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A review by olivia_piepmeier
Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chödrön
3.0
I have randomly picked up several Pema Chödrön books at the local used bookstore over the past year. I'm not sure why I decided to start with this one; perhaps because it has "start" in the title?
Up until this point, I've only read one or two books that were very grounded in Buddhism. This book is focused on 50-something Buddhist phrases. Not all of them work for me and that's okay. As I was nearing the end I caught myself thinking about how someone would memorize the phrases, then in the last chapter she talks about how you don't have to do that. The act of reading the book is like rainfall on a hard, dry Earth and perhaps this book softened the ground some.
My main takeaway from this is to let go of the storyline in your head. I think at some point she phrases as just "dropping it." She also reiterates how the pain we may feel at any given time is being felt by many across the world. This idea alone could help us cope with our pain and send some goodness out to others.
Up until this point, I've only read one or two books that were very grounded in Buddhism. This book is focused on 50-something Buddhist phrases. Not all of them work for me and that's okay. As I was nearing the end I caught myself thinking about how someone would memorize the phrases, then in the last chapter she talks about how you don't have to do that. The act of reading the book is like rainfall on a hard, dry Earth and perhaps this book softened the ground some.
My main takeaway from this is to let go of the storyline in your head. I think at some point she phrases as just "dropping it." She also reiterates how the pain we may feel at any given time is being felt by many across the world. This idea alone could help us cope with our pain and send some goodness out to others.