Review of In It Together (2nd Edition Hardcover from B&N)
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Becky Walthall Belvin
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Review of In It Together (2nd Edition Hardcover from B&N)
[Following is a volunteer review of "In It Together (2nd Edition Hardcover from B&N)" by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes.]
In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes is an extremely thought provoking non-fiction book. I enjoyed reading it, especially after the first two or three chapters. It started out really slow to me, as the author repeatedly explained what the book was about and what it was not about. I found myself wanting to rush through those chapters to get to the meat of the book. Looking back, I see the importance of driving home the facts of what the book was about and what we, as the reader, was going to gain from reading the book very carefully.
It was stressed to the reader that this was not a book about religion or politics. I appreciated the fact that Mr. Hughes could write a book such as this without infringing on anyone's personal beliefs. Most authors try to prove his or her own beliefs as being the only truth, so this was a refreshing outlook on what the author wanted the reader to find out for himself.
After the first few chapters, the book explains that, no matter our many differences, we are all alike in the ways that are important. Yes, we have different political and religious beliefs, we are all different sizes with different hair and eye colors, but if we can peel off the superficial layers of the false self, we can get to our real selves. These are the ones that care about others and can empathize with the hurting of our fellow man. The false self can look at those hurting and try to find ways to justify it happening to them instead of us - they deserved it, they didn't work hard enough, they didn't try hard enough, etc. That is a pretty easy thing to do if we are not careful and are trying to make ourselves feel better.
The book ends with eleven suggestions to live our lives being in the true self, without judgement, prejudices, and resentments. The first suggestion is "Be Honest. Let go of denial, delusion, and self-defeat." The first sentence quotes Socrates before he is executed as saying, "Be as you wish to seem." We all want the approval of our peers, so we need to actually be the way that we want them to see us. The last suggestion simply says "Just Love Everything and Everyone." Again, this book is not about religion, but I can't help (as a Christian) to remember when a scribe asked Jesus what was the first and greatest commandment. Mark 12:30-31 says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."
I very much enjoyed this novel and hope that I can put these principles into practice in my own life. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. There is a wonderful quote on page 4. It states that "Fulfillment causes desire and goals to be replaced, not eliminated." In other words, we are never without a goal and desire; these just change over time - when one is accomplished, it is replaced by a different one. Life is a continuous time of growth and discovery; we just need to stay in our "real self" and not our "false self" so that we may be able to see the needs around us and have empathy for the less fortunate and do something about it instead of trying to judge them and think that someone else will help them, and then be on our merry way.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend that everyone read it as an eye opener into their own lives and how they react to others. It was very well written and edited.
******
In It Together (2nd Edition Hardcover from B&N)
View: on Bookshelves
In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes is an extremely thought provoking non-fiction book. I enjoyed reading it, especially after the first two or three chapters. It started out really slow to me, as the author repeatedly explained what the book was about and what it was not about. I found myself wanting to rush through those chapters to get to the meat of the book. Looking back, I see the importance of driving home the facts of what the book was about and what we, as the reader, was going to gain from reading the book very carefully.
It was stressed to the reader that this was not a book about religion or politics. I appreciated the fact that Mr. Hughes could write a book such as this without infringing on anyone's personal beliefs. Most authors try to prove his or her own beliefs as being the only truth, so this was a refreshing outlook on what the author wanted the reader to find out for himself.
After the first few chapters, the book explains that, no matter our many differences, we are all alike in the ways that are important. Yes, we have different political and religious beliefs, we are all different sizes with different hair and eye colors, but if we can peel off the superficial layers of the false self, we can get to our real selves. These are the ones that care about others and can empathize with the hurting of our fellow man. The false self can look at those hurting and try to find ways to justify it happening to them instead of us - they deserved it, they didn't work hard enough, they didn't try hard enough, etc. That is a pretty easy thing to do if we are not careful and are trying to make ourselves feel better.
The book ends with eleven suggestions to live our lives being in the true self, without judgement, prejudices, and resentments. The first suggestion is "Be Honest. Let go of denial, delusion, and self-defeat." The first sentence quotes Socrates before he is executed as saying, "Be as you wish to seem." We all want the approval of our peers, so we need to actually be the way that we want them to see us. The last suggestion simply says "Just Love Everything and Everyone." Again, this book is not about religion, but I can't help (as a Christian) to remember when a scribe asked Jesus what was the first and greatest commandment. Mark 12:30-31 says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."
I very much enjoyed this novel and hope that I can put these principles into practice in my own life. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. There is a wonderful quote on page 4. It states that "Fulfillment causes desire and goals to be replaced, not eliminated." In other words, we are never without a goal and desire; these just change over time - when one is accomplished, it is replaced by a different one. Life is a continuous time of growth and discovery; we just need to stay in our "real self" and not our "false self" so that we may be able to see the needs around us and have empathy for the less fortunate and do something about it instead of trying to judge them and think that someone else will help them, and then be on our merry way.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend that everyone read it as an eye opener into their own lives and how they react to others. It was very well written and edited.
******
In It Together (2nd Edition Hardcover from B&N)
View: on Bookshelves
Becky Walthall Belvin
Latest Review: The Date Farm by Jack Winnick
