Liz and I have talked a few times about the power of reading. More specifically, we've both noticed that people who read a lot tend to be more empathetic than those who don't. Of course this is a generalization! But, well, I think there is some truth to it, because reading (I'm talking about fiction here) is essentially a class on empathy. The whole point of reading a book is to put your mind inside someone else's body and live out their life. As a white single woman in 2013, I can live the life of men and women of color from all time periods in relationships and situations I could never, or hope to never, experience. I can live the lives of good people and bad people, people who are desperate and people who are generous. I learn who I want to be and who I want to avoid becoming.
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's place. Reading is the practice of putting yourself in someone else's place.
That was one epiphany. During a later conversation, I realized that this empathy was also what has equipped me to be a counselor. Counseling is basically being able to understand someone else's situation, to feel their pain and know their struggle.
What I'm saying is, my 25-year habit of reading a novel every other day is going to make me a kick ass counselor. I'm also saying that maybe I have exactly one interest in life: experiencing other people's stories, and I do that through both reading and counseling. WHAT that blows my mind, here I thought I was a beautiful complex snowflake. So if I were to boil myself down to one characteristic, I think it would be empathy.
All because of books.
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