An Empowered Spirit Blog Post

What Rod Serling, The Dude and Russell Baker Taught Me About Making Time To Read

By Cathy Chester on February 2, 2013

“Witness Mr. Henry Bemis, a charter member in the fraternity of dreamers.  A bookish little man whose passion is the printed page.  But it was conspired against by a bank president and a wife and a world full of tongue cluckers and the unrelenting hand of a clock.” ~Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone (Time Enough at Last)

I often wonder how I’ll find enough time to keep up with the countless articles, newspapers, emails, texts, journals, magazines, and books that constantly glare at me from my tremendous, messy pile in the corner of my desk. That pile haunts me. I harbor guilt over my inability to tackle it.  How do I balance my reading list and the daily responsibilities of my work and family life?

Sometimes I see myself as Henry Bemis, Rod Serling’s masterful character, which Burgess Meredith brilliantly portrayed in The Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough At Last.” Mr. Bemis is a simple, nearsighted bank clerk whose greatest wish is to have time to read all the great classics in literature quietly. His passion becomes endlessly annoying to his employer, wife, and the customers at the bank.  He is desperate to find a quiet place to read without being interrupted.  One day he grabs a book and a newspaper, enters the empty bank vault, and shuts the heavy door behind him.

After finishing his book, he turns to his newspaper and reads the headline, “H Bomb Capable of Total Destruction.”  You guessed it.  While in the vault, the world is destroyed, and he is its only survivor.

After walking among the ruins of his town, his first reaction is to commit suicide.  What would he do for the rest of his life with all the time he had on his hands?  His grief instantly turns to joy after stumbling onto the contents of the town’s public library.  He loudly proclaims, “And the best thing of all is there’s time now.  There’s all the time I need.  And all the time I want.”

Okay, I’m not exactly like Henry Bemis (except for being very nearsighted), but you get my point.

I have three books I’ve wanted to read on my nightstand for some time now.  One is a selection from my book club (The Paris Wife) - a meeting that occurred last week, and I couldn't attend.  I haven’t finished the book and was too busy for the meeting.  The second is a book of American religious poems my beloved uncle sent me (I read a little at a time).  The other is Jeff Bridges' new book, “The Dude and the Zen Master.” I love The Dude, and I love books on spirituality.  Hopefully, my love of “The Big Lebowski” will rid me of guilt over not starting the book.

On my desk are approximately 30 newsletters, magazines, and articles (AARP newsletters, MORE magazine, dozens of health-related newsletters, and an MS quarterly) that I thought would prove helpful while writing various articles and blog posts.

In my Google inbox are thousands of emails I never deleted.  Why? When I quickly scan the title, I think, “That sounds interesting” or, “This may enhance my blog.” “Measuring Social Media: How to Determine Your SOI,” "Best Apps for Taking, Editing and Organizing Photos,” and “Buddhism: Are You Limiting Yourself?” are just some of what is stuffing my inbox and slowing down my computer.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!  

As a writer, I know the best gift I can give myself is to read, read, and read constantly. Writers write about what they know and what they learn.  Their minds are always actively pursuing the next brilliant article, perfect post.  Ideas and storylines consume our consciousness like a dress rehearsal for a one-act play, tweaking and rewriting stories until we are ready to write.

I grew up the product of two parents who are voracious readers.  They read everything from the classics to world history to modern fiction.  My father can quote Shakespeare; my mother loves British literature.  When they ask me what I am reading, I sheepishly explain “WordPress for Dummies” and defend myself by adding, “But I’m still reading my daily New York Times.”  Their incredulous look says it all.

I once read an article about Russell Baker, the famous columnist who, when watching a baseball game, noticed a pre-game interview of an author who had recently published a 300-page novel.  The interviewer asked how people could read her long book since they were pressed for time.  Mr. Baker found this amusing, considering viewers were about to watch a 3-hour baseball game.

Well, Mr. Baker, you indeed were right.  So here’s my list of ways to conquer my reading list in 2013:

  1. Schedule a daily reading time.
  2. Organize what I want to read (journals, newsletters, emails) and make deadlines for when I want to be finished.  (I won’t give myself deadlines for books I’m reading for pleasure.)
  3. Set up a reading area where there are no distractions.
  4. Know when to give up on a book, article, or newsletter.  If I’m not interested, or an email has been in my inbox for months, or it won’t benefit my personal or professional needs, get rid of it.
  5. Define my “time wasters” and get rid of them.  Limit my time on social media (we all know how hard that is.) Journal how I spend my time in one day. This will help me discover how to use my time better.  (Journaling can be helpful in many areas of our life, and this is no exception.)
  6. Breathe.  Life is about the journey, and enjoying what I read is as important as what I read. 
  7. Don’t take this all too seriously (and stop the guilt!), or I’ll miss the whole point of reading.  It should, first and foremost, be pleasurable, always educational, and endlessly rewarding.

Getting back to Henry Bemis, as he grabs his first book to begin his long journey of uninterrupted reading, his glasses fall to the ground, shattering the lenses.  He is unable to read and begins to cry.  “This is not fair. This is not fair at all.”  No, Henry, it isn’t fair.  But, as Rod Serling surmises, Henry is “just a fragment of what Man has deeded to himself.” Aye, there's the rub.

Let’s take a lesson from Henry and give ourselves time to enjoy what we read, cherish the journey, and appreciate our lives with our loved ones - real and fictional.

 

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DISCLAIMER:  Comments from An Empowered Spirit are brought to your attention on topics that could benefit you and should be discussed with your doctor or other medical professional. I am not medically trained, and my posts are journalistic and not instead of medical advice. An Empowered Spirit and its author will not be held liable for any damages incurred from using this blog or any data or links provided.

 

Author

Cathy Chester

Comments

  1. Oh my... I see myself in you. I finally gave up my subscription to The New Yorker because I couldn't keep up. I have stacks everywhere.
    Love your idea of developing structure for reading.. will have to adapt that for my own use.
    Thanks!!!

  2. Absolutely LOVED this, Cathy. It was so self validating! You sound just like me so I am not crazy after all, just a writer who loves to read, read, read. I have a whole library under my bed!

  3. While I was reading it, I thought you wrote it for ME... until I reached the Comments section and realized it was written for some of the other GenFabers. I've allowed my magazine subscriptions to dwindle to just one. I've stopped (well, almost, anyway) buying print books because they've taken over my house. I have approximately 600 books (maybe 700 by now) in my Kindle library. I've recently begun blocking out an hour before bed to read, and I'm considering adding an entire afternoon once a week. Thank you for writing this and sharing!

  4. I concur with this post in that it is critical important to keep reading but in an organized fashion that which is interesting, fun, expands our minds and has relation to what we work on. My Mother was a scholar and would be horrified at my largeTBR pile as its cozy mysteries for now to de stress. I carved out one hour in the late afternoon with my favorite chair, tea and current books to enhance my life last year. I also read at night before sleep. Social networking I do not do by choice as it does not add value to my life and I lived an entire lifetime without it's infrigement on my time. To me it is childish and not necessary in life. I would rather read books. I organize my in box by subject and only read that which is necessary. For instance my digital photography hobby emails are organized by subject and date for a time when I can review them, not to be seen during a busy day. As for your desk you just need some good organization and decision making such as "Throw it Out" and "shred" pile first. Those are good places to start. I never keep more then a weeks worth of paper on my desk, then it goes to shred, file or thrown out. I made a home binder organization system that was simple and took care of paper Good Luck!

  5. This resonated with me too, Cathy. So many books, so little time ... I must say that the time suck that is social media has taken much of my book reading time away, and I really want to change that.

  6. Just the title containing "What Rod Serling . . . taught me about making time to read" conveyed the whole thought! Helene is right: plus the e-world removes a lot of the impact of reading from a page you can actually touch.

  7. Hi Cathy,
    Mea culpa! The title of this post caught my eye and instead of placing it in the file of good intensions I opened it to be an immediate read. Of course the Twilight Zone clip drew me in as well. So aptly placed! I have often wondered if everyone, like me has a metaphoric junk mail pile in their said email programs. It's a pathetic little denial to convince oneself that you are actually going to take a moment to read all that you intend to. As a non-profiteer I wonder if my messages are read or if they are filtered to go straight in to the to-do-file of destruction! While I'm writing these messages (and all messages) I remind myself to minimize and keep it simple. No easy task for such a verbose woman. And coming from a long gene pool of hesitancy and not causing a stink I've had to temper each and every outreach. Have I rattled on? 😉

    I enjoyed reading this post and the many others you write-and when I'm inspired... I read (and watch!) every word.

    Thanks for your ongoing commitment Cathy.
    You rock loud enough to make it to the top of my to-read list!
    ~Amy

  8. I loved this- and I guess that's just part of still being active at persuing life and wanting to know all there is to know. It does feel a little like information overload- but I have met so many wonderful writiers it's like I just can't stop reading all the wonderful things I come across. Good post! V

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