I love to read. It is an escape for me from daily life, and from the impossible. I mainly read Fantasy and Science Fiction, but last night I just reread one of my favorite books, one that I believe is accessable to nearly all people with an open mind. I want to write about it because I feel like I need to verbalize what this work has done for me. I also want to somehow link it to technology. Lets see how I do...

Let me start by saying that Richard Bach is an amazing writer. Besides this book, he is known as the author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull. Illusions is a short, easy read of 200 pages. You could read it in an hour. If you like books that make you think: about life, God, or yourself-or even if you just like looking at things from a different perspective every now and then-this book is for you.

I can't (or choose not to) write about the plot of this book. I think it would take away from reading it. But I will say a few things about it. This book does not attack religion. Messiah is in the title, but don't let that scare you away from reading it. Secondly, keep an open mind. New perspectives don't have to be right: they just have to be different.

This book is full of wisdom. Real wisdom, the type you can use, can be found on 50% of the pages. Every time I read Illusions, I feel like I've been re-centered. I have been stressing out about an Exam I have coming up, and I couldn't sleep. After I reread it, I felt reminded of what was really important to me. It kind of put things back into the proper scope. What is it that this book says that brings this effect? Well, now that I've constrained myself to not using the plot, it's a little harder to say.

What is real? Well, thats a big question. The book used going to see a movie as a prime metaphor to reality in this life. Is a movie real?

• A movie isn't real; it's not even moving! It's just pictures that have been shown in a procession at the right speed to simulate the process. When you watch a movie, you're immersed within it. For two and a half hours or so, it's as real as life. You live vicariously through the characters.

• You chose to see the movie for one of two reasons; essentially for fun or to learn something. Fun would include escape, entertainment and the like. Learning could be as simple as a movie with educational value. It could also be more implied, like a moral lesson. What does this say about us as human beings? We are Fun-loving by nature, and we have a yearnin' for some learnin!

• At any time in the movie, we can walk out. We don't have to subject ourselves to bad movies! We can if we want. More often than not, people will sit through a movie even if they know 20 minutes into it that they won't enjoy it. That, however, is still their conscious choice to do so.

What if you thought of your life as a movie? One of the wisest things my father ever said to me was, "Son, you are the star of your own movie. Your friends and your family are just your supporting characters. But ultimately, the plot follows you." Your choices effect your movie. You can make your life what you want. You follow this thought pattern and these are the statements you make:

1. You are here in this life to learn something, and to be happy.
2. If you don't like your movie, change it. Would you want to see your movie?

It's a metaphor. You have freedom in your life.

This is the part where someone says, "Well, thats beautifully idealistic, but not reality. Some people have jobs that they have to do that they hate and some people have no control of the condition of their lives." I'm not in a position to argue one way or the other. But this book provided an escape to a place where it was possible. It made me feel like I had control.

Certain technologies, like Second Life and the Sims, are new age methods for finding the same escape (now, for the beautiful transition). I think human beings either have a tendency to want control, or ability to give that control to a supreme being. When real life isn't going the way you'd like, or you want to try something different, these "games" come in handy. The lack of responsibilities in a game like the Sims is attractive to someone bogged down in life. John Smith may have zero control over whether his meeting is on Saturday or Friday, but in the Sims he carries complete control over what his avatar does in the realistic, but not real world. In which world would you argue he is living? Which would John Smith?

In conclusion, wherever possible, choose to pursue Happiness. With any luck, these technologies or this book will make you one step closer to that ever-present life goal.