Can Books Change My World?

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Across the Universe lyrics by the Beatles

What I'm NOT doing
I am not going into the 'Jai guru deva, om" (loose translation from Sanskrit: Thanks be to the 'heavenly teacher', om) and whether this overt Krishna reference can be understood in a Christian context. I think it's an interesting topic, but it is not part of my thought today. In truth, I wanted to omit it altogether, but I didn't think that fair, so I didn't.

What IS at stake
These lyrics powerfully illustrate the tension I think there is between the written word and the worldview of a reader. The verse is a beautiful expression of what I think of as the act of reading a really good book. The words do seem to jump from a page connecting the reader to an author across time and space. A good book is equally able to evoke great joy and/or tremendous sorrow. In short, a well written book is a powerful tool. And then the chorus.

Nothing's Going to Change My World
Within the context of the song, it's obvious that the refrain is not despairing. So, what is it about? For me, it's the assertion of a clear worldview. In other words, one can and should read lots of works that rock your world and connect with you in a meaningful way. At the same time, one must have some kind of foundation whereby one's world is not turned topsy turvy every time a powerful text is encountered.

Can Words Change my World?
That's hard to answer for me. Clearly books can affect people and have an effect in history, but to what extent? How do you know what books to let in and which to keep out? By this I don't mean read or avoid reading. I mean, how does one know the extent to which a book should influence one's worldview? This is bigger than a book making you think or feel something for a little bit.

A Question of Expectations?
I guess it gets down to this. Should a reader come to a book with an expectation that the book could affect the reader's worldview? Similarly, should a writer expect that his/her work would be capable of changing someone's world?

I just have to stop now (other responsibilities). If you read this on Saturday, there will probably be some fine tuning and editing!