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It seemed almost cliche the way the danger and near misses helped him find himself, his true values.just not new enough insights for my reading perspective. This is definitely right for folks looking for good observations on abandoning work and finding something you've always dreamed of, but it is not as useful for someone in a pretty good line of work, or field they love, searching for attitudes and approaches to make that long stretch of middle career feel more meaningful, worthwhile, and well balanced. His method is to extrapolate from his personal career switch, which, by becoming a guide in the galapagos, was fairly extreme.
If you are spending much of your time wishing you were somewhere else, doing something else, pick up a copy of "Crossing the Unknown Sea -- Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity." This book was recommended by my sister who is a brilliant artist that knows her brother inside out and backwards. I was in tears in the first chapter, and I have never seen a wordsmith put sentences together as does David Whyte; they are packed tight with elegance and meaning.
I have recommended this book to friends who are searching for their life's work. This book is a must read for anyone who is unhappy working for money and wants to find work that will satisfy their heart and spirit.
He cites his inspirations from William Blake's paintings, Rainer Maria Rilke's poems, and from the way poet John Keats lived his brief life. Now he works in the corporate world, using his poetry self to help those who have left behind their creative, inner selves to regain them. What makes Whyte's book essential reading is how he is able to translate this journey to our working lives. This is not a stepwise manual toward self-fulfillment. Each of us will likely reach a point in our professional lives when we ask ourselves what is the value of what we're doing.
Rather, it's a book of the author's own decisive path, and as such, certain sections of the book will be more relevant than others. At the same time, the harsh reality is that most companies deprive us of time and spaciousness and cause us to lose our creative spark, even ourselves.Using his life as a guiding post for the reader, the author reveals many of the questions, crises, and turning points in his own search for meaningful work suited to his nature. Fortunately, Whyte knows firsthand what the corporate world is like and shows how he got back to writing poetry and what the costs and benefits were of doing so. It appears he has found the best of both worlds. Keats believed that truly great people have the ability to accept that not everything can be resolved, that they can thrive in uncertainty. Choosing or working at a job or career one is not suited to by nature is a mistake many make due to blinding factors like keeping up with the bills or placing emphasis on what others think.
Some may ignore the impulse and go on with their routines with little adverse effect, while others may feel they are on the edge of a precipice with no path marked toward fulfillment. He candidly discusses the life-changing encounters in his life, as well as the family memories and formative experiences that shaped his own psyche. Whyte shows why and how to get back in touch with one's nature and get back on track and why it is so important for people to do so. Author David Whyte, who is both a professional poet and a Fortune 500 consultant, certainly has the experience to write a book about self-discovery, and his most pervasive theme is one of pilgrimage toward our real selves. Such dependence on what Keats called the "holiness of the heart's affections" is what Whyte feels needs to be valued now.Keats' concept of negative capability is the crux of Whyte's thesis, that one should follow one's calling and be guided by one's desires and aptitudes in spite of the uncertainty. This emphasis he places upon our inheritance from those who have gone before us is probably the most inspiring message he conveys here.
For many, work is a means to ward off fears of poverty, but the author illustrates how work at its best can be joyful, a "hidden trove of imaginative treasure that we hope can give us self-respect, independence and the ease we desire". More specifically, Whyte discusses his stint as a naturalist in the Galapagos Islands and the key role his ancestors have played in shaping the structure and form of his creative work.
Whyte describes this tension of wanting to be a part and wanting to express who you are inside an organzation brilliantly. One of the best books I've read that describes the nature of work and the human condition. It was affirming to know that my conflicts with those desires are not unusual. I can't imagine anyone who hasn't struggled with these fundamental questions. Whyte captures so beautifully the emotions I feel as an independent consultant who spent time inside some large organizations. These days I feel that need to be "part of something", and just as strongly feel the need to use my own voice and find my own way should I go back inside an organization.
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