I always thought that growing up, books were my passion. But I think it was the silence that pulled me in. Books were a vehicle I could use to pull away from the attractions outside. Just as a crab buries itself into the ground to feel safe, I could shut my room door, turn off the lights so that everything was black, recline on my soft mattress and read for a long time. I found it rejuvenating and restorative. The longer the book, the better. I didn’t have to think of myself, just the storyworld.

I could watch the characters and watch each moment lead to the next.

A portal to introversion, a portal to peace, a portal to quiet,

my interest was no longer in me, but in silence.

And later, essays and long writing projects became my silence. The mind can never shut off. So, to give it a simple task like reading in silence directs its focus, and so cancels out external noise. This is how we recharge.