I remember a sentence that my grandfather told me when I was still young girl. Now I have a more complete view and understand the message hidden behind it: “A house without books is a house without a soul, without windows and with bars”. A house without a soul, because stories do not arise from pages that do not exist. Without windows, because we are not able to see outside that there is another world waiting to be discovered and explored. With bars, because the absence of knowledge imprisons us and makes us blind, we cannot see other colours than black and white, neither do we understand other opinions than our own.
I must recognise that, when I enter the house of a friend, relative or someone I know, I love contemplating the presence of books. This says a lot about the person, and according to the styles they read, you know you will have something to talk about or give your opinion on a subject, moments that you can share through dialogue. Speak, but above all listen. Listen to learn. And learn to become intellectually and spiritually richer. A luxury that we should care for with affect and dedication. Reading opens an extraordinary world full of knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge gives you freedom, it is one of the maximum sources of power for human beings, and is produced thanks to three phases: learning, experience, and introspection. Our experiences can be much more pleasing through what we read, learn, and put into practice. Education is also another common way of acquiring knowledge. Nevertheless, and interdependently of the education we receive, we must try to exercise our minds to open new roads. Knowledge leads you to wisdom and this, therefore, teaches us valuable lessons about life; the real estimation of things. Knowledge is the best investment that an individual can make, because eventually you will always cannot escape the consequences of one’s actions. And as our friend Descartes would say: “I would give half of what I know for the half of what I ignore”. I know more than yesterday, but ignorance is infinite, so I try to learn something more every day.