Welcome to the first post of Actuator. I intend for this blog to be informational, inspirational, and to encourage discovery. That said, I can think of no better way to start than to introduce two books which were recently transformative to my quality of life. Perhaps they can eventually have the same effect for you.
What is Essential
Essentialism (by Greg McKeown) is a book which focuses on
you. It's about how to focus your life amidst the plethora of distractions and influences that keep you from what you
truly want to be doing in your life. I'd been in a slow pursuit of a life of "less things, more simplicity" for some time, making progress, but never quite getting there. This book opened the door to that path, then tore the door off its hinges! Over time and practice, the advice of essentialism has provided me with freedom from entrapments that were taking up my most valuable resources...my time, and my attention. It helped me pursue the "less but better" approach to life, which, with so many wonderful things to pursue, seems like the way to go. Perhaps this quote can summarize the book, "listen carefully, edit brutally, and never underestimate the power of sleep, play, and making the time and space to escape."
For each reason you don't have enough time to read
Essentialism, it's that much more important that you
do read it. Take away some news, cell phone, Facebook, or web time, and sit down with this.
The Roots of a Society
After you've found some time for yourself from reading
Essentialism, a good companion might be
Think on These Things (by Jiddu Krishnamurti). This book encourages us to take the time to do exactly what the title says. Consider what we haven't considered before, or see things in ways that were previously unknown. This reads both as very refreshing, and an unexpected take on how to think about the world.
The first chapter is on education, providing a fantastic basis for the rest of the book. Of the educators, parents, and students I know, there are few who are happy with the educational system, past or present. Krishnamurti describes it in a way that's likely to be completely different than what you've experienced, and maybe very close to something you feel should be happening today. Other topics are freedom, creative discontent, ambition, knowledge and tradition, etc.
Many would say this book is philosophical, I would say it's very practical. You may come away with thoughts on things very different than the way they are presented, and Krishnamurti would be fine with that. The point is less to get us to believe a certain way about things, but to simply allow us to think on these things.
I first read Krishnamurti's book in the beginning of my college years, and kept it with me because I knew it would be important down the road. It's that kind of book. I don't reread books often, but I read this again recently. It has helped me consider what I knew was essential, but ignored due to life's myriad distractions and proscriptions. So in the order of
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I would recommend
Essentialism first, to provide the basis of available time and stability. As you begin to carve out time for moving up the triangle, I would suggest
Think on These Things, to consider that which may seem very philosophical at first, but in fact is entirely practical.
I hope this provided a decent introduction of this blog, and of these transformative materials to you. If you've read either of these items, I'd like to hear your views on them. If you haven't read them yet, I'm curious about your opinion too! Click the links to find out more or purchase. Are you interested in either of these? Are you uncertain of them? Do you not have time for either book? Please let me know in the comments!
