The Memphis Bar Association, no less, has commented that this book can "help its readers escape a frenetic pace of life and seek a more balanced approach to living and to peace of mind".
The chapters are short (two and three pages) and give themselves to a daily reading.
An excerpt from "The First Rule":
"These words are addressed to anyone
who is willing to renounce the delusion
that the meaning of life can be learned;
whoever is ready
to take up the greater weapon of fidelity
to a way of living that transcends understanding.
The first rule is simply this:
live this life
and do whatever is done,
in a spirit of Thanksgiving.
Abandon attempts to achieve security,
they are futile,
give up the search for wealth,
it is demeaning,
quit the search for salvation,
it is selfish,
And come to comfortable rest
in the certainty that those who
participate in this life
with an attitude of Thanksgiving
will receive its full promise.
John McQuiston II, ALWAYS WE BEGIN AGAIN, Harrisburg, Pa.: Morehouse Publishing, 1996, 2001.
[Three correlations to Jesus' teaching: (1) searching for security: "the Son of Man has no place to lay his head"; (2) search for wealth: "you cannot serve both God and the power of money"; (3) search for salvation: "he who would save his life will lose it". Living an attitude of "thanksgiving" is deep and requires a sacrificial and loving approach to others. --cornbread]
Wonderful lesson, "live the moment in Thanksgiving". Thank God for each second of existence. There is a book titled "The Hidden Messages in Water" and it is a pictorial as well as an thought provoking (pun intended) explanation about how our "thoughts" can have an effect on molecules of water. Emoto the author, although controversial, does offer a pseudo-scientific reason why we ought to be "thankful" for our meals and for every situation that occurs in our lives. It is an interesting read that supports "the first rule". warren
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