Do You Read in the Bathroom?

I laughed when I first arrived at UBE and saw magazines and newspapers in the bathroom stalls. Before coming to Korea, I met with my dad and his wife, Judy, and shared a story about how when I was in Manhattan staying with fellow IBREA staff (originally from Korea), I noticed that many times they went into the bathroom with a book or a magazine and stayed there for a while. Also, there was a stack of books and magazines on the shelf behind the toilet.

I kept thinking to myself, "That is very strange. Why do they do that?" I was always taught that the bathroom was a place where you "do your thing" and get out. Finally, one day, I decided to ask why because I was curious. One of my colleagues explained that in the past, people used newspaper as toilet paper so they would take newspaper with them, read it, use it and then dispose of it. Another colleague explained that often there were many people in a home or work office so the bathroom was a good place to have some place to think. This all made sense to me and I was glad I asked.

We receive a lot of information about what is right and what is wrong (directly and indirectly) and these ideas influence the way we see the world and other people. Sometimes we aren't even aware of the way the information we have chosen to keep in our brains influences the way we see the world and others.

Whether or not you think it is okay to read in the bathroom may seem trivial but many conflicts between family members, neighbours, communities, and countries have started over small things. If we can become conscious of the kinds of information we have in our brains and how it affects our relationships with ourselves, with those around us, and with the Earth, we can choose what kind of information to keep and to not keep. The third point of the Brain Declaration that was read at the Brain Education Conference and Olympiad at the United Nations highlights this: http://ibreaus.org/braindeclaration/.

In this case, I've decided to not keep the idea that reading in the bathroom is wrong because: 1. It's not wrong, it's just another way of using the bathroom and 2.Holding onto the idea that it is wrong isn't helpful to me or others, nor does it contribute to creating a better world. Here at UBE, I've even been known to flip through a magazine or two while using the facilities :).