Book 5: A Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple's Trial by Trail

In honor of our friend Nick Brown--who has challenged my Western tendencies towards consumerism and comfort by embarking on the Pacific Crest Trail (a trail from Mexico to Canada along some of the Western U.S.'s highest points)--and in honor of some of our summer backpacking trips to many of the national parks, I'd like to offer "A Blistered Kind of Love", a story about a couple who traveled the Pacific Crest Trail before they got married, and the insights and hijinks they encountered along the way.

Alternating chapters, the Ballards describe their arduous 2,655-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, which zigzags its way from Mexico to Canada, crossing three states, three national monuments, seven national parks, 24 national forests, and 33 federally mandated wildernesses. Grappling with thirst, fear, and pain, they completed the trail in 132 days. In addition to providing detailed information on pretrip planning (meal preparation, gear, medicines), they also relate many amusing anecdotes about the characters they met along the way, including one pair whose goal was hiking 1 percent of the trail while intoxicated (they were successful). In between breathtaking descriptions of the many scenic vistas, which they viewed very briefly because of their manic devotion to covering a set amount of miles per day, the couple speak insightfully about their dynamics, which sometimes deteriorated into fights over the size of each other's steps. Although many of the couples they encountered on the trail had broken up by the end, the Ballards got married. This delightful title has appeal beyond hard-core backpackers.

Book 4: The Giver

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.

Book 3: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream

Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.

Chew on this quote from the novel:

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

Hmmmmm...

Book 2: Many Lives, Many Masters

"The true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient, and the past-life therapy that changed both their lives."

Book 1: Jesus Wants to Save Christians

"There is a church in our area that recently added an addition to their building which cost more than $20 Million. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty."

"This is a book about those two numbers."

The Journey in Detail

Welcome! This is a place for those seeking truth. A place where questions can be asked, and sometimes, answers may be found. It is a commitment to be on a journey together, challenging previously held ways of thinking and being, and striving to move on towards perfection, towards attaining the full measure of human essence (whether that is enlightenment, Christ-likeness, Brahman, Entire Sanctification, Self-Actualization, or any other way of explaining a movement beyond a trivial, mundane existence in an effort to live in a way of life as it was intended (created?) to be lived.)

For those sympathetic to such a journey, here are the tasks (at least in terms of this specific blog):

1. Read one book a month.
-There will be one book a month that we as a group will decide upon and it will be our task to read it sometime during that span. The books for the next month will be provided a month in advance so that we will have adequate time to order, buy, check-out, or borrow the selected text. The books will be listed from most recent to least recent on the right.
-A note on the selection of the books: The intent of reading the books is to challenge and to teach, and hopefully, to change the way we live for the better. They will be selected because of a recommendation that they are likely to do just that. If this is going to be a group that is serious about this journey, we must be open to a variety of books, ones that we might not have otherwise read. This is NOT a quest to reinforce our previously held ideas. If any of us has any right to share our opinions with another person, we MUST be open to that person’s opinion. So, even if we don’t think we will agree with a book, READ IT ANYWAY. We never know what we might learn. And in the worst case, we will gain a perspective that is different from ours, whether that changes our opinions or not.
-It is possible that one month a movie or other form of media might be most beneficial to the group. The group is open to that.

2. Post at least one comment.
–Even if every part of one of us disagrees with a book, forcing ourselves to post one comment will at least engage us in the discussion. A contrasting voice is still a voice, and can be heard and learned from, as opposed to no voice at all.
-Comments can be posted at any time. Don’t bother waiting till the end of the month or the end of the book to comment if there is something on your mind now. As soon as the book post is up, then comment away!

Thank you to everyone who has committed to this journey. I have no doubt that it will be a positive and beneficial one. I am excited to be able to have a regular place of discussion of issues that are truly important and life/world-changing. Maybe some months (if not every month for those who are interested) we can get together at a coffee shop, or the beach, or my apartment (I’ll serve coffee and tea), or anywhere else and have a longer conversation about the things that come up.