In July, I lived a little

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body says Joseph Addison. This singular quote has inspired me to be diligent with my reading habit.
Born A Crime by Trevor Noah was the last book we read in my Book Club for the month of July.

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I marveled at how such an intense story was being told with so much wit, yet the core issues that surrounded Trevor’s birth and his upbringing in South Africa were still staunchly represented.
I am not keen on memoirs but this was an outstanding read.

“My mom raised me as if there were no limitations on where I could go or what I could do. When I look back I realize she raised me like a whitekid—not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts and decisions mattered.

We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. Growing up in Soweto, our dream was to put another room in our house. Maybe have a driveway. Maybe, someday, a cast-iron gate at the end of the driveway. Because that is all we knew. But the highest rung of what’s possible is far beyond the world you can see. My mother showed me what was possible. The thing that always amazed me about her life was that no one showed her. No one chose her. She did it on her own.”
Born A Crime;Page 67

The greatest lesson I drew out of this excerpt is to not limit my dream based on my knowledge but rather on what’s possible, for that, to a great extent is unlimited.

Looking back at July in comparison with previous months, I’d say I did not merely exist, I lived, a little, with gratitude, a little exploration, few celebrations and strengthening my mind through reading.

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