my life tonics

apart from alcohol, there are three catalysts that put me on a high, in exact sequence -- books, music and people i love...
books for me are the eternal companion, the eternal cushion, the eternal giver... it kindles thoughts, it teaches me language, it fuels my imagination, it allows me to forget my troubles, it gives me peace... i spend the most time (duration, wise) with books...
music, again gives me my space since i prefer to listen to music alone... i cannot concentrate when music plays on the system and a whole home listens to it... i need my privacy with music... this is freedom for me, to listen one piece n times, to go back to it after a while, without anyone commenting...
people i love... given the fact that i have left home (where i was bred, though not born) good many years, i have grown up and apart from my kith and kin, many of whom i am not in touch any more since the interest on both sides has waned and the composition of the crowd in my life (no i do not have a very crowded life)has completely changed...i have picked up people with whom i have gelled well (for me, this is a looooong process since i take a longer to get familiar with people)and grown to like and eventually love... few and far between, such people give me enough reason for wanting to live moments with them... a phone call, a meeting, a long conversation (real or virtual)... these give me enough tonic to carry on... renew my faith in human relations, in bonding, in pure emotions... and all such bonds i have grown over the years, are not related to me in the social definition... they are all friends, who have given me enough and more reason to love them...