This came across my computer from Insight of the Day today:
I believe people should study a little bit every day. It should become habitual, like brushing your teeth, combing your hair, having a shower or getting dressed. Study the mind, the laws of the universe and paradigms. There’s enough information on those subjects to keep a person studying forever. Bob Proctor
Because I like to learn about new things, I don’t think of it as a habit. I laugh and say once I’ve learned one new thing each day, I can go to sleep.
Recently I read the book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. He teaches a very popular class in this. One of his interesting points is to make anything you like, that makes you happy, a habit, schedule it in. Evidently making something a habit means it actually gets into your life on a regular basis. And it takes upwards of a month to make something new a habit.
The Frog Prince by Jane Porter The Frog Prince is a modern day fairy tale. Because I liked Flirting with Forty so well, I had high expectations for this one. In a mere 371 pages Holly goes from being a devastated,...
How to create a service environment I'd like to meet this Captain, wouldn't you! "Serve with passion," -- indeed! Here's a story to make your day happier: When I wrote the book, Customer Love, I shared this story about Captain Denny...
Using up product -- or not I'm not a minimalist. I learned a long time ago with perfume that I don't have to use up a perfume to get another. In fact it spoils a perfume for me, if I feel...
Interview with Pattie Boyd I thought this was interesting. It's funny how much of this was off my radar screen in the time frame in which it was happening. I liked listening to her from the perspective of where...
That's happiness Will and I could hardly wait for the morning to come to get at something that interested us. That's happiness. Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane I love this quote... hardly wait for the morning...
review, zen to done Unless you are new to the world of blogging, you've probably heard of Zen To Done. The author, Leo Babuta, started the blog Zen Habits...
Artists Psychology Here's an interesting exclusive article Roland d’Humières, 56 years old psycho-analyst from Aix en Provence (France) has written for our Weblog. I think it to...
The killer hidden cost of weight-loss programs BankRate.com had this article on MSN Moneycentral: What does it cost to drop 30 pounds? The article runs down the costs associated with well-known diet...
Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
An open mind is a prerequisite to an open heart. -Robert M. Sapolsky, neuroscientist and author (1957- )
It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world would occasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are doing with the same set of facts. -Bill Vaughan, journalist (1915-1977)
…we have a lot of opinions, and we tend to take them as truth. Pema Chodron
This book was a gift from a friend a number of years ago. I think you have to be in the right mood to read it. If you are unfamiliar with Buddhist terms, it takes some getting used to seeing them and knowing what they mean in context. She has many gems in the book, sometimes within paragraphs where I took the wheat and left what I wasn’t clear on. In many ways, she makes goodness understood from outside a religious parameter. And it is all about having an open heart, open to the compassion of the world and of our own, open to the pain of the world and a means of alleviating it. I might try to read some of her other books too, but they are heavy duty for everyday fare.
I bet most of us would not understand history if we read it from the perspective of someone else’s country. I think that’s where travel comes in and broadens our viewpoints. Reading about a place is not the same as breathing the air and stepping foot on the soil and looking out from or at something different from our normal scene.
It might be the same with true piety and goodness vs. piety that has a negative connotation. I don’t think the word goodness is ever corrupted as ‘piety’ usually is. If it is good, it’s good. When I think of the facts (‘facts’) about God…piety, religion, truth…the same set of facts yields many different concepts, all of which cannot be true…or all of which might be partially true. But facts or not, are we becoming a better person, maybe kinder or nicer or more considerate, more compassionate and even, a little bit more good? I’m not sure for most of us that it is a steadily inclining line, at least I have setbacks, but over all, hopefully…
How about you? Have you ever read any of her books? or any book on Buddhism? Do you think you’ve changed in the last five years?
Have you ever noticed what a good hair day does for you? I got my hair cut today, on schedule, and I always walk out of there feeling like a million bucks. I laugh and say I get up in the morning looking like this. (Not!) But...
Creating a multi-racial family through adoption I am rarely at a loss for words. Some in my family would argue I talk too much, have strong opinions on too many subjects. I recently met someone friends have been trying to hook...
The elusive nature of happiness, part 7 (end) So what can you do to maximize happiness and minimize the opposite? Some things seem like common sense (not revolutionary): ...the revolutionary idea that true happiness lies in building on our strengths, not rooting out...
Happiness and intelligence One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, speak a few reasonable words. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist,...
The elusive nature of happiness, part 2 I think it's possible to have a certain level of happiness underlie all of our experiences, the good, the bad or the ugly, if we are aware of them. That's possibly what is meant by...
Agnus Dei - Rufus Wainwright - Inside the Mind "Agnus Dei" By: Rufus Wainwright from the CD, "Want Two" A true inspiration to the artists' artist, Rufus Wainwright Agnus dei Agnus dei Qui tollis...
The Weakonomist Reads A Book: Predictably Irrational I love behavioral economics, the study of how thoughts and emotions influence our decisions. My specific interest is in behavioral finance, which would be how...
Review: Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes Good Calories, Bad Calories took the author five years to write, and it contains some groundbreaking information that will undoubtedly be the cause of much...
Just when it seems like a bit of good news would be exceedingly welcomed, comes this true story (I’ve checked it with Snopes) about a woman hand feeding hummingbirds.
Isn’t it great that with the Internet we have a way to easily share these experiences that we might never hear about otherwise?!
Thanks to Cathy for sharing with me in the first place!
It’s a reminder to me that “God’s in his heaven; all’s right with the world.”
from “Pippa Passes”
The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven -
All’s right with the world!
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Is it possible that in these difficult times we could trust more deeply that God will feed and clothe us, as he does the birds and the lilies? Whether we are literally in need of food, shelter, clothing, water, health, employment or any of a myriad of other needs, the most basic need is for the ideas that will lead us in the right direction and out of limitation.
Ideas are always limitless! (This goes along with the short movie I posted earlier.)
Not too long ago while pondering how I should schedule my day, though my first inclination the night before had been to get on down the road and back home, I felt it was all right to meander a bit. In doing so, I had a number of interesting conversations with strangers, some welcome time with a friend, and a bit of fashion enjoyment, including some time with perfumes.
After I’d been back on the highway for a while, an electronic sign informed me of an accident 26 miles down the road. One lane was closed. (I learned later that it had only cleared about an hour before I got there.) If I had hurried my way home, I would have been stuck for hours while they cleared the road. I was able to get past it without any lost time.
Sometimes we do not know what we or others are protected from, but this time it was apparent. And it could have been far worse, but thankfully wasn’t. On this busy stretch of road, many more could have been involved in this accident but were not.
That’s just a small example of how ideas will clear our day for us. Expect ideas today and always that will help you!
Ah, sweet licorice in tea and chocolate and perfumes I'm not one to eat a lot of black licorice, but I do like it. When our son was five, we had one of our most beloved exchange students from Finland. He came when he...
Review: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, Dresden Files series Jim Butcher has another hit on his hands with his latest in the Dresden Files series, Turn Coat. Once again, Harry Dresden, the last wizard in Chicago is pitting his wits against the dark forces...
Thinkin' about forgiveness and giving up resentment I woke the other morning thinking about forgiveness and asking/praying/thinking about how to give up any resentments that were lurking around...and trying to get a handle on it. I've heard it said that forgiveness is...
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He went to Paris, Jimmy Buffet lyrics This is a beautiful song, but I couldn't find a video...so here's the lyrics, minus one verse...Paris is one of the cities I love to visit. I've got extended 'family' there, because we hosted an...
Are Romances Built On Hormones A Good Thing? by Tracy Cooper-Posey, guest blogger and author of Betting with Lucifer. I’ve been touring Betting With Lucifer around a few stops now, and a lot...
Vampires and the Search for Humanity by Teal Ceagh, guest blogger and author of the Destiny's Trinities series. I’ve been on a marathon viewing of the second season of True Blood....
Home Improvement Ideas For You To Pay Attention To Most home improvement projects focus on adding some space to your house or on repairing something. But there are other types of home improvement ideas...
Flipping Brilliant is a short little inspirational book based on penguin life, but it is filled with wonderful, wonderful pictures of penguins.
It is also available as a Kindle book for $6.39. But I’m not sure you’d want it as an ebook yet, because you would lose the color photos. I don’t think black and white would be quite as good, despite the majority of penguin color being black and white.
I had no idea there are 17 different kinds of penguins!
Ever wonder why the Emperor Penguins march so far from the sea before making their nests? This book has the answer — because when the ice begins to melt, if they are too close to the sea, the entire colony would be lost.
I rate this book 5 star for the photos, and the inspirations drawn from them are better than I expected.
Have you read it?
Trollbead/Pandora/Chamilia/etc. penguins
BTW, for those of you who collect trollbead bracelets or Pandora, there are plenty of different styles of penguins to choose for your bracelet. Barbara Maria has one (she designed TB geese) that is really cute.
Another management book: Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter
If I had time right now, I’d read this book among the first of the books I have to read. But it will be on a later agenda, even though it is an approximately 45 min read. It looked very interesting at the book store. Additionally, you can find it at $9.99 for your Kindle. This fable is about a penguin colony faced with a potentially fatal problem. Along the way, the author teaches 8 insights into how to understand and manage change.
Have you ever thought that change either comes too quickly — or not soon enough.
Managing change, the unexpected kind, might be a good thing!
Review Hide and Seek by Cherry Adair (Book 3) Hide and Seek is the third book in the T-FLAC series. This book concerns Kyle Wright, the second of the Wright sibs. He is a medical doctor, but like all the Wright brothers, not what...
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5 things you may not know about me The Sun's Financial Diary tagged me a few days ago to list 5 things you may not know about me. So, here they are: 1....
Sometimes I think the harder we look for happiness, the more elusive it can be. It’s like searching for Mr. Goodbar. But if we just sit quietly, appreciating and in the moment, it sneaks up on us.
That’s not to say that we don’t have to work at it or take charge of our own happiness. Like Cathy writes below in the comments section, I often say that I fight for my happiness!
I’ve learned through the years that I need to bring happiness into my moments, if I expect to experience it. I remind myself to do those small things for myself that secure my happiness, to be good to myself, to take time to enjoy the moments that run through our fingers.
I’ve talked with a number of folks over the years and in recent weeks whose concerns are ratcheting up. They are looking to establish (more) joy in their lives in the face of negative reports and a general malaise. Concerns about the world; their finances; life in general; their health, their work, their marriage; retirement funds — anything you can think of — are stealing their peace and occupying their thoughts.
Over the years I’ve looked into happiness, read a number of books, worked on it for myself, and tried to discern what, exactly, is happiness? I don’t know that it is possible to be happy every moment, but even in the midst of problems, it is possible to be a happy person, or at least to experience joy at some level and in some moments. So happiness isn’t determined by whether a person is happy every single moment, but whether it is an attitude of heart and mind.
An analogy that came to me a number of years ago that I’ve often shared with others is this:
Every incident of goodness; every moment of joy; every good thought or deed; every kind word experienced or given; every beautiful thing we notice; every bit of gratitude we express; every note of music we hear or play; every time we appreciate something around us; every time we give or receive a compliment; every time we take time to take time is like a pearl we are stringing in our lives.
The knots in the string are life’s problems.
When we look at a strand of pearls, yes, we see the knots, but we don’t focus on them. They only serve to make the strand more beautiful. What we see is the complete strand with the individual pearls. The knots hold the pearls securely, as well as set them apart from each other so that we may better see and appreciate the individual pearls.
That seemed like enough, and for years that is what I strove to understand and share.
But this past week, when talking to someone, it occurred to me to think out loud as we were talking: What is the string?
And in an instant I listened to the idea come out of my mouth that I hadn’t yet had:
The string is happiness.
I loved the idea that there is a string of happiness moving through our lives and that we are stringing together moments of love, joy, goodness, peace — the loveliness of life — on it.
May you be blessed by this idea, as much as I was to receive it, and may today and every day be filled with many beautiful and precious blessings.
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I’m a sucker for books on happiness, because the concept of happiness is dear to my heart, something I have to fight for, and always a little bit nebulous, almost there but a little bit out of reach.
Ricard is a French Buddhist monk and former cell biologist. He has written a number of books, which if they are as readable as this one, will join my to-read list which is getting longer and longer. I’m not very far into the book yet, but I wanted to talk about it.
Here are some of the ideas discussed in the first few pages (I could do a post on several more of them too, and might):
Is happiness a skill that, once acquired, endures through the ups and downs of life? …Happiness is … a way of interpreting the world. Matthieu Ricard
Is happiness
the radiation of joy over one’s entire existence or over the most vibrant part of one’s active past, one’s actual presence, and one’s conceivable future[?] Robert Misrahi, philosopher
How would you define ‘active past’ — (this is not discussed in the book) those things of our past that are active in consciousness today or that have long-lasting effects on our every days, whether for good or ill? compared to inactive past, that may or may not seem to have an effect on us, but are in the long-forgotten reaches of our minds?
Is happiness intentionally vague so that each person can interpret it in his or her own way? (Henri Bergson)
I like the idea that happiness is a joy that hovers over all aspects of life, that we can acquire the skills for happiness, that we can interpret happiness for ourselves. Ricard states that happiness is more than fleeting moments and causative events.
What do you think happiness is?
Would you like to read this book along with me?
I think it is possible to have happiness even in the midst of sorrow, but it takes some effort and some intentional choices. Here’s to making them!
Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil Deborah Rodriguez has written a must-read book for those interested in other cultures and the fate of women world-wide. She has changed the names and stories, but the stories are true. I've wanted to read...
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crowdsourcing photo credit: davidChief If you've ever visited a doctor about an ache in your shoulder you've probably been given the cliched-but-true advice "get a second...
Some people have such fun ideas! This group of 11 from Houston, target public places with knitting. Sometimes they choose the target; other times the target comes to them. They are making their own good news! And it benefits the rest of us.
Sometimes we tag randomly (car antennas, door handles, stop sign poles, park benches) and sometimes we choose larger, more specific targets. The random tag nights are usually “come if you can”, while we knit with a purpose for the larger targets. For one large project we did (24′ scarves on two statues in Houston), we all knit piecemeal, then crocheted all the pieces together to form the giant scarves. Those were nice.
Occasionally, our targets come to us. We get requests every now and then. We’ll still bomb those requested targets under cover of night, in order to retain some sense of anonymity though. Every once in a while, we knit and knit and knit for a trip out of town to spread Knitta out a little. This coming weekend, for instance, four of us went to New York City for 4 days of crazy tagging. We had an extra suitcase full of pieces that will grace the streets of New York (for at least a week or two, we hope). MascuKnitity just got back from a 3-week trip to China, where he was able to leave a little Knitta presence on the Great Wall. We still haven’t figured out how we’re going to top that one.
What kinds of things have they done?
As for quantity of projects, I really can’t say how many tags we’ve thrown since we started this. Probably hundreds of antenna cozies. We covered lamp posts on three local highway bridges with 6 foot, hot pink wraps the night before New Year’s Eve. We laid 24 foot scarves at the end of January.
Bored by long projects? I sure am! Plus, who has the time?! (Except for the Waikiki ponchos.)
We were bored with the usual knitting projects and get-togethers. Personally, I get tired of a project that takes more than 2 or 3 days to complete. I call it crafting ADHD. I had plenty-o-unfinished projects laying around my house that I’d simply become bored working on.
Well, now you have some ideas for unfinished projects. I generally find that I’m not too crazy about a project until I hit the half-way point, then I hurry like crazy to get it finished. OTOH, I know someone who donates her half-finished (or less) projects that she no longer wants to do to Goodwill! I’ve bit the bullet and done it a few times myself. Why finish something you really don’t enjoy!
The woman who started this began with making door knob cosies. How funny is that!
What are you knitting or crocheting right now?
I think I have a scarf going somewhere, but I’ve been doing more beading lately. Yesterday I took apart a necklace and made two bracelets out of it, plus an extender. Didn’t have to change the patterning, just took it apart.
Don’t you think this idea is wonderful! Make some happiness in your life. Go for it!
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The other day walking through the library quickly, several book titles leapt out at me. The author of this book shares out of his practice and his life. He was a psychologist, on the faculty of Harvard Medical School at the time of writing this book [1997].
216 PRACTICING FAITH
217 Have Your Doubts
… with the goal of moving closer to what you are trying to understand rather than pushing it farther into the distance, with your mind opened to the possibility that you might be in for a surprise.
Beware of Cynicism
Cynicism and doubt are not the same experience. Cynicism is a state of disbelief, an active act of not believing. Doubt raises questions, but it is not close-minded. Cynicism shuts off possibilities; doubt leaves room for hope. Cynicism leads to pessimism; doubt leaves room for optimism. Cynicism contracts; doubt expands.
Doubt confronts the world full throttle and dares faith: Go ahead, show me! Cynicism turns its back and slowly wanders away.
Don’t Be Afraid to Talk Back to God
218 [Mela Svoboda in her book Everyday Epiphanies chastised God for being too tenderhearted. All she heard God say was, "You know, Honey, I really get a kick out of you!" [Which only proved her point.] [That made me laugh. Plus, I never had God call me 'honey' that I know of.]
220 EMPATHY’S DEFINITION OF HOPE
Hope is not the belief that everything will turn out all right, rather it is the conviction that even when things go wrong, as they inevitably will, somehow we will find our way through [both] resilient and tenacious. Hope is a way of taking heart … it means finding something to believe in and then resolutely working to make it happen… works to make things better day by day full of purpose and direction keeps us moving.
Hope is created through great effort, diligence, patience, and concentration. We earn hope by our commitment to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
225 PRACTICING HOPE
Argue with Yourself [don't just accept every negative thought about yourself that drifts into consciousness]
228 One pathway to hope is to choose your memories very carefully; put a frame around them. So many hopeful things happen day in and day out, but we lose them if we don’t stop for a moment, think about them, and consciously frame them.
Review: The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon I was surprised to see I had not written about this book on my blog yet. I've spoken about it and emailed about it, so it seemed like I had done it. The Energy Bus...
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If you would like an interesting read, full of sympathetic characters, with an underlying sense of living in another country (in this case Botswana), Alexander McCall Smith’s series about the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is one you should look into.
I am enjoying the HBO series based on his books, which is what led me to this book, 10th in the book series, as I have not read any before this. It is also available for Kindle.
Precious Ramotswe and her endearing, but aggravating assistant, Grace Makutsi, once again are called upon to solve problems big and small, using their common sense and general acumen. And woven into the plot is Precious’ fear for her new husband traveling a dark road at night, as well as her sorrow that her old van is kaput, and Grace’s very reasonable upset that her fiance is being taken in by a floozy. Along the way, Precious offers help to a woman she meets while walking to work, only to find out she is living with a weekday husband and a weekend husband, neither of which she is married to, and now one man works for the other and has asked him to dinner.
It’s rare to find a book that I want to read every word. Only because time was at a premium did I begin to skim.
I think it helps to know the way the actors have portrayed the characters, so in my mind’s eye I can picture Grace with her desire to do everything perfectly and Precious whose life has included a wonderful daddy and an abusive first husband. The reader (or the viewer) only wants the best for each of them.
Have you read any of the series?
Do you watch it on HBO?
I will begin to read other books in the series.
How about reading it on audio?
I think I’d like to check that out too~
What books are you reading? I'm currently reading two by Henri Nouwen (Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith and The Dance of Life: Weaving Sorrows And Blessings into One Joyful Step) and two by Alexandra Stoddard (Choosing...
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I was surprised to see I had not written about this book on my blog yet. I’ve spoken about it and emailed about it, so it seemed like I had done it.
The Energy Bus is a business parable. The basic story is a middle aged man who is failing at life — his job, his family, his marriage. It’s all breaking down. So it’s no wonder his car is the next thing to break down. And it won’t be fixed for days. One more thing to have to deal with. Who wants to ride the bus! Certainly, not him.
But this is no ordinary bus. The bus driver takes stock of his defeatism in a moment, and she and the other passengers turn his life around. Every day she gives him a new assignment to put into practice at work and in his life.
And, you know, when one area of life starts to turn around, they all do. (Isn’t there a rule for this?)
One of his major problems is that the staff he manages are not with him. They think he’s incompetent or worse. Can he remotivate them? Can he become the kind of manager they need, so they become the kind of employees he needs to get his own life back on track again?
Through the story, each chapter deals with another means of living a successful life.
The rules are recapped later:
1. You’re the driver of your bus
2. Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction
3. Fuel your ride with positive energy (negative energy is friction)
4. Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead
5. Don’t waste your energy on those who don’t get on your bus
6. Post a sign that says no energy vampires allowed on your bus (get rid of the malcontents)
7. Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them for the ride
8. Love your passengers by giving them your time, listening, recognition, service – work to bring out the best in them
9. Drive with purpose
10. Have fun and enjoy the ride
My take
This book was given to me by a friend, and I in turn passed it to a friend who used it as the focus for a number of her employee motivational meetings. Her staff was excited about it. They posted signs up in the staff room and tried to implement the ideas. (The book is now back in my possession.)
Yes, the story is a little bit didactic, but who cares. It reminds me of what I can remember from Jonathan Living Seagull in some respects. It’s easier to swallow life lessons when they are in little sound bites and couched as parable.
I give it 2* for where the story falls apart (you have to suspend reality, but again, who cares) and a 4* for sharing a worthwhile message in a way that you will always remember some of the ideas.
Notice how it syncs with some of the ideas in First, break all the rules
Invite people on your bus; love your passengers; bring out the best in them; focus your energies where it matters.
Have you read the book?
Gordon has written a number of other books. I have not read them, but I’m beginning by ordering free samples of each of the books for my Kindle. That way they are in my q for when I have time; I won’t forget them; and I can decide if I want to own them or not.
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A friend sent me this youtube video today. It seems appropriate to post at this time of year, Thanksgiving in America where I live, and while it is directed at thanking the military men and women who serve us, it is not political, for as the video states, it is about service. It made me think also of firefighters, policemen, and emergency medical services and of those who help after disasters. The average person can hardly envision some of what they face every day.
When is the last time you thanked anyone?
I had a recent occasion when I went back to express my gratitude for service that was exemplary. I don’t think many people return to give thanks, and my family member was puzzled by my desire to do so. Yet the service I had received had been exceptional. Later the same day, while I was out, there was a follow up call from the individual who had helped me. He had not known that I had been in to express my gratitude, even though I had specified that it be passed along. I so appreciated the call, even if I wasn’t there to take it. It’s rare in this life to get a follow up call!
I don’t hesitate to tell someone I appreciate what they are doing
And at the same time, I will gently complain (register comments) if there is need for improvement. I figure they’d rather know why you might never come back, rather than just lose your business.
Our gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty. Vivian Burnett
Oh boy, I so dislike it, when I get in complaint-mode. I try to turn it around pretty fast.
And when I’m with someone who is a constant complainer, I have to fight not to be dragged down by their attitude. Complaint only accentuates the negative, unless it is used to ask for a solution.
For example, bitching about traffic to those in your car, accomplishes nothing but complaint. The other drivers don’t know you are cussing them out. But everyone in your car is tied up in knots.
We really are richer for our gratitude. Appreciation goes a long way to lifting other people’s burdens that we might not even realize are there.
An on-going gratitude list
I keep a couple of on-going gratitude lists. I don’t add to them daily, just whenever there is something significant or different. I decided to update my main list last night, reorganizing it by topic ideas, after reading a few lists others had written — and I even added some of their ideas to mine. It’s surprising how much there is to be grateful for, once you get started thinking about it.
Right at the top are relationships and friendships; family; health; spirituality; love and kindness; supportive people; prayer; the Bible; the online community; nature (trees and sunsets; rain and wind; sunrise; birds…) — and so much more.
If you get in a funk, what do you do to get out of it?
Does it bother you if you feel like you are constantly complaining, even if you don’t express it aloud?
How do you deal with difficult or irregular people in your life? Or are you the difficult person? (ouch) And if you are, how can you change?
Do you try to dwell on the positives of life? What is the latest thing you are grateful for?
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Today we have a guest writer reviewing for us. I’ve not read this book, but it will definitely go on my to-read list. If you have read the book, or any by this author, how do you rate them?
Karin
In The Land of Mango Sunsets, author Dorothea Benton Frank illustrates that coming of age is not just for the young. In fact, if we have the kind of meaningful, eventful life that spurs personal growth, we probably ‘come of age’ several times.
The Land of Mango Sunsets, like all of Frank’s books, revolves around the low country of South Carolina; a place where southern ideals still reign true and sultry seascapes soothe and heal.
In this case the heroine, Miriam Elizabeth Swanson has been living in New York City for all of her adult life. In traveling home to Sullivans Island she finds freedom from childhood angst, outgrown perceptions, as well as strength after a soul crushing divorce, by forgiving her dying mother. She also finds true love, but romance is an aside to personal growth and the healing of her relationships with her grown children.
Frank manages to tell this story with humor and sensitivity so that it is not in anyway sad or depressing. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting book. Reviewed by Marcia.
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A friend loaned me her copy of the book eat, pray, love, because she liked it so well and felt I would too. I knew by the first few pages that I wanted a copy of my own.
It took me quite a while to work my way through the book, but in that way I could savor it. It’s a rare book that is so enjoyable.
Gilbert has a wonderful way with words.
And the good news is that it is being made into a movie with Julia Roberts starring. That should be interesting!
The book is her chronicle of searching across Italy (where she eats her way, while learning Italian), India (where she is in an Ashram searching for God, finding herself in silent devotion and in words and communion with others), and Bali (where she finds love and helps a woman buy a home.)
Along the way we see her work through the angst of her difficult divorce. She moves from a sense of no belief to profundity. It is by turns funny, touching, endearing, sad…
If you’ve read it, how did you like it? And if you haven’t, treat yourself.
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If you love quotations, and if you think you’d like to read positive quotations, this book is one of the best out there.
But it’s a thinker’s book, as much as a feel-good book.
You have to read this book slowly and in little word bytes. Don’t think you can sprint through it. I can only digest a few pages at a time, and even that is difficult. Many of the quotations are new to me.
I want to speed my way through, just to read all the quotes, so periodically I let the book fall open in order to read a random quote. The pressure, the pressure!
To give you some idea, out of 755 pages, the index alone has 50 pages. These are the authors of the quotes; only a few direct you to the idea in a quote.
There are 38 pages that deal with different aspects of happiness. I’m on page 23. It’s interesting to read so many quotes about happiness at one time, because you can see similarities and trends.
Here’s one I liked:
Make someone happy each day and in forty years you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time, at least. Charley Willey
It’s quite amazing to think of how the little things add up. And that is one of the things pointed out in the happiness quotes — that it is the little things that bring and determine happiness.
Available for Kindle?
Unfortunately no, but I requested it. It might be nice to have the Kindle search a word, but then again if you searched for happiness (pun intended) you would pull up the entire chapter dealing with happiness.
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written by Arthur P Ciaramicoli, and Katherine Ketcham had a few gems of insight into ideas I like to learn more deeply about.
