Book knowlege vs. really knowing

I have a rather large collection of books. I love reading. I'm constantly on the lookout for that one book that will say all I need to know, the book that will resonate with me and give me the answers I need. Of course I know that such a book doesn't exist, although someof the books I've read come close.

Books are miraculous. The ability for me to connect with the thoughts, beliefs and experiences of someone else by picking up a book never ceases to amaze me. But...that's the thing. Reading a book is always about someone else's life, experience, belief or view of the world. While connecting with that is important, it can never replace the act of living life and experiencing it for yourself.

I recently experienced something that I had read about for over a year. It was an experience that I had heard about from a few people and so a whole lot of research on the subject - so much so, that I felt i really didn't need to experience it because I already knew so much about it. I was wrong. I was very wrong. Nothing I read could have prepared me for what I experienced. Everything I had read really only scratched the surface. In fact, much of what I had read only made sense once I had experienced it for myself. This has been an important lesson. Books can only really be signposts, pointing one to an experience of living. They can never be the experience itself.

This past week I went camping with my family. Whenever we go away I usually take a few books with. This time I took a notebook and pen. I decided it was more important to record my experience than to read about others'. I never wrote much. I was too busy having long chats with my wife, playing with my kids, and having a really great time. I did, however, write the introduction to a book I would like to write. Perhaps this will be the book that I've been looking for :)