Saturday, September 12, 2009

Read: Gracious Living in a New World

A week ago, I finished reading the book titled Gracious Living in a New World: Finding Joy in Changing Times by Alexandra Stoddard. This is the second book that's written by her that I have read.

Reading this book gave me a calm sense of ease and peace in general. I particularly find it inspiring to read the chapter "Lessons from a Village". It reminded me that many times we aren't after the greatest achievements on Earth, more than we yearn to connect at a deeper level with the significant people in our lives.

The chapter "Working with Grace" also reminded me not to become victim of the "efficiency trap". Time spent "not working" can also be a vital part of productivity. Just because we are not doing things that is highly focused, goal-oriented or deal-closing do not mean that the time spent is unproductive. Time spent writing a friendly card, saying a word of appreciation and so forth at work can be productive too in that they help us get in touch with our essence as human beings.

One thing that I appreciate about this book is that there are many lovely and inspiring quotations that are placed in various parts of the book. I enjoy reading these quotations as I read the book itself.

So I end this post with one of the quotations: "To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life" - Samuel Johnson.

1 comment:

Jammie J. said...

Some very good points you observe in your book reading. Thank you for sharing them.