Life is not like a book

There is probably not a more incorrect simile in the history of human language than comparing life to a book. Books can be controlled. The sad and bad parts can be skipped, the pages ripped out and burned. The great and joyful parts can be read over and over again. And just because the page is turned, doesn't mean those admirable lines are gone until the end of all things.

Books tell you when new chapters start, they tell you immediately when there is change. Books don't lull you into passivity that makes you forget that happy times are always fleeting. Books give you ample time to understand them. You can experience a part over and over again until you finally understand the meanings of the lines.

A book can be shut and never read again, and that doesn't result in the death of the reader, he will simply find a new one to immerse himself in. The best passages of books that bring the most euphoria are not put in locked boxes by time, unable to be accessed again. A better saying would be "We wish life were like a book".

In fact, the happiest people in the world are those that accept that their life will never be a book. The most miserable people in the world are those that go their entire life trying to make it one. They'll be buried in the earth with emptiness and disappointment.

We read books because we can't experience a book-like existence simply by living. A man who reads is a man who is fighting the incessant decay and fleetingness that is constantly around him. Books are temporary shields that both enlighten and protect us. But the secret to living a content life is accepting that your life will never be a book, no matter how hard to you try to and fail to make it one. The secret is to remain firm in your belief that the next day will be a happy one, for you can't experience life by trying to live through the past. The hands on the clock, hands that never stop, prevent that from happening.