Summer Reading: 3 Books I Recommend

 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Charlie Mackey)

Thanks to two young nieces, in recent years, I’ve become more exposed to children’s books.  As a result, I’ve come to realize that some of the best books are children’s books.  With simple, sparing prose often accompanied by lots of pictures (yay!), many of the best children books seem to get to the heart, beauty and main message regarding Life more quickly and effectively than many adult books.  

 

The Boy, the Mole…, in my opinion, is the embodiment of simplicity, beauty and meaning. Written by an artist who still retains a child’s heart, the book follows a boy in his wanderings through nature.  In so doing, he meets a series of animals – a mole, a fox, a horse – who become his fellow travelers, wanderers and friends.  Each bring a unique strength, vulnerability and perspective to their collective journey.  Whether sitting on a tree branch or in a field gazing at the night sky, they take turns asking each other some of Life’s biggest questions and sharing with each other some of Life’s greatest truths.

 

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” The mole asked.

“Kind” said the boy.

 

Hello Beautiful (Ann Napolitano)

Growing up in the 80s, I was the typical latch-key kid. After getting dropped off by the school bus at around 3:30PM, I’d quickly change into sweats, grab a snack from the fridge and then park myself in front of the TV to catch The Oprah Winfrey Show at 4PM.  Like many of my contemporaries, Oprah became my TV mom.  So, I took her recent book club’s milestone 100th selection, Hello Beautiful, to heart and decided to check it out.   

 

This book drew me in subtly, but quickly.  The story begins with an emotionally orphaned boy name William Waters, whose parents are so grief-stricken over the premature death of their daughter (William’s older sister) that they neglect to see, love and care for their living child.  So, he grows up feeling invisible, unlove and unworthy.  His height and love of basketball earned him a scholarship to Northwestern.  During his freshman year, he meets the vivacious, intelligent and driven, Julia Padavano, and her three equally individualistic and strong-willed sisters.  Over the years, they become his family.  Individually and collectively, the Padavano sisters help show William and one another love’s capacity to resolve conflicts and contradictions so as to guide us home.         

 

Like many great artist, Napolitano’s genius lies in the diligence and detail that she exerts in uncovering the truth that often lies hidden in plain sight.  For example, only with the passing of their father and time did the Padavano sisters come to realize that it was not their extroverted, forceful, ambitious and long-suffering mother who was their family’s anchor.  Rather, it was their introverted, gentle, seemingly unambitious and accepting father.  Often found reading in his favorite chair, Mr. Padavano, quietly watched the comings and goings of his daughters and would readily greet them: “Hello Beautiful.”  In seeing his girls while remaining seated in his place, he gives them the security and space to live out their own lives.   

 

I Am That (Nisargadatta Maharaj)

WARNING:  You will either love this book or be confounded by it.  The Yogi will either come across enlightened or incomprehensible…and/or sometimes both.      

 

While watching yet another Martha Beck vlog (The Gathering Room), I was intrigued when she confessed that she was so obsessed with this book (I Am That) when she first began reading it that she felt compelled to steal it from the bookstore (or maybe hotel) so she could finish it.  (FYI, Martha did buy another copy to compensate the owner.)

 

Checking out a copy from the library, a few things stood out to me from the get-go.  First, the book can double as a doorstop (457 pages).  Second, enlightenment came upon an unlikely individual – a lowly, Indian shop keeper – rather than some devoted monk or nun.  Third, this book is not a story of Nisargadatta’s journey towards enlightenment, but rather a Q & A between him and numerous spiritual seekers who’d sought him out over the years to assess and/or access his wisdom.

 

In my first attempt at reading I Am That, I found myself trudging through it.  I only got through the first 40 pages or so before the book was recalled.  While still unsure as to why Martha found this book soooo incredible, I thought I needed to give it another try.  This time, rather than borrowing, I decided to buy a used copy.  With no time constraint, I found it easier to ease into the book.  With each chapter, I slowly came to accept the contradictions that often arise as Nisargadatta, the Yogi, used Reality to dispel delusions.  In so doing, I was able to access (temporarily) the insights that he generously shared with others:

“The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom.”

 

“Your expectation of something unique and dramatic, of some wonderful explosion, is merely hindering and delaying your Self Realization. You are not to expect an explosion, for the explosion has already happened – at the moment when you were born, when you realized yourself as Being-Knowing-Feeling. There is only one mistake you are making: you take the inner for the outer and the outer for the inner.”

 

“In seeking you discover that you are neither the body nor mind, and the love of the self in you is for the self in all. The two are one. The consciousness in you and the consciousness in me, apparently two, really one, seek unity and that is love.”

 

After finishing this book, I realize that I should’ve approached it more like a moving stream.  To grasp water is to lose it.  But, to touch water is to experience it.  Reality cannot be understood with head, but rather felt with the heart.