When I was a child, I liked to read literature and Manga. When I was a teenager, I read a lot of books that related to Buddhism and philosophy. Today, I am an adult and I read about emotional management. Three kinds of books can show my different personal interests at different ages.
When I was a child, I had a favorite corner at the library, which was next to the literature section. At that time, I didn’t know about Manga yet so the only entertainment that I could find at school was reading. I also liked smelling the paper of the book before I read it. Once I knew about Manga, I was addicted to it. However, my mom didn’t like me buying it because she thought I wasted money. When I bought a new Manga, I went to my bedroom and tried to finish it as soon as possible; then kept it under the bed. If you took out the mattress and looked inside the bed frame, you would see tons of Mangas that filled the space with tons of books and it was well organized. During school break I would set up a big table in my garage and open a rental Manga shop for kids in the neighbourhood to rent out. I had set a small japanese table zone for them to read in the garage too. That was a fun and memorable moment. Bytheway, I earned a lot. If I was doing it every year, I could be a millionaire. However, when I became an adult, I donated all my beloved Manga to my school’s library.
After I finished high school, I stopped purchasing Manga. My interest shifted to novels and books that related to Buddhism’s aspect. At that time, I watched a lot of movies too, so the dvd rental house was my second home and the book store was an inferior place. Even though I watched movies all day and night, I also read a lot of books about Buddhism. I like Jiddu Krishnamurti. After I had read his book, I tried to read more philosophy books. At that age, I questioned my own emotions and also others’. I tried to find a way that I could understand others better. Reading philosophy that related to Buddhist belief helped a lot to understand human nature and society. Another memorable book that I loved in those days was Sophie’s World. It is different from other novels that I had read before. It contains a lot of history about philosophy. The story of Sophie, and how she discovered herself and the mystery in philosophy’s world grabbed my attention. I finished the thick book in two days as I remember.
A few weeks ago before the class started, I walked around Kinokuniya bookstore to find a book to read. My aim was to search for a book about our emotions and I found one which is named “Emotional Agility”. What does agility mean? That was the thing I asked when I saw the cover. The book is written by Susan David. At the beginning I was eager to read it in the English version. However, when I read a few pages, I decided to buy the Thai version instead since there was a lot of vocabulary that I didn't understand and I might not finish it so I changed my mind. Why today am I interested in emotions today? Because I try to understand my own emotions and manage them. I try to find a way to balance my own emotions. I want to have good mental health since work and news today make me a lot more stressed in life. I haven't finished the book yet, but Susan is a psychologist, so I trust her. The book is about how to understand your negative emotions and accept them and also tells us a better way to understand and deal with them without suppressing our emotions or forcing ourselves to think positive when we are not in the mood. Once I had read it, I think the idea of the book is a bit related to what Buddhism believes. I think that age may be a reason that could shift the kind of book that I read, however, the books I have read are still related in some way.
From my personal experience, I read books that attract me. When I was a kid, I read things to entertain myself, my small world was open. Once I had grown up, I tried to understand what life is. I studied what makes humans question life. Today, I step in my own world just to understand who I really am. Could I be a better person? Who understands their own selves and lives life better the next day? Sometimes reading helps you find the way out of what you have been questioning.
When I was reading your essay I smiled a lot and almost laughed when telling us about your childhood life that you hide the manga books under the bed from mom, It gave me a very clear picture and was a very memorable childhood experience that seems like fun. I like how you included the changing of your interesting books as you have grown up. I also red Sophie's world and very much agree with you that it is different from other novels as it contains history, philosophy and opens up you to curious more about this world as well as other human beings. This example of Sophie book well relates to my life experience as a reader, which is so good. After I read to almost the last part of your essay, when you talked about the emotional agility book, even though I am younger than you and don't have much experience in working. I think I should read this book to understand my own emotion and manage them because nowadays emotional agility or emotional intelligence is very essential to live in society and work with people. You wrote that this book is also a bit related to Buddhism, so other Thai people can understand this book easily as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Naam--Thank you for sharing your experience--it is interesting. I like what you mentioned that you would like to improve your mental health, as I have had strong intentions to do so. I've seen the book that you bought from Kinokuniya bookstore 'Emotional Agility', and its cover and the title also grab my attention. The first time, I saw it I had the same question as you had--what is agility when it is related to emotions? After thinking about that for a minutes at the bookstore, I thought it might mean that how people adjust their emotions quickly when they are in many kinds of situations. For me, it is impossible that I will stay calm under a series of disappointment, angry, sad, happiness and so on. For my experience, it is not good to allow my mind to feel pleasure and to let myself in depression. I mean my mind should not distract to the two conditions, enjoyment and sad, but I should center my mind.
ReplyDeleteSo I ended up not buying the book. By the way, I used to addict to Japanese Manga at the same age as you were. My favorite Manga were Slam Dunk, Prince of Tennis, Detective Conan, Samurai X, and Gunda Wing. I loved what watching those Japanese Manga as I could dream of the characters in the animations. One thing that I learned from the Manga is that you don't have to be perfect. I mean you don't have to have supper power or intelligence to be successful, but you have to have strong determinations and be brave as new things or new situations always come to challenge you. For example, the protagonists in Gumdun Wing are capable of fight, but they are less capable when they face new enemies and situations. As result, they have to find new ways to deal with that and think that they can do. While I was watching it, I needed to keep my fingers crossed that they can over come those challenges.
ReplyDelete