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Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte
tsuntsun's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
brontherun's review against another edition
5.0
For a book of micro-essays, this volume is surprisingly useful. This was my first introduction to a David Whyte book, but will happily not be my last. His deep and introspective dive into the words we use to define our emotions and interactions hits the target again, and again, and again.
Particularly timely for some of us rousing from pandemic isolation was the entry on Robustness. While written before COVID was an everyday term, it captures my 2022 world in many ways. "A lack of robustness denotes ill-health, psychological or physical; it can feed on itself. The less contact we have with anything other than our own body, our own rhythm or the way we have arranged our life, the more afraid we can become of the frontier where actual noise, meetings and changes occur. To come out and meet the world again is to heal from isolation, from grief, from illness, from the powers and traumas that first robbed us of that meeting and of a vital sense of presence in the world; to be robust again is to leave the excuses we have made not to risk ourselves and to find ourselves alive once more in the encounter."
BAM! WHAT?!
I may keep this little volume of precious nuggets around, as I think it may prove pretty timeless.
Particularly timely for some of us rousing from pandemic isolation was the entry on Robustness. While written before COVID was an everyday term, it captures my 2022 world in many ways. "A lack of robustness denotes ill-health, psychological or physical; it can feed on itself. The less contact we have with anything other than our own body, our own rhythm or the way we have arranged our life, the more afraid we can become of the frontier where actual noise, meetings and changes occur. To come out and meet the world again is to heal from isolation, from grief, from illness, from the powers and traumas that first robbed us of that meeting and of a vital sense of presence in the world; to be robust again is to leave the excuses we have made not to risk ourselves and to find ourselves alive once more in the encounter."
BAM! WHAT?!
I may keep this little volume of precious nuggets around, as I think it may prove pretty timeless.
kristyjoy's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Divine connections to self and the world
raychel's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
I am a huge David Whyte fan but had yet to read this one. It was my first time reading any of his prose. I liked the reflections and there were a few that really stood out, but ultimately, this didn’t hit me in the same way that his poetry does. Definitely worth the read, just different than his poetry.
dbjorlin's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Some parts of this book were beautiful and full of a depth of wisdom (e.g., "Friendship," "Heartbreak," "Shadow), and other parts seemed repetitive and overwrought. It's well worth the read for the wise parts. Also, I probably read it too fast for some of the parts I considered overwrought to swim down to wise.
Some parts of this book were beautiful and full of a depth of wisdom (e.g., "Friendship," "Heartbreak," "Shadow), and other parts seemed repetitive and overwrought. It's well worth the read for the wise parts. Also, I probably read it too fast for some of the parts I considered overwrought to swim down to wise.
gazmanic's review against another edition
5.0
Came to David Whyte's writings via his contribution to the wakingup.com app where the author reads and annotates this portion of his work. Well worth a meditative listen.
memmaj's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Beautiful poetry, I will forever have this book next to my bed.