Living Without A Goal

As I carried this book while reading it I found people’s strong, negative reaction to the title interesting. There’s a sense that goallessness is somehow un-American. The real point of this book isn’t aimlessness. Rather it’s about abandoning over arching goals that cause us to miss the now while we’re constantly driven by the future. Ultimately, it’s really about not missing your life.

Awareness

This is a great book to pair with Buddhism Plain & Simple. Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest, taught and wrote about spirituality (which he carefully separates from religiosity) Awareness was written after his death using his talks at conferences. Awareness speaks of the difficulty and benefits of awakening to reality. de Mello and Buddha had a lot in common.

Difficult Conversations

This book could have as easily been in the work section of the store since the experience of finding certain conversations excruciatingly difficult seems to be universal. This book helps you recognize that the difficulty is inside of you and really has little to do with the inherent nature of the subject or the person you are trying to communicate with. You’ll find this understanding and his prescriptions immensely helpful at both work and home.