There’s a great readers’ survey on TheIntrovertzCoach ( http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com/booksurvey.html ) and yes, Easy Reader that I am, I participated. You're invited to, too!

Here are two things that seem to be true of people who have developed a love of reading:

·They were taught to read before they went to school, often by a parent ·Most couldn’t even count number of books they’ve read in a lifetime. One reader wrote, “Almost as many drinks of water as I’ve taken. Can’t begin to guess.” Hundreds and thousands seem to be norm.

When a parent or loved one teaches you to read, it’s associated with a loving atmosphere.

Many people who love to read tell me that being read to was a regular part of their life as a child.

My father read to me and my sister every night, without fail. The books he chose even my mother had to object to at times – “Black Arrow,” and “The Three Musketeers,” for instance, but it really didn’t matter to me. I loved hearing my father’s voice, and I picked up his obvious love of literature. He approached each reading session with enthusiasm, more in nonverbals than in anything he said, but certainly I could tell it was something he really looked forward to.

He would pick up clearly-beloved book, and settle back in chair, sigh and assume a posture of – ahhh, at last. What a wonderful way to transmit a love of learning.

When I was ready to go to college, and was kind of dubious, he told me I’d like it a lot more than high school. He said “The kids are nicer, and level of learning is much more enjoyable. You won’t have to memorize much.”

Those pat phrases – “reading broadens you” and “learning enriches your life,” were lived in my household. Yes, my father worked. Yes, he did things around house. Yes, when he settled in to read us a book at night it seemed part of day he most looked forward to.

Lifelong learning appears to be one of qualities that builds our Resilience. Research by Al Siebert, Ph.D., has found that people who live longer, healthier, happier lives have incorporated learning in every stage of their life instead of abandoning “learning” after college.

One reason I love reading is that it’s always available. When you’re stuck in a traffic jam, or waiting for a late-running soccer practice to end, or getting a prescription filled at pharmacy, or stuck at work with nothing to do, you can always get on internet and read, or pull out a book.

"Men fear death as children fear to go in dark." - Bacon

There may be a thousand reasons why we fear death, but most of all we fear death because we fear unknown, and death is an unknown entity to most people. We fear that dying may be painful and we do not know what will happen to us at point of death.

Some people fear death because they imagine dying process to be very painful. Death is not painful. In fact, death is often very peaceful and silent even for those suffering from cancers or other terminal illness.

When physical body is deteriorating day by day from a terminal illness, and pain arises from superficial wound such as bed sores, or deep pain such as bone or nerve pain, death may even be a welcome relief for sufferer.

We need to distinguish pain of physical body from process of dying. The dying process is a distinct process that is separate from deterioration of physical body. At point of death, there is no pain.

What happens at death is cessation of breath and all other physiological functions of physical body. The heart stops pumping and blood circulation stops moving. The body stops generating heat, and thus progressively turns cold.

For those who believe that we are more than just a physical body, and that we are in fact spiritual beings, dying process means much more than just physical death.

Death is just a natural process that allows us to discard physical body as we move into spiritual realm.

Since our fear of death is due to fact that we do not know or understand death, it makes sense to familiarise ourselves with it. The more we understand death, less we fear it. We should therefore cultivate a friendship with death, and be totally familiar with it, just as we are familiar with our friends.

We can cultivate a friendship with death in three simple steps: 1. Establish a link with God. 2. Cultivate a habit of acceptance, instead of blame. 3. Be a blessing to others.

Establish a link with God.

By establishing a link with God, we touch base with our own spirituality. God can be whatever you perceive God to be. For Christians, Muslims and Hindus, that may mean an omnipotent God. For Buddhists, it may mean Buddha seed within. Atheists may have to come to term with their own spirituality.