It’s an honor to be in possession of such a bounty, but it’s also an obligation. Yes, I “mule” 20-25 books each time I travel to Baja or Santa Fe. Hence, we have a damn good library here with more than 800 books relevant to the MEA curriculum in Baja and the same number in the first of our two retreat centers on our Santa Fe ranch. I recently did a calculation associated with our planned two-story library in a large chapel at our Santa Fe Sunmount campus (which will open in 3-4 years): we’re going to need more than 100,000 books to fill up the place. My garment bag-toting shoulder is weary just imagining that!
This brings me to avid Wisdom Well reader Candiece Milford who introduced me to the Japanese word “tsundoku,” which describes the act of buying books and never reading them. How many of us have a half-dozen books on our bedside table that have barely been cracked open? I also loved the Big Think article on this practice.
Of course, there can be a particular joy to “practicing tsundoku” since every unread book on your shelf can be considered a literary adventure in waiting. What if your Bucket List is purely the books you haven’t read yet? Some of my favorite vacations have involved me staying virtually sedentary with a dozen books, along with perhaps a morning and afternoon walk, and a trusty pen that captures some of the wisdom I can learn from others.
This is part of the reason why our Baja Refresh rejuvenation retreat experience in August and September is so popular. Want to curl-up in a hammock with a great book after swimming in one of our three pools? We also have all kinds of guest teachers who offer spectacular optional classes as South African movement guru Jonathan Joshua did a couple of years ago (here’s an artful video of him in our movement studio showing the variety of longevity-inspired exercises you can do with just floor mats).
-Chip