Synopses & Reviews
"Attaining happiness is indeed the struggle of a lifetime. Yet, the difficulties and all the stumbling blocks aside, we can honestly see that we were created to be happy, that happiness arises from its very pursuit."
The Monks of New Skete, bestselling authors of How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, have now written a book that explores the concept of human happiness and how it can be achieved. Living within a cloistered community is no easier than living in the wider world, but there the monks can focus on the question of what makes a meaningful life and how best to live it.
Taking us inside a contemporary monastic community, the monks reveal that their days are filled with work, the challenges of coexisting peacefully with their colleagues, and a continuing quest for spiritual fulfillment. They invite us to emulate aspects of the life of a monk, particularly the uniquely vital and engaged version practiced at New Skete. And they provide a history and explanation of the origins of monasticism through brief "Interludes" that are interwoven throughout the book. By candidly sharing with us the difficulties they face in their own daily lives, they inspire by example. The reader will come away with fresh insights into ways of improving relationships with other people as well as new ways of connecting to the divine.
The monks believe that it is vital to be part of a community of faith, that interpersonal communion takes us beyond ourselves into the realm of love. Indeed love, not proficiency in some spiritual technique such as meditation, is the gauge of the effectiveness of spiritual practices.
Above all, the monks believe human beings were created to be happy, and that the elements of a monk's life--self-discipline, solitude, prayer, acts of love and forgiveness--are the pathways anyone can follow to achieve true happiness.
Synopsis
The bestselling authors of How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend show how their strong connections with dogs and the natural world stem from the principles of monastic life. The elements of a monk's life -- self-discipline, solitude, prayer, acts of love and forgiveness -- are pathways that anyone can follow to achieve true happiness and spiritual fulfillment.
Synopsis
The bestselling authors of "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" show how their strong connections with dogs and the natural world stem from the principles of monastic life. 14 line drawings.