Collection
Status
Available
Description
A meditation on the need for a day of rest, against the background of a growing commercialization of Sunday. The author analyzes the rhythm of labor and rest, by which all living beings are governed.
User reviews
LibraryThing member nlaurent
I never fully understood the art of rest and the need for deep rest without self-denigration or lame excuses, until I read this book. I have earned wisdom from these pages. And when burnout seems unavoidable I remind myself of the need for dormancy in my life. One should not and cannot produce
There is wisdom here for everyone who is a part of our economy , our culture, our family and our legacy.
Show More
nonstop. Something beautiful occurs when you let the mind and body rest. When you stop working or fussing about things or shoes or appointments. When you put people ahead of schedules, projects or timelines and steal a nap, a card game, or a Sunday dinner, you get a piece of life that almost slipped away. And one is reminded that it is for those moments we do all we do. Otherwise the accomplishments loose their meaning in even the most prestigious and humanitarian of professions. Because what, for example, is the point of valuing and saving human life, if the quality of life is so low that they are here only to work? Regardles of whether you believe in one or more gods, it will remind you of the command to rest (or the right to rest!) and enjoy the life you were given. If you don't believe in a god, it will remnd you that you are a part of evolution and all the rhythms of nature, and that you cannot be exempt from the need or deep and renewing rest. There is wisdom here for everyone who is a part of our economy , our culture, our family and our legacy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jmcdbooks
Rated: B-
Worth the read. Helps me to realize that to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8) requires intentionality. The demands of our lives create our forgetfulness. A time and a way of resting from the world and toward our Creator is not only a commandment, but needed for the
"Henri Nouwen was a dear friend of mine, a brother, priest, and mentor. He was also a fiercely asture observer of our worried, overfilled lives. Henri insisted that the noise of our lives made us deaf, unable to hear when we are called, or from which direction. Henri said our lives have become absurd -- because in the word absurb we find the Latin word surdus, which means deaf. In our spiritual life we need to listen to the God who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear in our hurried deafness."
"On the other hand, Henri was found of reminding me that the word obedient comes from the Latin word audire, which menas 'to listen'. Henri believed that a spiritual life was a pilgrimage from absurdity to obedience -- from deafness to listening."
"In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired.
In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped." (Lao Tzu)
"Thomas Merton begins this oft-repeated prayer whith confession: 'My dear God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end'. In a similar was Suzuki Roshi exalts the virtue of what he calls 'beginner's mind,' a condition of being able to embrace and accept a certain level of inevitable unknowing. It is, he says, a fertile practice, because often it is when we do not know the outcome that all things become possible."
Worth the read. Helps me to realize that to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8) requires intentionality. The demands of our lives create our forgetfulness. A time and a way of resting from the world and toward our Creator is not only a commandment, but needed for the
Show More
restoration and renewal of our soul."Henri Nouwen was a dear friend of mine, a brother, priest, and mentor. He was also a fiercely asture observer of our worried, overfilled lives. Henri insisted that the noise of our lives made us deaf, unable to hear when we are called, or from which direction. Henri said our lives have become absurd -- because in the word absurb we find the Latin word surdus, which means deaf. In our spiritual life we need to listen to the God who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear in our hurried deafness."
"On the other hand, Henri was found of reminding me that the word obedient comes from the Latin word audire, which menas 'to listen'. Henri believed that a spiritual life was a pilgrimage from absurdity to obedience -- from deafness to listening."
"In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired.
In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped." (Lao Tzu)
"Thomas Merton begins this oft-repeated prayer whith confession: 'My dear God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end'. In a similar was Suzuki Roshi exalts the virtue of what he calls 'beginner's mind,' a condition of being able to embrace and accept a certain level of inevitable unknowing. It is, he says, a fertile practice, because often it is when we do not know the outcome that all things become possible."
Show Less
LibraryThing member JillKB
This book really made me reflect on the importance of taking a day of rest, both spiritually and physically.
LibraryThing member bness2
This is a book for today's world, and don't be misled by the title, it is not a sectarian view of the Sabbath, but rather a broadly inclusive view of Sabbath as a day of rest in multiple religious cultures, and a practice that even makes sense in a secular setting. This is a book for all who are
Show More
too busy to slow down. It is a reminder that if you don't slow down you will eventually burn out and be forced to slow down. It's central message is that by taking Sabbath rest you will have a richer, fuller life and you will be much better able to function overall. Show Less
ISBN
9780553380118