Oprah Winfrey’s latest book is a book to be read and re-read during holiday seasons. We recommend it as a book for Christmas gift your old friend or neighbour will appreciate and enjoy.
Named “The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations” this is a book about the biggest questions in life. Everyone of us revisits these questions occasionally, but often from different angles.
The hardcover edition is user-friendly – beautifully designed, like the old school books with the fabric type of cover. It is perfect for coffee tables. The pages inside are beautiful as well, with plenty of pretty pictures. There are quotes by known authors and then there are stories about famous people. If you love quotes, you will love this book. If you are spiritual, you will love it. If you love a beautiful book, you will love this book and you will be happy to present it as a Christmas gift to someone who has always been there for you. And this book will be one that stays in your old friend’s house forever and probably be a decoration on her or his coffee table or end table.
Even though it’s “only” a book, it is a kind of interactive book. In a too noisy world, retreating with this book and pondering the many offerings may lead us to discovering our own soul. Ideally, we should do a lot of pondering outside, in synch with nature. You may also download it and listen to it complementary with a 30-day Audible trial here.
The book is sectioned into 10 chapter groups – Awakening, Intention, Mindfulness, Spiritual GPS, Ego, Forgiveness, Broken Open, Grace and Gratitude, Love and Connection. The order is quite telling; notice that “Ego” is right in the middle, followed by forgiveness. If we envision these topics as a bell curve, it’s an uphill battle to learn to deal with the Ego, after learning it, things get gradually easier.
At the end of her book, Oprah writes, “In order to experience life, you’ve got to start asking life’s big questions;” her book is an attempt to help. This book is that it features an array of answers to each question, complimentary pictures that express each topic visually, the reader can zoom in on the topic from various angles.
Oprah’s elaborations of the dangers of “Egos” hit at the core of many problems
“… ask, “What role does the ego play in this situation?” This is the essential question we should all be asking ourselves whenever we encounter difficulty…”
and, “… The ego has the power to influence or derail every aspect of our lives. Accepting this as truth opens the door to where the real work begins…”
Complementing beautiful pictures will inspire everyone to recall a memory from his own past. Most of us have seen in real life what the picture shows: a beach, with gentle waves rolling ashore. A couple of rocks of different sizes lie on the beach. The waves have washed out the sand around the rocks. The interpretation is simple – waves are washing away the foundation around the Egos. By law of physics the rocks themselves enable the process because they “stand in the way.” At the same time this process will also break down the “Egos.”
Hence: Does it make sense to deny that all of us are part of the universe? Or, try to insist on the power of our Ego? The picture reminds us that the depicted egos won’t last.
And, it is in this way that Oprah’s book creates a puzzle readers can put together themselves.
