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Thread: Be The Book You Want to See in the World

  1. #1
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Be The Book You Want to See in the World

    Take-off on "be the change"...

    If you could be a BOOK that represents the life you would want for yourself, what book would that be?

    For me, while it would be a RADICAL change and I can't hope for it until my next incarnation, it's William Coperthwaite's A Handmade Life.

    https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Life.../dp/1933392479

    His life was one of radical simplicity, having been a close friend of the Nearings. But I love this book because it blends philosophy with culture with art and design, with love, and nature, and with craftsman's skills.

    When I need inspiration, it's my go-to book. It's a well-rounded life lived by someone with commitment to artistry and intention.

    What book would you "be"?
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  2. #2
    Yppej
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    I never read that book because my library doesn't have a hard copy, but I found they do have an ebook of it, so I will check it out. Thank you for the referral.

    I would probably be close to author Amy Dacyczyn, though I have worked rather than be a stay at home mom, because I have focused on frugality in small areas to save for bigger things, most especially a house.

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    I guess if I could inhabit any literary universe, it might be that of James Herriott, in Yorkshire. That always seemed familiar and the way things ought to be.

    I wish my life as a book had been more like Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, that we could all be enjoying a rich comic life on the beach, together.

    It's a good question!

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    So many to choose from, but based on today's world, I would pick "How to Be Compassionate: A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World" By His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. I would choose this for myself and wish it for other's as well.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  5. #5
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    Michel de Montaigne. I would have a respectable career as a statesman, enjoy my estate and write the “Essais” in my spare time.

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    Walden.

  7. #7
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    My favorite story as a child was The Blue Teapot, by Alice Dalgliesh, about a spinster who lived in a house overlooking the Bay of Fundy. She had a cat or two, drank tea, made quilts, adopted twins from a local orphanage, and sold her things to patch a leaking roof. I must have heard that read hundreds of times, until I had it memorized. One day, I realized I had made a similar life for myself. My goals have never been lofty ones.
    Last edited by JaneV2.0; 7-6-20 at 9:45am.

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    Earth Abides. (How to survive the end of the world.)

  9. #9
    Yppej
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    I started The Handmade Life. I think some people here would not like it because they are all about specialization and self-styled experts, not the lived experience and wisdom of ordinary people.

  10. #10
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    It has changed as my life unfolded. I wanted the spirit of Anne of Green Gables when young, the wild adventure of a Louis Lamour western as a young adult (never mind that I am female), but as the years have passed, there are fewer and fewer female models written about. Self-sustained independent living, > world traveller, > theatre set designer, artist, > independent thinker very content with life today.
    Suggestions of a book that includes the latter would be appreciated.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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