It is often said that once in a life time you find someone whose ideals and values leave you confounded with their brilliance and depth. So true ! Yes, some approaches to life do have a spell binding effect due to their sheer genius. In my case, there are many who have left visible imprints on the way my mind functions now. Therefore, I would not like to pick out a single person as a friend, philosopher and guide to me. I would rather prefer to have an option by which I can have an access to the minds of various people.
From all the things I have come past across till now, books are the ones which have affected me the most. And I do not mean those self help books, which are publicised as one minute tool to success and happiness and what not. I mean the ones which are written so subtly and interestingly that a new neverland is created in every other book I read, leaving me yearning for more of it. I, personally, believe that books are the best teachers of all, especially for kids and teenagers. Actually, they are pretty helpful to everybody, irrespective of their age, but that depends on how open a mind you keep to grasp the diversity in ideas. For kids, it is comparatively quite easy to do so, as they still would not have formed their own outlook to life. Hence, till date, books have been everything I can ask for. My friend, philosopher, teacher, guide et al.
For me, the fiction stories work the best. They instill in me values and fundamentals, alongwith providing me with pleasure, suspense, excitement, poignance and many other real life emotions. They may be called work of fiction, but most of them have a ring of a certain level of reality about them. They lead you through a maze of emotions and drama in addition to loads of adventure and fun. The way our life progresses through its various stages. They are starkly different from the general non-fictional books, which always suggest one way or the other to live your life to the fullest according to what the author thinks is ' living to the fullest '. They rarely let their characters, if they do create them, to indulge in the experiences themselves. It's always a bird's eye view to the various happenings. Something that emerges out as stilted rather than emphasizing on the way ideas and opinions are formed and how important dreams can be to make you realise the value of life.
Here, I would like to mention a book, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, which deals with the insight in a young boy's mind, who tries to find the aim of his life following his dreams and believing in them. In just some sixty three pages, the author has given a description so vivid and to the point that it is really difficult to miss out what he wants to convey. Yes, people can definitely evaluate the short carefully woven story in their own ways, but the common output would be shockingly similar due to the manner it has been communicated, with suitable emphasis at the proper ideas and their representation. A mode which is usually missed out by people in verbal communication. Thus, the effect which can be created by such works cannot be compared to what a single guide can give you. The reason why I do not prefer to single down my philosophies and ideals to an individual.
My association with books go back a long way. If I remember correctly, I read my first novel when I was in the fourth grade. It was about a small kid, who loses his parents and has to put up with his uncle, who is bent on getting him killed to seize his property. That was my first journey to neverland. And I had loved it thoroughly. After that, it became a passion, with the matter of the books generally changing with the sort of mood I would be in at that particular time, but the fascination never dying off. They gave me company when I was alone, hope in moments of despair, and laughed with me in happy times. Memories I am going to preserve forever deep in my heart.
On an ending note, I'd just want to mention that nobody is perfect. You may idolise some one, but there would always be something or the other which would not be exactly correct about them. Therefore, it's always better to listen to all, and then form your opinions and act accordingly. That helps in making a strong mind, which can make quick tough decisions and infuse originality and independence in your life. Because, finally, that is the life we all want, isn't it ?
