Druidry and reading
(Nimue)
Any topic we might choose to explore is a relevant one on the Druid path. There is no aspect of human experience that you can’t bring your Druidry to. There is no subject that you can’t learn from. Any non-fiction book you pick up can therefore be considered part of your study as a Druid. It’s the dedication to ongoing learning, to the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom that is intrinsically Druidic. Where you take that is up to you.
The scope for learning and study isn’t limited to non-fiction. We can learn a lot from fiction about other people’s perspectives, cultures and experiences. Reading widely helps us develop empathy with others, and to be more understanding of experiences different to our own. Even the trashiest of throwaway paperbacks have things to teach us about human desire, and what gives other people comfort, even if we are not personally moved by it.
There is nothing un-Druidic about seeking comfort. Our mammal bodies need rest, our brains need pleasure and enjoyment. We don’t function well if we’re obliged to be busy and disciplined all the time. We need to let go, and unwind, and any harmless thing that lets you do so is a good idea. That’s time spent taking care of your mammal self. Physical books can be great in this regard, because we can turn off the gadgets, snuggle up and be taken somewhere else for a while. It’s a low carbon activity, too. Most of us would benefit from quieter, gentler time with no demands or pressures, and reading can give us that.
What are we here for? What is life about? Books – fictional or not – can help us explore these questions. We can find inspiration, and challenge in the safety of a page and respond to that in our own time and on our own terms. We can seek joy, and amusement and the comfort of a happy or satisfying ending to a tale. We can see our own concerns played out, and see how common our experiences are and all of this is helpful.
Much as I love the internet, our gadget-based, high speed culture robs a lot of people of their scope to concentrate. It’s good to go deeply into things and really spend time with them. If you’ve got this far (about four hundred words in) then you obviously do have the capacity to invest in reading, and the inclination as well. There’s nothing inferior about online reading – there’s a great deal of valuable material to be found online if you can avoid being distracted by the noise and the flashing lights. The choice to take time, to make space, to move slowly is an important one.
Working with writing has, at times, made it difficult for me to read for pleasure. Editing and reviewing, or reading for research for a job is very different. When you have to read critically, have to remember what you’ve read, don’t get to pick what you read, and when there is a job to do and responsibilities to fulfil reading ceases to be fun. Government documents are the least fun, I have found. Sometimes it has taken a deliberate shift to come back to reading for pleasure and to reassert that as part of my life. It’s always worth the push.
