, you easily become negative and pessimistic, trapping yourself in your emotions. Only through reading can you see through the truth of life and human nature, and make your life more transparent. Reading is the cheapest form of self-investment. Charlie Munger said that all the smart people he's met from various industries read every day - not a single exception. Li Xueqin, a talented woman from Peking University, has many labels: elite school graduate, entrepreneur, actress, and talk show host. She's not a professional, but her words can always astonish the audience. The reason lies in her strong learning ability and creativity, which she developed through reading from a young age. She said that the vivid characters in literary works told her: You must create, you must be different, you must be yourself. All the books she's read have allowed her to easily cross many thresholds and excel in every field. Reading is a portable refuge. Shūji Ishii, the author of "The Courage to be Disliked," was once bedridden due to a heart attack. He was anxious during the day and insomnia-ridden at night, feeling like a failure, and even contemplating suicide. Later, he started reading, from Greek philosophy to Shakespeare, for eight years. Those words made him realize that his suffering was not unique, and many people had lived through similar struggles. Books became his redemption. Bai Yansong said: You'll encounter many troubles, and hardships will torment you. However, if you read a lot and gain wisdom, you can face various difficulties that come your way. Reading makes you no longer afraid of loneliness. Sanmao loved reading from a young age. The words in books gave her the courage to roam the world and broadened her horizons. In the Sahara Desert, she saw the desolate landscape, but didn't despise it; when she met ignorant villagers, she didn't feel disgusted. The words she read gave her the grandeur to accept everything. She said: Often, you might think that the books you've read are just fleeting memories, but they're actually still within you - in your temperament, your speech, and your broad-mindedness. The more you read, the more open-minded you become, the more you understand the world, and the more you discover its beauty. Don't complain that reading is bitter; it's the path to seeing the world. Shakespeare said: Books are the nourishment of the world; without them, life is like the earth without sunlight; without them, wisdom is like a bird without wings. Whether it's to dispel confusion or resist mediocrity, reading is the simplest and most practical method. Give yourself some time, calm down, and read - it will nourish you, change you, and let you meet a better version of yourself.