Smile through your days, always
Tulip Chowdhury goes positively happy over a new book
19 October 2007, 18:00 PM
A Year of Living Consciously
Gay Hendricks
Harper Collins
The book begins on January 1 with this message; " The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." And then it goes on to say,
" The journey of living consciously begins with a single moment of commitment, saying yes to the impulse within you that wants to grow, to expand, to embrace your largest possible self, to make your largest possible contribution to the world."
When you open the book you feel as if you have found a treasure that is priceless. The writer Gay Hendricks has come up with a gem that seems to touch each and every reader's life with sparks of light. The writer delves into the intricate nooks and corners of life and offers his advice and inspirations. We all want to live authentic, self aware and successful lives. This book opens the floodgates to the wisdom and inspirations that we need to live a life that is gratifying. As we live our life sometimes we pause and wonder about the perplexity of life. We wonder about the mysteries that seem to make life more precious, mysteries that are beyond our comprehension. At such times we could use advice, a look into other people's insights to shed light into our confusions. A Year of Living Consciously is the perfect guide to read when we want some guidance into living our life more commendably. It is a beautiful book holding out advice and motivation for each and every day for a whole year. The book encourages readers to live life more consciously. There are profound details about the conduct of life, self-realisation and affirmation. It builds up self-confidence in the reader.
The book is like a friend who is standing beside you with all the best intentions. It has words of wisdom for the 365 days of the year. One can have a look into the days on each and every day of the calendar and find words of the enlightened casting light on the different paths of life. It is a daytime guide for the reader. The wisdom offered in this book gives pleasure and exhilaration. It gives an epic picture of life. Every idea and practice here has been "kitchen tested" in the rigorous laboratory of real life. When one reads this book one feels like starting everything anew; it makes one feel like reviving a new life upon lessons learnt on past mistakes.
Open the book and you will find each and every day beginning with a wonderful saying. You open the pages and each day seems to open with a glorious sunrise. Come to January 5 and there is a quotation by Pearl Bailey that says, "There is a period of life when we swallow a knowledge of ourselves and it becomes either good or sour."
Next come the lessons of wisdom. For instance go to April 4 and the note of wisdom says,
" The most powerful strategy of a successful relationship is telling the truth. The very idea appears subversive and dangerous to many people. People are afraid that that if they tell the truth they will cause hurt to their partners. A relationship flourishes when it is equal, when people are honest with each other."
And so on. The notes continue for the other days, each with different views. One cannot put the book down until the last note is read and indeed savoured.
After the note of wisdom comes the part that says " A conscious living for today.." Under this caption there are incredible pieces of advice for everyday life. On March 17 it says,
" Make a commitment out aloud-------to a mirror if you are alone, or to someone else if you are accompanied. Say, 'I commit this day to opening to more positive energy. I choose the daily increase of love and positive energy as a central focus of my life.'"
There is advice about three circles of relationships. It reads, " The first circle is your relationship with yourself, particularly your relationship with the creative flow inside. If you keep opening up to your creativity and expressing it in the world, your circle of connection with yourself expands. The second circle is your relationship with others. Here, your circle expands when you open up to appreciate the essences of the people around you, and the ripples deepen. The third circle is your relationship with the earth and the universe. In the third circle you are the stone, the ripple and the pond; you are the relationship between action and reaction."
Open the page to February 15 and here Mother Teresa leaves her words for the day. She says, " Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand."
If you are feeling down, feeling that life is rather unfair in many ways, go to the month of May and on the 14th of this month and the wisdom of the day says,
" Count your blessings. When life gets most chaotic and difficult, the ironies of life are a reminder that there will be dissonance in livesthe very things that bring you the most joy are also the things that can bring you the most confusion and anguish. Grief is proportionate to the joy you have known with another in relationship; the more you love, the more you feel loss when that love is changed. Hence learn to count your blessings."
The book goes on to say that it is never too late to start living a life of conscious living. It says,
" Take yourself to the moment of birth. Imagine the work that went into bringing you into the world and the celebration that took place in the room when you drew your first breath, cried your first birth cry. Imagine yourself as tiny and vulnerable and new and full of hope and possibility. This new person lives within you still; access the newborn who lives within you and let yourself experience once again the momentous experience of entering the world, of having all the hope, all the possibility laid out in front of you."
On July 8 the quote of the day is from Sir Winston Churchill, who goes on to say, " We make a living by what we get and we make a life by what we give."
And of course there are a hundred other wonderful pieces of sayings and guidance. This book is an elegant window into bringing peace to the soul. Gay Hendricks repeatedly expresses the confidence that a person can live a worthy life from any moment he or she chooses. And in the process the book A Year of Living Consciously is a perfect guide for readers to pick up on a day and start a life that will have days shine like the countless stars in the sky. In times likes the present, when violence and restlessness seem to shroud the world, this book is indeed like a beacon to our souls.
Tulip Chowdhury is a poet, fiction writer and teacher.
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