Traci S. Sanders

I remember the day I got glasses. One moment I saw the world one way; the next, another.  In essence, life came into focus. And my perception, the lens in which I viewed this world, forever changed.

Then I thought about it. Yes, my perception changed, but more so, my prescription. My eyes became blurry, but I got used to it. When I was prescribed a new way of seeing, it felt a bit strange at first; but, over time, I was so thankful for the clarity and a new way of looking at the world that I thought I knew.

Don’t stories work in the same way? The words we read or hear? Don’t they also allow us to view the world differently? Sometimes, they even allow us to see things that were once out of focus or simply not visible.

To me, opening a book is about so much more than reading. It is truly about seeing – ourselves, others, everything around us. And it doesn’t always have to be the entire book, sometimes it’s no more than a few words or a sentence or two. But it changes how we see.

This is a gift we not only give ourselves, it is one we give to our children every time we read to them. And so, while glasses provide the gift of clearer sight, reading goes one step further – reading gives us, all of us – the gift of greater insight.

Enjoy!