Perseverance

This is a short book at 168 pages consisting of ~70 vignettes - each opening with a quote followed by 1-2 page essay. The book is centered on the daily struggle of how "to stay, not be dissuaded, not lose focus, not be overwhelmed, not succumb to exhaustion or despair." Essays cover a wide range of topics including Fear, Failure, Blame, Laziness, Grief, Death, Choice. While it is "Short" - I did not find it to be a quick read or simple. It took me several days to finish as I found the writing to be DEEP and highly introspective. This book is not what I expected. It certainly is not a 7-step how-to guide for getting rich.I would find myself dismissing some of the recommendations out-of-hand one minute...mumbling to myself that this is fantasy land...impractical...not grounded in the real world...more meditation (which I believe in, but haven't accomplished)...zen...where's-the-sutra-ohm-type stuff. And then after putting the book down...I found myself saying...she might have a point. And then later upon deeper reflection asking myself...how do I possibly move from my current place - from here to there.This book is certainly not for everyone. Yet, for +/-$8.00, I received considerable value from it. I'm confident that 10 or 15 years ago, I would have found this book to be full of zen-mumbo-jumbo. Today, many passages in this book stop me in my tracks and I continue to reflect on them. I believe that this introspective activity is a mark of a great self-help book that has made a difference. However, you must be in the time of your life to be able to appreciate it. I'm "almost" there - and therein lies the reason for my 4 out of 5 Amazon rating.This book is kindle/e-reader friendly. Save a tree and buy it on Kindle. (I also need to buy a hard copy...put it next to the bed stand and let the wisdom drip and seep in slowly.)Here's several of my favorite passages:* Lost: When we are overwhelmed and confused...we reach for old maps, the routine responses, what worked in the past...To navigate life today, we need new maps. Our old ones confuse us unendingly. These new maps are waiting for us. They'll appear as soon as we quiet down and, with other lost companions, relax into the unfamiliarity of this new place, senses open, curious rather than afraid. The maps we need are in us, but not in only one of us. If we read the currents and signs together, we'll find our way through."* Everything Changes: Good times don't last forever. And neither do the bad ones. Whatever is happening now, good or bad, is giving birth to the next state, which will be its opposite.* Destination: We could lighten up - we could go for direction, not destination. We could invite in what the world seems to want for us, what it's offering us right here, right now.* Discipline: "We've been conditioned to follow our passion, to do what we love, to connect our work with our life's purpose so that we'll be highly motivated. But life doesn't work that way, and work doesn't get done this way. After the first rush of romance in discovering meaningful work, there's the actual work to be done. The work will, at times, be boring, repetitive, uninteresting, senseless...If our life lacks discipline, we wend up always looking for a substitute. We seek new work, new causes, new relationships, something or somebody that will fire up our passion and make us feeling motivated and alive again. Propelled by passion rather than by discipline, we end spent, exhausted, unhappy. And we lose the capacity to persevere* Faith: The journey of perseverance begins with fire, with passion for our cause, with hope to change things. As the journey continues, passion dissolves into weariness. The obstacles are larger than we expected. The insanity is more than we can bear. But we still travel on, one foot in front of the other. And then there comes a point when we realize that we will not see our work bear fruit before we die. And that's OK...Perhaps holding true to the vision and not losing our way is enough for one lifetime.

Author Margaret Wheatley, with "Perseverance," delivers on her goal to provide reflections and inspiration for those who seek to persevere and contribute during these uncertain and difficult times. She draws on her own observations and integrates these with the reflections of St. Augustine, Thomas Merton, Rumi and other mystics, Buddhist and Zen teachers, Robert Frost and other poets, T.S. Eliot and other authors, musician Jerry Granelli, and choreographer Martha Graham.Wheatley uses a metaphor - a flowing river - to represent life, and offers choices we can make. We can hang close to the shore and hold onto certainty, or we can let go, embrace uncertainty, and go with the flow, thrust into the unfamiliar...and new possibilities. For many, the need for certainty binds. And it is Wheatley's hope that those so bound and struggling will dwell in uncertainty, hold the paradoxes, and live in the complexities and contradictions. This is reality and a "healthy place to be.""Perseverance" is organized into six sections: "Here is a river, Let go of the shore, Take nothing personally, Banish the word struggle, and For we are the ones." There are many excellent topics Wheatley examines in each section; several (two pages each) notables include patience, clarity, failure, success, and dwelling in uncertainty.Books well written like Wheatley's provide elegant and profound insights into life, insights that can lift us and help us face the struggles of life. A true measure of Wheatley's success will be how often the book is quoted and how often it is shared. I have quoted from it and now have someone in mind to "borrow" it.Finding our place -"Humans have a responsibility to find themselves where they are, in their own proper time and place, in the history to which they belong and to which they must inevitably contribute either their response or their evasions, either truth and act, or mere slogan and gesture." Thomas MertonYou can learn more about Wheatley by going to her web site, [...]

Timely receipt, Like New condition & great price,

This is a book like one I used to read in the 1950s - Daily Strength for Daily Needs. You read a page a day and are inspired to go into the day. What I like most about Wheatley is her awareness that we cannot depend upon results or outcomes to keep us going when our vision is far beyond what is happening in the world today. Our job is to keep moving in the right direction. She also sees the gift in invisibility (not needing “applause”) and the need for discipline. She creatively sees busyness as a form of laziness. I could go on and on, but read the book yourself. Here’s one of my favorite quotes (from the Buddhist Dhammapada): “Whoever moves from carelessness to vigilance, lights up the world like the moon that emerges from a cloud.”

Both of us have our own personal copy and we keep ordering more as gifts for friends and family. The wisdom and pithy presentations are always inspiring but grounded in reality, not sloppy sentiment in any way. Once or twice a year we re-read a page a day until we've cycled through the book, coming back to it again and again. As a result we have secured other books by the author. We give Perseverance our highest rating and recommendation.

This book is filled with wisdom. Margaret puts to words what a confusing part of life that seems to be happening to all of us. As the world is spinning faster, Pererverance tells us how to not cling to the shore, but float in the middle of the river and find others that are doing the same. This is my "go-to" book. I can just open it to a random page and find a nugget of wisdom to help me calm my own white waters. Based on Native American Wisdom and prophecy, you will find truths that will encourage you to make some necessary changes that may go against the direction that most of the world is headed. And, that is perfectly fine, and very smart. Great book! I buy it for all of my friends.

A small book with large impact.

A very wise woman & lovely book

A wonderful range of essays on what it is to be truly human

One of the most influential books of my life for sure. I was given a copy during my first year of teaching and it has helped me in my work and personal life in so many ways. I bought this second copy for my mother who enjoyed it as well. It's a great book to refer back to on a regular basis when you're feeling especially angry, overwhelmed or upset about something. I have many pages highlighted and marked to give myself a quick positive nudge when I'm worked up about something.

bought as a gift