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- Verified Buyer
In The Book of Awakenings, Mark Nepo breaks open the harried existence we call life and folds it into bite-sized nuggets of wisdom that nudge us along toward expansion, a more open mind, a more indulgent spirit, all in service to elevating the soul. Nepo writes like a man who has crossed the desert and made it to the oasis for the revitalizing drink, then decided the oasis was a pretty fine place to be. A poet and philosopher by trade, Nepo is also a cancer survivor. While he fought the disease, life changed, became scary, possibly shorter, but decidedly different. Nepo suddenly saw the world through slow eyes, coming through the trauma more receptive and mature, and ultimately decided to write down his observations which turned out to be a boon for the rest of us. Just like tempered glass needs a little heat to coax it to its super state of existence, Nepo needed a little cancer to get his 3-D priorities right with his Soul.The work comes across as if time is infinite (spoiler alert: it is), so why not settle down and make note of a few things while you can. A calendar book, meaning you can read the day’s entry or you can skip around and read it in any order you like, The Book of Awakenings is not about deadlines, but lifelines. I am reading it slowly, savoring it like I would an expensive box of chocolates, but in orderly fashion, leaving randomness for the second round that I know there will be. You can’t absorb this book through a single read; it’s too rich with its lifetime worth of wisdom crammed into a bit more than 400 pages. The Book of Awakenings is a perfect read for anyone who feels as though they’re muddling through: losing life, losing purpose, losing love, identity, focus, or worse, the malaise has manifested as a dis-ease in the body and there you are, broken, alone, clueless as to how to break the cycle. It’s also perfect for someone with no problems, but many questions.If any of these scenarios sound like yours, I have a suggestion: read The Book of Awakenings. While not a guarantee of success — only you can do that — it will help you find a path in the worst of times. The Book of Awakenings shows you why everything is a blessing, even cancer, and why there is no such thing as curses, only cursed thinking, which with a little work can be changed. Nepo wants you to celebrate life by seeing the good in all things, but don’t misunderstand. This is not a touchy-feely self-help book. Rather, it’s a retreat for the mind and Soul that will provide the self-loving space for the body to follow.It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful book ever having been written. A modern day Rumi, Nepo meets you where you are and turns you from the outside in. You owe it to yourself to follow.
