Maybe I should confess that a lot of times I get the impression that I don't quite fit in.
I'm too liberal to be considered a Christian. I'd like to think that I am Christian but not a religious person.
A yogi that's not into the yoga world. I mean, I'm not even vegetarian.
A runner that doesn't run too often. A wanderer that likes stillness.
Bits from here and there that some may call an inability to decide but I like to call it labeless.
A labeless approach that can cause endless and -for some- irritating discussions.
What is yoga? What is right? What is a real? I can argue all sides. I try to censor myself and refrain from these type of discussions though, I think no one wins in these type of arguments. They are, most of the time, a platform to showcase a series of I'm-smarter-than-you condescending statements.
I annoy the hell out of Heinz by saying everything is debatable. One of his famous quotes is "Ruth not EVERYTHING is relative" (Oh yes, he did call me by my first name). I guess this is his way of saying that I may need to pick a side on certain things.
I refuse.
Why should I choose between this or that? Even worst when did concepts become a package of pre-combined ideas? Why the all-or-nothing imposition?
What's wrong with being a mélange, embracing and creating our own version of things. What's wrong with being a little geeky with a hint of goofiness, a careless soul with an addiction to taking things way too seriously. A seeker of spiritual practices but promoter of non-religious ways.
It's like that with cable companies. Why do I have to buy the whole package when the only thing I want is Internet service? I don't want a telephone line. I don't want cable. I want just one thing. I don't care if its cheaper, let me choose!
Now, do I have to use labels to make it easier for others to interpret?
Nah, not interested.
It's certainly not easy -this labeless path- but things are not black and white, at least for me they aren't. Life is made of layers and shapes and depth and why make it boring and uninteresting by simplifying things to a mere label, a generalization or even worst a judgment.
This is the reason why I've always turned myself to books. Together we don't fight but build concepts, we don't destroy but create realities.
I've spent countless hours reading through travels, adventures, love and loss stories thinking it was to give my mind a break from over thinking day to day trivialities like why is the world such an evil place.
But it was in this pages that I found the exact words that could describe my feelings, my thoughts and my discomfort. Beautiful words that I would narrate to myself through quiet nights and noiseless pages. No arguments, no discussions just silent but loudly written words.
This is where I feel most comfortable, amongst covers. Hard-cover books that are too heavy to carry but too addictive to leave at home. Too uncomfortable to hold but too good to put down.
I mean pocket books are ok too.
Stories that show you that weather it is through a vengeance scheme or a wizardry spell, books are the place where you can make your worries simply evanesco!
I love being my own narrator both in the books I read but mostly in the life I live.
This is an homage to those I call MY books. They have been with me during insomnia-filled nights where the impossible was achieved: holding a book in my hands while staying comfortable on my bed.
This is a list of not my favorite books because God forbid I commit that literary genocide, but a list of books that I've re-read or wouldn't mind re-reading.
As you will see just as life, just as me these too are labeless creations that can't and must not be framed in one simple category.
//LE PETIT PRINCE, Antoine de Saint Exupery
A children's book for adults. Every time I read it I discover something new.
//80 DAYS AROUND THE WORLD, Jules Verne
The story of an adventureless world wanderer.
//COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, Alexandre Dumas
An example of how the good always wins by letting evil win.
//HARRY POTTER, J.K. Rowling
An unrecognized piece of classic literature.
//HYGIÈNE DE L'ASSASIN, Amelie Nothomb.
A beautifully written gross book.
//SIDDHARTHA, Hermann Hess
A non-secular religious book ;)
//THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, John Green
Young adult adult young novel.
//ANYTHING WRITTEN BY JUNOT DIAZ.
What Junot writes is the outcome of a Dominican turned New Yorker turned Dominican in New York.
