Living Simply with Children

I'm very behind in writing about the books I've read, but I guess who cares really?!?!

A week or so ago I finished reading Living Simply with Children. I was excited to read it, because many simple living books seem written by, or for, people without children or whose children are grown up. However, I didn't find that this book had much new to offer or much that was specifically helpful about simple living with children. It was interesting, but not particularly life changing or illuminating.

I also finally finished reading Wisdom of the Ages by my beloved Wayne Dyer. The subtitle was "60 Days to Enlightenment" and so I was very careful to read only one part each day for 60 days (I would read a section each day after my yoga practice). I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the rest of Wayne Dyer's books, perhaps because it was so slowly digested? My idea to read it carefully like that was an effort to get good things to soak in, instead of just rushing to the next book. However, I found myself feeling a little annoyed by him instead of feeling like all of his profound truths were becoming part of my life view! The book is 60 essays about 60 different "wise people" from history. Each section opened with a quote from their writings/teachings and then Dyer's exploration of the idea expressed in the paragraph he chose. He wrote the book in like 60 days too and there were many times when it felt like it showed to me--his writing seemed repetitive, redundant, sometimes surface, and hasty. The nice thing about this format was that I was exposed to and read works from well known great thinkers that I haven't necessarily read on my own. There were paragraphs from all sorts of people that it is good "cultural literacy" to have read something by.

Lots of good reminders too like:

"Men are disturbed not by things that happen,
but by their opinion of the things that happen."
--Epictetus
(55-135)

Oh, so true! I'm terrible about letting my own opinions about things that happen get me all worked up and in a tizzy, or stressed, or whatever and really what is bothering me is my OWN thinking, my own thoughts, and my own opinions, NOT anything that really happened or is happening!

Oh, and by the way, I don't seem to be enlightened after my 60 days of reading...;-)