The main premise of the book is that solutions to people problems are always deeper than outward actions. The Arbinger Institute uses a story format to teach these principles. The story focuses on a man named Lou and his relationships with family members and coworkers. The writing style is cheesy at times, but the concepts within more than make up for it in my opinion.
The terms “heart at peace” and “heart at war” seemed hokey to me at first, but these are simply terms for a concept I don’t find hokey at all:
“In every moment, we are choosing…In the way we regard our children, our spouses, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers, we choose to see others either as people like ourselves or objects. They either count like we do or they don’t. In the former case, since we regard them as we regard ourselves, we say our hearts are at peace toward them. In the latter case, since we systematically view them as inferior, we say our hearts are at war.”
The part of the book that hit me the hardest is toward the beginning: “Seeing an equal person as an inferior object is an act of violence, Lou. It hurts as much as a punch to the face. In fact, in many ways it hurts more. Bruises heal more quickly than emotional scars do.”
This really made me sit up and pay attention.
I read this book for the first time when I was in college. It was an extra credit assignment for one of my classes. It really opened my eyes. The ideas contained in this book were very new to me. Now, it’s almost old hat. But not because the lessons aren’t profound for me any longer, but just because they are so familiar I take them for granted. When I first read this book, I tried really hard to constantly keep my heart at peace. I thought it got good at it, too.
I lived for a long time thinking I had this mastered—keeping my heart at peace. It occurred to me recently that I am good at surrounding myself with people with whom I am at peace. When I come in contact with someone at war, I still am quick to take up my own weapons and go to war myself.
Of course, as The Anatomy of Peace points out: “…difficult choices are still choices. No one, whatever their actions, can deprive me of the ability to choose my own way of being. Difficult people are nevertheless people, and it always remains in my power to see them that way.”
Such a profound read. I hope you add it to your to-read list if you haven't already.
Now for next month. For September, my pick is
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by Orson Scott Card
This is a title I've heard about for years. It's been on my to-read list for quite some time, but sci-fi isn't usually my genre. Since the movie will be hitting the box office in November, I think it's time to give Ender's Game a try. I figure if I read it this month, I can beat the library rush. (If you're a true bookworm, you know what I'm talking about.)
From Goodreads: In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Ender's Game has an average rating of 4.28 stars on Goodreads and 4.6 stars on Amazon. In addition, Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Impressive résumé!
Hit me back next month for my review!
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