Productive Thought Or Navel-Gazing?

So now I have a Kindle.  I thought for a long time that for reading to be authentic, it had to be from an actual, paper and ink book.  Never thought I'd succomb to the notion of "digital ink."  Then I picked up my daughter's new contraption from Amazon.com, and, sure enough, got intrigued by its light weight and enormous capacity.  Since I travel a lot, the conveniences were obvious.  So, when my birthday rolled around, guess what?

One of the cool things about the Kindle is all the free books you can download.  However, since these books are digital, their length is not readily apparent.  So, without much thought, I eagerly downloaded several classics, including Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, which I began reading.  And reading.  And reading...

Didn't realize this book in print is, like, 1250 pages long!  And, sure enough, I've got the unabridged version!  So now, Les Mis has turned into a Summer project.  Having never read it before (no, it was not required of me anywhere along the way to a doctorate), I am amazed at the grand social commentary it contains.  Hugo had to be one of the most educated guys on the planet by the time he wrote this book!  His knowledge of world and French history, literature, culture, politics and sociology is downright astonishing.  So is his vocabulary.  Every page contains some word of which I've never really learned the definition, or a word I've simply never known was in the English lexicon.  So I am very thankful for the built-in dictionary that comes with the Kindle.  All you have to do is put the cursor on a word, and voila!  You have the definition.  Pretty sweet!  (Rather, indispensable for Les Mis.)

Occasionally I actually understand a little of what Hugo is saying, and once in a while I find something that really sticks with me.  Today, I came to VH's comparison of "thought" versus "reverie."  Thought, he says, is mental work; reverie is more like day-dreaming.  OK, I get that.  There's a difference between mentally working out a plan, or a philosophy, a sermon, or even a blog post, versus just watching clouds go by, pondering fanciful thoughts of world peace, vanquishing imaginary foes, or vainly pursuing the lost loves of one's youth.

VH says that thought is productive, while continued reverie tends to be destructive.  Thought is actual human labor, that which sets us apart from the animals, and which tends toward a purpose.  Reverie is more instinctive, more like self-centered navel-gazing.  It is thought that leads to progress, whether progress in personal growth, or progress of a society.  Reverie, on the other hand, accomplishes nothing but to give one permission to be personally preoccupied, narcissistically obsessed, inclining toward the imaginary and the sensual.  A profound difference, a critical distinction sadly lacking among a large portion of today's American society, beginning with today's American youth.

"Now there is something to think about," says I to me.  Productively, I hope!