Books that changed my life

There were times in my life when I accidentally came across books, read them with great gusto and inadvertently, they changed my life.

One of these books was The Importance of Living by Prof Lin Yutang. Initially, I thought the title seemed to agreed with my frame of mind at that moment. Back then, I was in my teens. Lin Yutang is a very simple man who has some extraordinary ideas of what a simple life is all about.

I was quickly astounded by the profundity of his thoughts. Amazing, I mentally exclaimed as I raced through the chapters, more excited as I went along. The gems of thoughts that abound between the covers were marvellous.

Lin Yutang opened vistas in my mind that had long laid dormant until then. I saw the light that shone and still shines through the simple act of living. I began to see beauty in the whispering of the wind, the silence of the woods and the beauty of the old and wizened ones.

In short, I had begun to shed the "skin" of my once selfish persona. The importance of living as I had found out was not in trying to be great or to act "big" in the eyes of others but to enjoy every minute that comes from the simplest acts of life.

The Chinese professor who was a product of both East and West led me through a field of dreams that has eluded many before me. I counted my blessings and thanked the Almighty for the day I found his thoughts in written form.

The other book or books which altered my life for the better was the Conversations with God series by Neale Donald Walsch. Volume one was so amazing, I had goose pimples as I read the chapters.

It was as if my life was meant to reach another milestone and it had. Those words inspired by an entity beyond this world cleared up a lifetime of cobwebs and questions. Suddenly, it was as if the sunlight had parted the curtains of my clouded mind and shine forevermore into my heart and soul.
Oh, what a wonderful moment it was then. There were times while I was reading the books, through volumes one to three, when tears of joy came to my eyes. I felt as if the burden of an earthly existence has vanished.

Now, I look at friends and all the others as ONE with me. I sense the love that permeates since time began. I finally realise that Love is the masterkey that opens all the rooms in God's mansion.