Enjoy Life! - A Quote from Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

October 23, 2009

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one of two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to upset, and it will not matter so much if it does upset; good, plain merchaindise will stand water. You will have time to think as well as to work. Time to drink in life's sunshine - time to listen to the Aeolian music that the wind of God draws from the human heart-strings around us -

from "Three Men in a Boat" (21) by Jerome K. Jerome

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I am currently reading this book and am thoroughly loving it. Shapely Prose did a wonderful fluffy post about it one day and I was inspired to read it myself. It is a humorous book, and even though it was written in the Victorian Era, the humor is still very relevant today. It's basically about three men and a dog who decide to take a trip on a boat for their holiday-every detail in preparation is taken so seriously that the book is quite hilarious. They are extremely ordinary men, which makes them easy to relate to and I appreciate this very much.

Sometimes in recovery, I think we take things too seriously-every book is a self-help book, every food that we eat must be healthy, every show must be educational, etc. Well, that's simply not true! While it is true that all of these are good to do in moderation, it is also good to do something simply because you enjoy it, which is the only reason why I am reading this book. Oftentimes, enjoyment is extra special to us, because we have not had pleasure in so long, so revel in it! Get out your crayons and color. Draw. Paint. Explore. Bake cookies. Pick up an old instrument or join a kickball team. Do something just for you and your own enjoyment!

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