I’m an avid reader, always with several books on the go. In reviewing the books I’ve read this year, I tried to pick five that I would most recommend to others, especially in terms of living a contemplative life. Here they are (Amazon Affiliate links):
1. The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America by David Whyte
What would our days be like if we came out of hiding and brought our fears, loves, and dreams directly into the corporate workplace? This is the gist of poet David Whyte’s fascinating book. Considering everything going on in the world today (especially the Occupy movement), this book, published in 1994, is timely today.
David Whyte is an English poet, who has lived in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. for many years. He is a naturalist and the author of six books of poetry and three of prose, as well as a sought after speaker and presenter to organizations, including corporate America.
This book was one of my favorite reads this year. It is heavily marked and dog-eared. Its depth is considerable. He begins, “The Heart Aroused is written for those who have chosen to live out their lives as managers and employees of a postmodern Corporate America, and who struggle to keep their humanity in the process.”
2. The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer
Hands down, I will read everything Parker Palmer has ever written. This book is a classic, and particularly relevant to me right now as I begin to teach contemplative photography. Besides teaching, Palmer also writes and speaks about depression. I first heard him on NPR’s Speaking of Faith (now On Being) program years ago – The Soul in Depression.
I wrote about The Courage to Teach in a blog post – Truth as the Conversation Itself. Palmer speaks of teaching as building “communities of truth,” communities where we realize that none of us has access to absolute truth. Truth is evolving as the conversation itself evolves.
“The hallmark of a community of truth is in its claim that reality is a web of communal relationships, and we can know reality only by being in community with it.”
3. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Another classic on creativity, this one is by famed dance choreographer Twyla Tharp. This book has been cited as a major influence by many artists and I had wanted to read it for a long time.
“Creativity is more about taking the facts, fictions, and feelings we store away and finding new ways to connect them.”
A blog post also emerged from this book – 10 Lessons from Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, and it has turned out to be my most popular post. Some of the lessons include creating rituals, knowing what feeds your creativity and what distracts you from it, and how to get out of a rut. This is a must read for any creative person.
4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
A novel of sorts, this is a beautiful and unusual book, very philosophical in nature. It is the story of two people in an apartment building in Paris. Renee is the 54 year old concierge, a self-proclaimed “proletarian autodidact,” meaning she is self-taught. She understands the value of beauty, art, and poetry. Her tremendous intellect is well hidden from the bourgeois residents of the building, for whom she generally holds disdain. A new resident in the building, however, discovers her secret and woos her. For those who know the Enneagram, Renee is a classic 5! Paloma is an intelligent 12 year old, who cannot bear her rich family’s ways. She writes her thoughts in her “Journal of the Movement of the World.” The two find each other eventually, and the ending is very poignant.
5. Your Other Names: Poems for Wise Living by Tara Sophia Mohr
While I haven’t yet read this entire book, I have read many of Tara’s heartfelt poems over the past year and they strike to the core of contemplative living. Several copies of this book are on their way to me to give as gifts this holiday season. Whether you normally read poetry or not, I guarantee you that these poems will touch your heart. Here is an excerpt from one of my favorites, The One Deep Inside Your Chest
Can you feel the one deep inside your chest,
who has existed forever?
Who has made a thousand journeys?
Who feels like a comet in the dark?
The inner filament?
I know, no one ever told you.
I know. It wasn’t the name you learned to write at school,
but that one is you.
That one is the real you.
Learn more about this book here.
I hope you find something here that speaks to you.