Author: hartwish

Postscript

hartwish2 Comments

I keep reading, of course, and can’t let this book get lost without adding it to my list. I read Amor Towles’ Rules of Civility some time ago and liked it very much, so purchased his new one, A Gentleman in Moscow, and spent a week being delighted with his writing once again. I know we all have different reading tastes (I cannot enjoy wildly dysfunctional families or mayhem) so you can count on at least reasonable civility in my list of likes. I am very comfortable in thinking this could be a great Christmas gift for a reader on your list. (The graphic and review were lifted from Barnes & Noble.)

 

9780670026197_p0_v4_s118x184The New York Times Book Review – Craig Taylor
…sly and winning…Solzhenitsyn this is not. The frost gathers outside, but the book proceeds with intentional lightness…Towles is a craftsman…he chooses themes that run deeper than mere sociopolitical commentary: parental duty, friendship, romance, the call of home. Human beings, after all, “deserve not only our consideration but our reconsideration”—even those from the leisured class. Who will save Rostov from the intrusions of the state if not the seamstresses, chefs, bartenders and doormen? In the end, Towles’s greatest narrative effect is not the moments of wonder and synchronicity but the generous transformation of these peripheral workers, over the course of decades, into confidants, equals and, finally, friends.

 

 

Book List

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I’m nervous if I don’t have a stack of books waiting by my bedside. It’s been awhile since I recounted what I enjoyed this year and thought I’d better make a list before I forget. Here’s what I remember, in no particular order:

  • The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
  • My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry by Fredrik Backman
  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
  • The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
  • Euphoria by Lily King
  • Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
  • The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
  • The Submission by Amy Waldman
  • Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill
  • Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
  • The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
  • My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
  • Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
  • Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  • Willful Behavior by Donna Leon
  • The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
  • The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria
  • Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh (final book of a trilogy)
  • Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
  • The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
  • The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah
  • The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
  • Leaving Before the Rains Come by Alexandra Fuller

 

 

 

Thanks

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I’m generally good at being polite, and when I think about it, being grateful as well. I’m certainly thankful for family, friends, good health, and my home. But some time ago I heard about Naikan Reflection, and remembered that it offered a somewhat different approach to thinking about gratitude.

In looking for a definition of naikan, I found the todoinstitute.org. The site explains that a Japanese Buddhist, Yoshimoto Ishin, developed a meditation method he felt would be accessible, and named it Naikan, a Japanese word for introspection. While any meditation practice requires understanding that I don’t presume to represent here, I found Naikan’s suggested reflection questions useful:

What did I receive from others today?
What did I give to others today?
What troubles and difficulties did I cause today?

It doesn’t take much time before sleep to ask myself these questions. When I really think about the details of my day, I find I have always been given courtesies and considerations that didn’t get my full attention, and had pleasurable moments I didn’t fully savor. Am I thoughtful and generous to others? Maybe not so much. Did I cause harm or hurt feelings? I hope not, but perhaps I was distracted, inattentive, careless in a response. You get it.

I am usually aware of and thankful for big things; paying attention to smaller ones broadens my gratitude scope. This Thanksgiving week and beyond, I’m going to try to think small.

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Up a Tree

hartwish1 Comment

I took a walk with a friend this week, among old pecan trees, and the Gospel passage our priest spoke about on Sunday came into mind. It’s a tale about Zacchaeus the tax collector, described as a short man, who climbs a tree in order to see Jesus over the crowd. (Luke 19:1-10; Jesus sees him, calls him down and stays at his house; there are additional details to the story that offer other fruitful opportunities for interpretation.)

It occurred to me that I have been up a tree (in a metaphoric sense) as an escape, and not as a place from which to see more clearly. Sitting in a removed space offers a good opportunity for rest and reflection, but life is conducted for the most part on the ground. I’ll come back down one of these days.

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Control

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Humans and words are not in control. There is sanctuary in ordinary things and a theology in nature. At present I’m taking advantage of my back yard, where today I am shown what a grace-filled letting go can look like.october-21-2016_412_161021