ARA Review by miriam_v of In It Together

[miriam_v]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, In It Together.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Good advice in iterative context

This self-help book is a wander through various ancient and modern religious and secular philosophies, emphasising how so many of them emphasise the connectedness of humans-nature-past-future. The writing style is re-iterative, in some ways, this is good because it emphasises learnings while shifting the context slightly, but if you got the idea the first time, there’s a bit of a puzzle about whether an entirely new point is being made.

Over and over, Hughes raises the important issue of ‘self-love’, emphasising that without it, there is no capacity to engage other parts of ‘self’, including sympathy, empathy, love of others, and considering the holistic nature of our lives in unity with others. Most of all, Hughes urges us to ‘think’ – to use our conscious selves to look beyond the needs and drives of the flesh towards a spiritual freedom that allows us to truly engage with our context, the others within the context and, ultimately, with a greater acknowledgement of our selves.

Self-discipline, especially, is important to attaining ‘self-discipline’ – and, of course, such discipline is not possible without ‘self-love’. The discipline of not having to ‘win the war’ or not to fight at all’ is paramount – because that underscores peace with self and with others. That is not to say there should be no fight, it is to recognising that ‘which is out of your control’ and let that go, choosing to engage in the battles in which one can make a difference.

Is man good or evil – it’s a question explored over and over again in fiction and non-fiction settings. And, as in those quests for the ‘true’ answer, there is no simple answer. Perhaps it is, as Hughes advocates, there is the ‘potential’ for good, but it can only be actuated if we truly understand ourselves and take ourselves in hand.

The book is especially readable and engaging for someone new to the ideas and morphs from ancient philosophies to ‘new-age’ thinking. I gave it a 4 out 5 rating because I found the iterations of points too much.

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