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Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into The Mystery And Art Of Living [Book]

    Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into The Mystery And Art Of Living [Book]
    By: Krista Tippett

    Book Overview: In Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett has created a master class in living for a fractured world. Fracture, she says, is not the whole story of our time. The enduring question of what it means to be human has become inextricable from the challenge of who we are to one another. She insists on the possibility of personal depth and common life for this century, nurtured by science and “spiritual technologies,” with civility and love as muscular public practice. And, accompanied by a cross-disciplinary dream team of a teaching faculty, she shows us how.

    Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

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      “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

      Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey

        “Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment, and especially on their children, than the unlived life of the parents.”

        Carl Jung, via Sunbeams (Page 111)

          “Sometimes, we forget that we ever wanted anything different from what we have. The repetitiveness of our toxic memory can lure us into years of accepting more of the same and wasting away in a mediocre existence that fails to meet even our own expectations.”

          Debbie Ford, The Shadow Effect (Page 84)

            “It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price… One has to abandon altogether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to embrace the world like a lover. One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always to total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.”

            Morris L. West, The Shoes Of The Fisherman, via Sunbeams (Page 91)

              “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our inner most being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

              Joseph Campbell, The Power Of Myth, via Sunbeams (Page 82)

                “As you think, you travel. As you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. You cannot escape the result of your thoughts; but you can endure and learn, accept and be glad. You will realize the vision of your heart, not the idle wish. You will gravitate toward that which you secretly most love. Into your hands will be placed the exact result of your thoughts; you will receive that which you earn; no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your vision—your ideal.”

                Unknown, via Sunbeams (Page 74)

                  “The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.”

                  Benjamin E. Mays

                    “It is better to follow your own path, however imperfectly, than to follow someone else’s perfectly.”

                    The Bhagavad-Gita, via The Practice (Page 8)

                      “Every day matters.  The awareness of our mortality can help us pursue a goal.  We all have a limited amount of time on earth.  Those who live in active awareness of this reality are more likely to identify goals and make progress toward them.  Or to put it another way: Everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives.”

                      Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 268)

                        “It has become ever more clear to me that if I had spent my life avoiding any and all potential risks, I would have missed doing most of the things that have comprised the best years of my life.”

                        Phoebe Snetsinger, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 262)

                          “Regret is what you should fear the most.  If something is going to keep you awake at night, let it be the fear of not following your dream.  Be afraid of settling.”

                          Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 220)

                            “If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life.”

                            Albert Camus, via Sunbeams (Page 70)

                              “It’s not the length but the quality of life that matters to me. It has always been important to me to write one sentence at a time, to live every day as if it were my last and judge it in those terms, often badly, not because it lacked grand gesture or grand passion but because it failed in the daily virtues of self-discipline, kindness, and laughter. It is love, very ordinary, human love, and not fear, which is the good teacher and the wisest judge.”

                              Jane Rule, via Sunbeams (Page 67)

                                “Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.”

                                Nathan W. Morris (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)

                                  Always keep Ithaca on your mind.

                                  To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

                                  But do not hurry the voyage at all.

                                  It is better to let it last for many years;

                                  and to anchor at the island when you are old,

                                  rich with all you have gained on the way,

                                  not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

                                  Constantine Cavafy, Ithaca, via The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 114)

                                    “As much as it sounds trite to ‘live like you’re dying’ or ‘live every day as if it were your last,’ that’s exactly what many people obsessed with a quest do. This shift from an intellectual awareness that we will someday die to an emotional awareness can be a guiding light to discovering what really matters.”

                                    Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 54)