The Book of Awakening – Wisdom from the trenches

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book:

If I had experienced different things, I would have different things to say. Mark Nepo

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo is a daily devotional for people who strive for compassion… for humanity and for self. On the back it says it’s “A Thinking Person’s Daybook”… I like that!

The pages are dated, which makes it very simple to read, although the messages throughout have depth… of spirit… gratitude… and intelligent thought.

It is a beautiful book … inside and out.

Mark Nepo is called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time” and I agree. We are pilgrims and Nepo is our guide. Can you tell I love this book?

My daughter gave it to me, which would make it special no matter what. If you read my post about Sacred Spaces, you know that everything in my home is meaningful. But there’s something deeper here. She and her brother went on a pilgrimage that would change their lives. For reasons that are theirs (and not for me to share) they both lived with their father until 2014, when he passed away suddenly. Everything changed in their world and plans had to be made.

Long story short, they left everything behind and took to the open road. While packing, my daughter came across this book in her collection and presented it to me. “Are you sure?” I asked… simply because it looked so beautiful and seemed like the kind of book she would want to keep. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said. “I am starting over and can only take what will fit in my car.” And without meaning to, she shared another lesson… things are just things, especially when there is no meaning attached to them. And, sometimes, when there *is* meaning attached, it’s the thing that *most needs* to be gotten rid of. <<< Poor sentence structure but seems to be the best way to say it. Don’t you think?

But now I’m doing what I always do… meandering and turning in circles… so much to see and do and share.

There are many classics among the books I’ve shared (and will share in the future). This is one of them. I would take this a step further and say… if I were taking to the open road and could only pack what would fit in my car… I would make room for this book. Because I need a guide… and because my daughter gave it to me. That’s the kind of book this is. <<<Another poorly constructed sentence. I guess today is bad grammar day. Haha!