This seems worth yet another look. Reading reassures us that no matter how alone we might feel, there are many others – spread as wide as history itself – who have felt the same way we have, who have occupied the rooms we find ourselves locked in at various points of our lives.” Simon Van Booy, American writer (https://www.inspiringquotes.us/quotes/XYaO_kj0Dia7g).
What of your reading? I suspect it has increased during the Pandemic. I do believe based on what I have read that it likely is good for your long term, brain health. I have also read that the beginning of our cognitive decline may be not in our 40s but in our 20s. Whenever it starts it seems best to combat it as best we can.
There is some brilliant fiction out there and I have read that fiction enhances our interpersonal skills. After all we get inside of someone else’s head. Sure makes sense to me. And, as the author above has suggested, reading also reminds us there are universal aspects of being human we all share.
In this beautiful and terrifying world in which we live could we, more effectively, by the grace of God, share our lives and this planet? “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (From the Lord’s Prayer).
Pilgrim on a Long, Long Journey 