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پادشاه گدا و راز شادمانی
شغل جوئل، نویسندهی این کتاب، قصهگویی است. به همه جای جهان سفر میکند و برای مردم قصه میگوید. سپس روزی میفهمد سرطان گرفته و مدتی کوتاه بعد از آن تارهای صوتیاش را از دست میدهد و دیگر نمیتواند حرف بزند. این مصیبت طبعاً زندگیاش را به آستانهی ویرانی میکشاند و او باید در این بین با کمک قصههایی که همیشه تعریف میکرده و قصههایی که استادش برای او میگوید و صد البته قصهی زندگی خودش، چارهای بیاندیشد. باید خود را بازتعریف کند.
پادشاه گدا و راز شادمانی مجموعهای قصهی تودرتو و بینهایت ساده و حقیقی و ملموس است از زبان یکی از بهترین قصهگو های عصر ما و قصد دارد زندگیمان را به شکل داستانی زیبا برایمان تصویر کند. شخصیتهای کتاب مشتی راهب و ببر و اسبهای گمشده و گنجهای مدفون و البته پادشاهها و گداها هستند. کمتر پیش میآید سادگی ناب کتابی میخکوبمان کند و این کتاب از آن استثناهاست.
پادشاه گدا و راز شادمانی مجموعهای قصهی تودرتو و بینهایت ساده و حقیقی و ملموس است از زبان یکی از بهترین قصهگو های عصر ما و قصد دارد زندگیمان را به شکل داستانی زیبا برایمان تصویر کند. شخصیتهای کتاب مشتی راهب و ببر و اسبهای گمشده و گنجهای مدفون و البته پادشاهها و گداها هستند. کمتر پیش میآید سادگی ناب کتابی میخکوبمان کند و این کتاب از آن استثناهاست.
204 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
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June 5, 2023
A unique, poignant memoir about a man who earns his living by relating stories, and then loses his voice. A fast and engrossing read that asks big questions, and is ultimately life-affirming.
“Here is what I’ve come to: I still believe that things in this world do, indeed, happen for a reason. But sometimes that reason comes only after they happen. It is not a reason we find, but one we carve, sculpted from our own pain and loss, bound together with love and compassion. As hard as we may search, we can only see it when we stop to wonder, looking back to see where we’ve been and what we’ve learned. It’s a grueling process, this forging a reason from the stuff of life, but it’s all we can do. And what we get for our efforts is a story.”
“Here is what I’ve come to: I still believe that things in this world do, indeed, happen for a reason. But sometimes that reason comes only after they happen. It is not a reason we find, but one we carve, sculpted from our own pain and loss, bound together with love and compassion. As hard as we may search, we can only see it when we stop to wonder, looking back to see where we’ve been and what we’ve learned. It’s a grueling process, this forging a reason from the stuff of life, but it’s all we can do. And what we get for our efforts is a story.”
April 6, 2015
This is a book that uses tales and parables in a memoir. More than that, the author used his tales in the service of living his life and creating the raw material for the memoir.
The idea is you need stories to live, and stories need reasons. Otherwise things are just happening to you pell mell--or maybe you're unmindfully living out prefab paradigms.
There's a theological concept here. God brings order out of darkness and chaos, so imitatio dei: build your story--which appears most needed whenever chaos reigns.
Why is this happening?
Could it become the best thing that's ever happened to you?
Try this on for size:
Stand-up as Zen.
Speaking of Zen, this is from the "Buddha" the author meets along the way:
The stories come at the beginning of chapters with more worked in along the way. They are the best part of this book, more galvanizing than the particulars of the author's life, even when those are dramatic. Some were familiar and some may have felt familiar even if new, but, old or new, these stories stood out in a new light.
I finished this book and started a new one that had the story of a precious gem that carried a curse. In that story, the man who found it had to decide whether to keep it for its magical protection of himself, even though all his loved ones would come under the curse and die, or throw it back. I thought the story was in this book, too, and have searched every key word I can think of and reread practically the whole thing, looking for it, but no dice. And I'm still not totally convinced it's not there.
To wind things up, here's one more story, one that struck me as beautiful. It will be familiar to some as a new twist on the words of the ancient rabbinical sages as to when it's time to pray in the morning.
The idea is you need stories to live, and stories need reasons. Otherwise things are just happening to you pell mell--or maybe you're unmindfully living out prefab paradigms.
There's a theological concept here. God brings order out of darkness and chaos, so imitatio dei: build your story--which appears most needed whenever chaos reigns.
Why is this happening?
Could it become the best thing that's ever happened to you?
Try this on for size:
A man...goes to a tailor to order a new suit. The tailor takes measurements and tells him to come back next week. The man does, but when he tries on the suit, it fits terribly.
"What is this?" he says. "This sleeve is way too long and the other is too short. And the pants are tight on this side and baggy on the other."
"Relax," says the tailor. "The suit is fine. Look." He leads the man to the mirror. "You've got to bring your right shoulder back, like so. Then tilt your head to the side. That's right. Now lean like this, with your left foot forward.... "Perfect!"
"Okay," says the man, scrunching before the mirror. "Yeah, I see. It looks good." He slouches back and hobbles out of the shop and onto the street, where two women notice his strange walk.
"My God!" says one. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know," says the other. "But that's a great-looking suit."
Stand-up as Zen.
Speaking of Zen, this is from the "Buddha" the author meets along the way:
"...I've done everything I can to chase away the unicorns and dry up the rainbows, so you can face your demons and see life for what it is: the sum total of all we've lost, divided by what we learn from it. And you'll go on suffering until you've learned your lesson. The future has slipped through your fingers, the past is gone, and you're left with nothing but this very moment, right here, right now."
The stories come at the beginning of chapters with more worked in along the way. They are the best part of this book, more galvanizing than the particulars of the author's life, even when those are dramatic. Some were familiar and some may have felt familiar even if new, but, old or new, these stories stood out in a new light.
I finished this book and started a new one that had the story of a precious gem that carried a curse. In that story, the man who found it had to decide whether to keep it for its magical protection of himself, even though all his loved ones would come under the curse and die, or throw it back. I thought the story was in this book, too, and have searched every key word I can think of and reread practically the whole thing, looking for it, but no dice. And I'm still not totally convinced it's not there.
To wind things up, here's one more story, one that struck me as beautiful. It will be familiar to some as a new twist on the words of the ancient rabbinical sages as to when it's time to pray in the morning.
"Tell me something," he said again. His voice sounded far away. "When does the night end? ... That is the question asked of the rabbi by his disciples." His voice sounded mournful, almost pleading. He turned to stare at me....
"'Does it end when you can see the morning star?' asked one.
"'No,' said the rabbi. 'That is not the time.'
"'Is it when you can see all the lines on the palm of your hand?' asked another.
"'No, that is still not the time,' said the rabbi.
"'Then when?" asked the disciples.
"'When you can look at your neighbor's face and see that it is your own. Then, at last, the long night is over.'"
September 5, 2016
داستان کتاب: داستان زندگی مردی است که پیشه اش قصه گویی ست، زمانی متوجه شد در قصه گویی مهارت دارد که توانست با آن مادرش را از غم رها کند و پدرش را چند لحظه ای از فکر بیماری اش بیرون آورد. یک روز متوجه میشود که سرطان تیروئید دارد و باید غده را بردارد، با برداشتن غده صدای او می رود و او ...
نظر من: به شدت خواندنش را پیشنهاد میکنم، من که کیفور شدم از خواندنش.
بخشی از متن کتاب:
آرام گفت: "رها کردن ... زندگی فقط یعنی همین. همه مون با مشت های گره کرده و محکم به دنیا می آییم . اما با دست های باز می میریم." کفِ دستِ راستش را بالا گرفت. " موقع ِ مردن همه خوب عمل می کنیم ؛ به همین خاطر هر روز یک ذره می میریم و تمرین می کنیم." ( صفحه ی 99)
" هیچ چیز به اندازه توقعات ِ ما از زندگی، زندگی رو به گند نمی کشه. دوست داریم تظاهر کنیم از خدا هم باهوش تریم که بزرگ ترین قصه گوی عالمه. به همین خاطر چه اتفاقی میوفته؟ خدا به ما نگاه می کنه و چند تایی ابله می بینه که خیال کی کنند فهمیده ندزندگی یعنی چی؛ در نتیجه حتما تیپای جانانه ای نوش ِ جان می کنیم." ( صفحه ی 110)
خندید. "مجبور شدم موج سواری رو بگذارم کنار. اون همه وقت رفتم بیمارستان و اومدم، فقط یک سوال توی ذهنم بود ... چرا؟ چرا همچین بلایی به سرم اومد؟" دیگر قدم نزد و برگشت روی صندلی نشست. " خوب ظاهرا بقیه هم همین سوال رو دارند؛ من به اون حادثه فکر می کنم، تو به صدات. نکته همینه: همه به همچین سوالی فکر می کنند. واسه همین شاید بهتر باشه به جاش بپرسی < چرا ما؟ > جوابش هم اینه که زندگی همینه. زندگی پر از بدبختی و رنج و حرمان پشتِ حرمانه تا این که آخر سر همه چیز رو از دست بدی" ( صفحه ی 111)
آینده از چنگت در رفته و گذشته تموم شده و الان چیزی برات نمونده جز همین لحظه، همین اینجا، همین الان." ( صفحه ی 111)
" مردم خیال می کنند قصه گویی یعنی حرف زدن؛ این طور نیست. مسئله اصلی سکوته و شکل دادن به اون سکوت. سکوت بوم ِ نقاشیِ ماست. سکوت گِلِ ماست که باهاش دنیامون رو شکل می دیم، سنگِ مرمریه که می تراشیمش. اون وقت چظور می تراشیمش؟ با کلمات مون! در سکوت قصه را شروع می کنیم؛ هرچی ناب تر بهتر. ( صفحه ی 123)
نظر من: به شدت خواندنش را پیشنهاد میکنم، من که کیفور شدم از خواندنش.
بخشی از متن کتاب:
آرام گفت: "رها کردن ... زندگی فقط یعنی همین. همه مون با مشت های گره کرده و محکم به دنیا می آییم . اما با دست های باز می میریم." کفِ دستِ راستش را بالا گرفت. " موقع ِ مردن همه خوب عمل می کنیم ؛ به همین خاطر هر روز یک ذره می میریم و تمرین می کنیم." ( صفحه ی 99)
" هیچ چیز به اندازه توقعات ِ ما از زندگی، زندگی رو به گند نمی کشه. دوست داریم تظاهر کنیم از خدا هم باهوش تریم که بزرگ ترین قصه گوی عالمه. به همین خاطر چه اتفاقی میوفته؟ خدا به ما نگاه می کنه و چند تایی ابله می بینه که خیال کی کنند فهمیده ندزندگی یعنی چی؛ در نتیجه حتما تیپای جانانه ای نوش ِ جان می کنیم." ( صفحه ی 110)
خندید. "مجبور شدم موج سواری رو بگذارم کنار. اون همه وقت رفتم بیمارستان و اومدم، فقط یک سوال توی ذهنم بود ... چرا؟ چرا همچین بلایی به سرم اومد؟" دیگر قدم نزد و برگشت روی صندلی نشست. " خوب ظاهرا بقیه هم همین سوال رو دارند؛ من به اون حادثه فکر می کنم، تو به صدات. نکته همینه: همه به همچین سوالی فکر می کنند. واسه همین شاید بهتر باشه به جاش بپرسی < چرا ما؟ > جوابش هم اینه که زندگی همینه. زندگی پر از بدبختی و رنج و حرمان پشتِ حرمانه تا این که آخر سر همه چیز رو از دست بدی" ( صفحه ی 111)
آینده از چنگت در رفته و گذشته تموم شده و الان چیزی برات نمونده جز همین لحظه، همین اینجا، همین الان." ( صفحه ی 111)
" مردم خیال می کنند قصه گویی یعنی حرف زدن؛ این طور نیست. مسئله اصلی سکوته و شکل دادن به اون سکوت. سکوت بوم ِ نقاشیِ ماست. سکوت گِلِ ماست که باهاش دنیامون رو شکل می دیم، سنگِ مرمریه که می تراشیمش. اون وقت چظور می تراشیمش؟ با کلمات مون! در سکوت قصه را شروع می کنیم؛ هرچی ناب تر بهتر. ( صفحه ی 123)
January 4, 2017
خدای من اینهمه داستان؟!؟! ؟ ^_^
تا حالا به قصه گویی به عنوان ی شغل نگا نکرده بودم
بعد ک یکم فک کردم دیدم چ کار باحالیه : )
ی حس قشنگی داشت خوندنش که باعث میشه پیشنهاد کنم بخونینش: ))
کلی نکته های قشنگی داشت که وسط خوندن یهو توقف میکردی یکم ریز
فک میکردی و بعد باز ادامه = )
کتاب خوبی بود برای شروع چلنج سال ۲۰۱۷ :)
تا حالا به قصه گویی به عنوان ی شغل نگا نکرده بودم
بعد ک یکم فک کردم دیدم چ کار باحالیه : )
ی حس قشنگی داشت خوندنش که باعث میشه پیشنهاد کنم بخونینش: ))
کلی نکته های قشنگی داشت که وسط خوندن یهو توقف میکردی یکم ریز
فک میکردی و بعد باز ادامه = )
کتاب خوبی بود برای شروع چلنج سال ۲۰۱۷ :)
July 16, 2015
کتاب پادشاه گدا و راز شادمانی؛
"داستانِ این کتاب واقعیست:
شغل من این بود که به همه جای جهان سفر کنم و برای مردم قصه بگویم. بعد سرطان گرفتم و تارهای صوتی ام از بین رفت و دیگر نتوانستم حرف بزنم؛ آن هم درست در لحظه ای که خیال می کردم زندگیم از این بهتر نمی شود. پدرم همیشه می گفت:«مردم برنامه می ریزند و خدا می خندد» .
حالا باید از طریق قصه های خودم و قصه ی زندگی خودم، بفهمم چرا خدا به من خندید؟"
"بگذارید قصه ای قدیمی از شهر کهن بیت المقدس برایتان تعریف کنم..."، کتاب اینجوری شروع میشه و جوئل میگه که من شاه سلیمان نیستم و ادعا هم ندارم و سرگذشتم در مقام پادشاهان نبوده،بلکه سرگذشت کسی در مقام همسر،پدر و قصه گو بوده. بعد اجازه می خواد که قصه اش رو شروع کنه. برای هر فصل از قصه اش اول یه قصه ی کهن میگه، مثل:"اسب گمشده،منشا قصه:چین"یه صفحه تعریف میکنه و بعد داستان زندگی خودش رو میگه. اینکه کجا به دنیا اومده و چه جای بی ربطی بزرگ شده و وقتی 5ساله ش بوده چجوری سعی کرده پدرش رو تو بیمارستان بخندونه و کم کم قصه و جوک تعریف کردن به جزیی از زندگی روزمره اش تبدیل شده. و بعد خیلی سریع از ازدواج و بچه هاش و اینکه چطور میفهمه سرطان داره و چطوری صداش رو از دست میده و چطوری با این مسئله کنار میاد و استاد قصه گوییش کی بوده و چیزای دیگه حرف میزنه. و آنقدر اینها رو صمیمی و دلچسب تعریف میکنه که نمی تونی کتاب رو ببندی..
این کتاب فوق العاده رو نشر هیرمند با ترجمه ی مهرآیین اخوت منتشر کرده.
"داستانِ این کتاب واقعیست:
شغل من این بود که به همه جای جهان سفر کنم و برای مردم قصه بگویم. بعد سرطان گرفتم و تارهای صوتی ام از بین رفت و دیگر نتوانستم حرف بزنم؛ آن هم درست در لحظه ای که خیال می کردم زندگیم از این بهتر نمی شود. پدرم همیشه می گفت:«مردم برنامه می ریزند و خدا می خندد» .
حالا باید از طریق قصه های خودم و قصه ی زندگی خودم، بفهمم چرا خدا به من خندید؟"
"بگذارید قصه ای قدیمی از شهر کهن بیت المقدس برایتان تعریف کنم..."، کتاب اینجوری شروع میشه و جوئل میگه که من شاه سلیمان نیستم و ادعا هم ندارم و سرگذشتم در مقام پادشاهان نبوده،بلکه سرگذشت کسی در مقام همسر،پدر و قصه گو بوده. بعد اجازه می خواد که قصه اش رو شروع کنه. برای هر فصل از قصه اش اول یه قصه ی کهن میگه، مثل:"اسب گمشده،منشا قصه:چین"یه صفحه تعریف میکنه و بعد داستان زندگی خودش رو میگه. اینکه کجا به دنیا اومده و چه جای بی ربطی بزرگ شده و وقتی 5ساله ش بوده چجوری سعی کرده پدرش رو تو بیمارستان بخندونه و کم کم قصه و جوک تعریف کردن به جزیی از زندگی روزمره اش تبدیل شده. و بعد خیلی سریع از ازدواج و بچه هاش و اینکه چطور میفهمه سرطان داره و چطوری صداش رو از دست میده و چطوری با این مسئله کنار میاد و استاد قصه گوییش کی بوده و چیزای دیگه حرف میزنه. و آنقدر اینها رو صمیمی و دلچسب تعریف میکنه که نمی تونی کتاب رو ببندی..
این کتاب فوق العاده رو نشر هیرمند با ترجمه ی مهرآیین اخوت منتشر کرده.
January 7, 2019
Одна из самых человечных, трогательных и воодушевляющих книг, что мне попадались, и я очень рад, что для второго издания на русском нам удалось сделать ее еще чуточку лучше.
September 8, 2017
5* is too low a rating. I have love for this book. Listen to the audiobook as read by the author (trust me on this one). It's a veritable treasure chest of hidden gems in the form of story.
March 14, 2018
قسمتي از كتاب:
هنوز تصور مي كنم كه اتفاقات اين عالم به دليلي رخ مي دهند.اما گاهي اين دليل صرفا پس از رخ دادن آن اتفاق خود را نشان مي دهد. دليلي نيست كه پيدايش كنيم، دليلي است كه لازمش داريم و از درد و خسران ما شكل ميگيرد و با عشق و عاطفه به هم پيوند مي خورد. هرچقدر هم در طلب آن دليل باشيم، تنها وقتي آن را مي يابيم كه دنبالش نگرديم و به گذشته نگاه كنيم تا ببينيم كجا بوده ايم و چه ها آموخته ايم. شكل گيري دليل از امور زندگي فرايندي طاقت فرساست، اما تلاش تنها كاري است كه از دست ما بر مي آيد
و ثمره ي تلاشمان قصه مي شود...
اين قصه حقيقي در واقع قصه ي زندگي مرد قصه گويي است كه صدايش را از دست مي دهد.
از دست دادن چيزي كه مرد نه تنها در زندگي شخصي بلكه در شغلش هم بدان وابسته بود.
چرايي اتفاق هايي كه برايمان مي افتد، انتظارهايي كه از زندگي داريم و حوادثي كه برايمان رخ مي دهد.
در اين كتاب قصه هاي كوتاهي از ملل و فرهنگ هاي مختلف وجود دارد كه خواندنش خالي از لطف نيست.
هنوز تصور مي كنم كه اتفاقات اين عالم به دليلي رخ مي دهند.اما گاهي اين دليل صرفا پس از رخ دادن آن اتفاق خود را نشان مي دهد. دليلي نيست كه پيدايش كنيم، دليلي است كه لازمش داريم و از درد و خسران ما شكل ميگيرد و با عشق و عاطفه به هم پيوند مي خورد. هرچقدر هم در طلب آن دليل باشيم، تنها وقتي آن را مي يابيم كه دنبالش نگرديم و به گذشته نگاه كنيم تا ببينيم كجا بوده ايم و چه ها آموخته ايم. شكل گيري دليل از امور زندگي فرايندي طاقت فرساست، اما تلاش تنها كاري است كه از دست ما بر مي آيد
و ثمره ي تلاشمان قصه مي شود...
اين قصه حقيقي در واقع قصه ي زندگي مرد قصه گويي است كه صدايش را از دست مي دهد.
از دست دادن چيزي كه مرد نه تنها در زندگي شخصي بلكه در شغلش هم بدان وابسته بود.
چرايي اتفاق هايي كه برايمان مي افتد، انتظارهايي كه از زندگي داريم و حوادثي كه برايمان رخ مي دهد.
در اين كتاب قصه هاي كوتاهي از ملل و فرهنگ هاي مختلف وجود دارد كه خواندنش خالي از لطف نيست.
May 20, 2017
Хороший «роман личного опыта» (я б не стал так уж прямо определять его как «автобиографический») — ну и заодно, конечно, проповедь в легкой форме. Жанр «поделиться ценным благоприобретенным» вполне продуктивен, и ценность его зависит в первую очередь от того, насколько значимо приобретенное знание для приподнятия души читателя (в диапазоне от Льитераса до Баха) и насколько живо и талантливо это изложено, потому что, будем честны, что-то новое изобрести на дороге человеческой трансцендеции нашим современникам довольно сложно. У Бена-Иззи это еще и местами смешно — и очень по-еврейски, само собой.
October 1, 2010
This book turned out to be fascinating. Storyteller Joel ben Izzy tells his own story much of which is understanding that blessings can be curses and curses blessings. To say much more would be to spoil the story of how Joel learned what happiness is really all about. In between chapters he places different cultural stories designed to teach us something. I certainly learned something. I really hope I get to hear him in person because as a writer he was very entertaining. (
June 24, 2023
Dit boek! Maar echt, dit boek! Niet normaal. Luister, de buitenkant van de Nederlandse editie lijkt bijna een soort van zelfgemaakt knutselwerk. Maar laat je niet misleiden, want de inhoud van dit boek is werkelijk meesterlijk.
Joel Ben Izzy is professioneel verhalenverteller en trekt de wereld rond om al die verhalen te vertellen. Als het noodlot hem treft en hij zijn stem kwijtraakt, moet hij niet alleen leren omgaan met dit grote verlies, maar ook zijn leven compleet omgooien. In “het geheim van geluk” of de Engelse titel: “The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness” vertelt hij zijn eigen wonderlijke verhaal omkleed met de verhalen die hij zo gewend was te vertellen.
Is dit boek daardoor langdradig, gekunsteld of saai? Alles behalve dat. Als je een verhalenverteller een pen geeft dan schrijft hij magie. Zijn schrijfstijl is levendig, fris en hij gebruikt een prettig ritme. Het is lang geleden dat mijn binnenkant steeds juichte tijdens het lezen. Zoals Margaret Atwood zo mooi zegt: “In the end, we’ll all become stories.” En dit boek is het bewijs hiervan.
Wanneer maak je nou nog mee dat er een echte traan over je wang rolt tijdens het lezen? Bijna nooit toch. Blij dat iemand me dit boek aanraadde. Nu geef ik deze raad door. Lees dit boek. Word je blij van!
Joel Ben Izzy is professioneel verhalenverteller en trekt de wereld rond om al die verhalen te vertellen. Als het noodlot hem treft en hij zijn stem kwijtraakt, moet hij niet alleen leren omgaan met dit grote verlies, maar ook zijn leven compleet omgooien. In “het geheim van geluk” of de Engelse titel: “The Beggar King and The Secret of Happiness” vertelt hij zijn eigen wonderlijke verhaal omkleed met de verhalen die hij zo gewend was te vertellen.
Is dit boek daardoor langdradig, gekunsteld of saai? Alles behalve dat. Als je een verhalenverteller een pen geeft dan schrijft hij magie. Zijn schrijfstijl is levendig, fris en hij gebruikt een prettig ritme. Het is lang geleden dat mijn binnenkant steeds juichte tijdens het lezen. Zoals Margaret Atwood zo mooi zegt: “In the end, we’ll all become stories.” En dit boek is het bewijs hiervan.
Wanneer maak je nou nog mee dat er een echte traan over je wang rolt tijdens het lezen? Bijna nooit toch. Blij dat iemand me dit boek aanraadde. Nu geef ik deze raad door. Lees dit boek. Word je blij van!
May 24, 2021
An easy to read memoir of a Storyteller who lost his voice mixed with fables at the beginning of each chapter. As much as I enjoyed the story intercalations, I didn’t the part with the memoirs: it is full of plain truisms, that you can pick up from motivational posts on Pinterest.
I’ve heard that it is a good habit to ask yourself why do you want to read the book before and while reading it. The fact that I actually did not have purpose is a great sign that the book just doesn’t fit my needs at this time. So I believe it has a great potential of being a motivational source, for those who seek it. I nevertheless picked up a great quote, that makes me break into smile each time I remember it “Нельзя вхичнуть чих обратно”. Funny, huh?
I’ve heard that it is a good habit to ask yourself why do you want to read the book before and while reading it. The fact that I actually did not have purpose is a great sign that the book just doesn’t fit my needs at this time. So I believe it has a great potential of being a motivational source, for those who seek it. I nevertheless picked up a great quote, that makes me break into smile each time I remember it “Нельзя вхичнуть чих обратно”. Funny, huh?
November 4, 2019
چقدر خوندن این کتاب لذت بخش بود.
کتاب داستان قصهگوییه که از بد روزگار قابلیت قصهگوییش رو از دست میده. عملا ابتدای هر فصل یک قصه قدیمی هست و بعد داستان کتاب. خوندن این کتاب لذت واقعی قصه شنیدن رو همراه داره و البته همراهی با کتاب باعث میشه گذر فکری نسبتا عمیقی در مفاهیمی از جمله از دست دادن، شاد بودن، مرگ و ... داشته باشید.
کتابی که بتونه اشکت رو دربیاره ولی حالت رو خوب کنه قطعا کتاب خوبیه. مخصوصا که نه یک بار.
کتاب داستان قصهگوییه که از بد روزگار قابلیت قصهگوییش رو از دست میده. عملا ابتدای هر فصل یک قصه قدیمی هست و بعد داستان کتاب. خوندن این کتاب لذت واقعی قصه شنیدن رو همراه داره و البته همراهی با کتاب باعث میشه گذر فکری نسبتا عمیقی در مفاهیمی از جمله از دست دادن، شاد بودن، مرگ و ... داشته باشید.
کتابی که بتونه اشکت رو دربیاره ولی حالت رو خوب کنه قطعا کتاب خوبیه. مخصوصا که نه یک بار.
February 1, 2013
This was a very quick book to read, and if you love storytelling you'll love it. Most chapters open with a fable or story from some part of the world that relates to the coming chapter. It's a memoir of sorts, telling the tale of a storyteller who lost his voice. What could be worse? (Well, lots of things actually, but it's pretty bad for him.)
He turns and returns to his storyteller mentor, who challenges him with hard-edged questions, pushing him in ways that seem too mysterious, and occasionally too cruel. But of course they're just the right questions, just the right push, and the storyteller finds his way.
For the man, the author, I was glad of the book's happy ending. But for me, the reader, I felt a little disappointed. For me, the book's power is in the way story helps us make sense of the things that happen. The way story helps us create meaning from the difficult things that happen to us, especially when they don't get tied up in a neat little package.
One of the fables -- perhaps the shortest of them all -- was a punch when I read it, and has stayed with me. Truth is a hideous, hideous monster, but when you leave it asks you to tell others that it's young and beautiful. I'm still not quite sure I understand it, but it's troubling in every way. Perhaps it's getting at the many glib ways we talk about truth ("it will set you free!"). Sure, it may, but it's also going to crush us and break our hearts first. And maybe we'll be free at the end. In AA they say 'the truth will set you free but it will piss you off first.' Maybe we forget the pain, the pissed-offness, and just tell the happy story of how great it became once you saw the light. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.
But the story's power still affected me. Coincidentally, there was a truth I was trying so hard not to know, I didn't want to know what was plainly in front of me. The book arrived in my hands at the moment I'd just faced it, and I was wailing and broken, feeling like I could not bear it. So the timing for me was exquisite, because the book helped me think about truth, what it means, what hiding from it means, and about the role and power of story.
Nothing infuriates me more than someone telling me that everything happens for a reason. Oh, it may, it may indeed, but I think they mean something different. That some string-puller on high is manipulating the game and one of these days I'll see just how important it was that this thing happened to me. Instead, I think all kinds of things happen to us, and we are storytelling creatures who witness and experience, and then look around and create our own story, impose our own understanding and order on it. So the story comes out of us, not from the experiences themselves. Given any set of experiences, there are so many different stories that can be told, and yours won't be mine. Hell, my own story of an experience may change over time! In fact, it probably will.
The slim little library book came to me at just the right time, but I found enough in it of import to buy a hardback copy for my own shelves.
He turns and returns to his storyteller mentor, who challenges him with hard-edged questions, pushing him in ways that seem too mysterious, and occasionally too cruel. But of course they're just the right questions, just the right push, and the storyteller finds his way.
For the man, the author, I was glad of the book's happy ending. But for me, the reader, I felt a little disappointed. For me, the book's power is in the way story helps us make sense of the things that happen. The way story helps us create meaning from the difficult things that happen to us, especially when they don't get tied up in a neat little package.
One of the fables -- perhaps the shortest of them all -- was a punch when I read it, and has stayed with me. Truth is a hideous, hideous monster, but when you leave it asks you to tell others that it's young and beautiful. I'm still not quite sure I understand it, but it's troubling in every way. Perhaps it's getting at the many glib ways we talk about truth ("it will set you free!"). Sure, it may, but it's also going to crush us and break our hearts first. And maybe we'll be free at the end. In AA they say 'the truth will set you free but it will piss you off first.' Maybe we forget the pain, the pissed-offness, and just tell the happy story of how great it became once you saw the light. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.
But the story's power still affected me. Coincidentally, there was a truth I was trying so hard not to know, I didn't want to know what was plainly in front of me. The book arrived in my hands at the moment I'd just faced it, and I was wailing and broken, feeling like I could not bear it. So the timing for me was exquisite, because the book helped me think about truth, what it means, what hiding from it means, and about the role and power of story.
Nothing infuriates me more than someone telling me that everything happens for a reason. Oh, it may, it may indeed, but I think they mean something different. That some string-puller on high is manipulating the game and one of these days I'll see just how important it was that this thing happened to me. Instead, I think all kinds of things happen to us, and we are storytelling creatures who witness and experience, and then look around and create our own story, impose our own understanding and order on it. So the story comes out of us, not from the experiences themselves. Given any set of experiences, there are so many different stories that can be told, and yours won't be mine. Hell, my own story of an experience may change over time! In fact, it probably will.
The slim little library book came to me at just the right time, but I found enough in it of import to buy a hardback copy for my own shelves.
October 5, 2020
https://cepuaksara.wordpress.com/2020...
Jika anda suka “Tuesdays with Morrie” oleh Mitch Albom dan sukakan kisah-kisah zen, yang pendek, penuh ibrah dan hikmah, anda mungkin akan menyukai buku ini (seperti saya).
Buku ini berdasarkan kisah benar tentang Joel, seorang pencerita (penglipur lara) yang merasakan beliau kehilangan segala-galanya selepas kehilangan suaranya akibat kanser tiroid (serta merta saya teringatkan pelawak Trevor Noah yang pernah juga mengalami pengalaman yang sama – kehilangan suara maksud saya, bukan kanser). Dalam saat kegelitaan beliau kerana tidak mampu bercerita (baca: bekerja) lagi beliau ditemukan semula dengan guru lamanya, Lenny dan bermulalah kisah-kisah pelajaran hidup Joel.
Dimulakan dengan riwayat Israiliyat tentang kisah Raja Sulaiman yang ditipu Iblis Ashmodai sehingga menjadi pengemis, Joel menceritakan tentang pengalamannya mengharungi cabaran kehidupan dan mencari rahsia kebahagiaan dengan berkongsi kisah-kisah pendek antaranya dari Jerusalem, China, Republik Czech, Poland, dan Iraq.
Buku ini yang digarap dengan baik dan diolah dengan hampir sempurna. Ceritera-ceritera ringkas yang dimuatkan dalam buku ini juga sangat menarik. Buku ini juga membuat saya rindu mahu membaca cerita rakyat dan hikayat seperti yang saya selalu lakukan dulu-dulu. Entah kenapa apabila dewasa cerita-cerita begitu saya ketepikan, seolah-olah layaknya dibaca oleh kanak-kanak sahaja.
4.5/5
Jika anda suka “Tuesdays with Morrie” oleh Mitch Albom dan sukakan kisah-kisah zen, yang pendek, penuh ibrah dan hikmah, anda mungkin akan menyukai buku ini (seperti saya).
Buku ini berdasarkan kisah benar tentang Joel, seorang pencerita (penglipur lara) yang merasakan beliau kehilangan segala-galanya selepas kehilangan suaranya akibat kanser tiroid (serta merta saya teringatkan pelawak Trevor Noah yang pernah juga mengalami pengalaman yang sama – kehilangan suara maksud saya, bukan kanser). Dalam saat kegelitaan beliau kerana tidak mampu bercerita (baca: bekerja) lagi beliau ditemukan semula dengan guru lamanya, Lenny dan bermulalah kisah-kisah pelajaran hidup Joel.
Dimulakan dengan riwayat Israiliyat tentang kisah Raja Sulaiman yang ditipu Iblis Ashmodai sehingga menjadi pengemis, Joel menceritakan tentang pengalamannya mengharungi cabaran kehidupan dan mencari rahsia kebahagiaan dengan berkongsi kisah-kisah pendek antaranya dari Jerusalem, China, Republik Czech, Poland, dan Iraq.
Buku ini yang digarap dengan baik dan diolah dengan hampir sempurna. Ceritera-ceritera ringkas yang dimuatkan dalam buku ini juga sangat menarik. Buku ini juga membuat saya rindu mahu membaca cerita rakyat dan hikayat seperti yang saya selalu lakukan dulu-dulu. Entah kenapa apabila dewasa cerita-cerita begitu saya ketepikan, seolah-olah layaknya dibaca oleh kanak-kanak sahaja.
4.5/5
October 28, 2011
I was in the Enterprise San Francisco office on October 14th and stopped into the conference room where several of our folks were talking with two guys I did not know. Rich Gross who leads our team in SF, introduced me to Joel Ben Izzy, saying he was one of his heroes and how his son, now in college, grew up on the Beggar King and other stories. Soon, we were telling tales and making connections--totally engaged. Since I was off to Santa Cruz the next week to see my wonderful granddaughters, Sadie and Josephine, Joel took out a CD and inscribed it for the girls. That night at the Enterprise gala which he and his associate attended (we have subsequently hired them to help us tell our stories in a more compelling way), we connected again and Joel gave me a copy of this book. In Santa Cruz the next weekend, Sadie and I listened to the CD twice (and would have listened more if we had time)--it was fun and engaging. On the plane back from SFO, I devoured this book. I loved it--so many familiar tales woven through a heartfelt true account of family, life/death/health--I cried and laughed and was transported. The flight zipped by. In mid-November, I have a meeting in NY with Joel--can't wait!
January 31, 2021
The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness is a memoir by Joel ben Izzy, a storyteller who lost his ability to speak due to cancer that affected his vocal cords. His memoir focused on his journey as he dealt with the changes in his life and found a degree of peace. It was written in a style that seemed heavily influenced by storytelling, and ben Izzy used stories he had learned as analogies for his own life. In some ways, I appreciated this style, as it made the book flow smoothly and feel more entertaining to read. However, I also wished it provided more details, and I worried that some of the facts might have been exaggerated to a point that they would not have been in a more traditionally told story. Some of the interactions between people in the book seemed slightly unrealistic as well, and I questioned their veracity. That being said, I thought it was interesting and written well overall. I still enjoyed the book as a well-told story, if not as a perfectly accurate memoir. I give it three out of five stars.
April 16, 2017
I really enjoyed this short, quick read. It caused me to ponder some of the questions Joel, the author had. What is real happiness? How do you know when you've found it? Can happiness (joy) be found even when facing life-changing circumstances? Do I have "heavy luggage" because I haven't shared things with family that really should be discussed? . . . . Our book group discussion was good and helpful. The format of the book, sharing a named story (parable) from another culture and following that with a chapter by the same name, was very effective. Joel's personal story is compelling. I loved how he wove stories throughout the book. I laughed, I cried, I thought. I recommend this book. Thanks Heather for choosing this one.
June 25, 2018
As I walked the house turning out lights and gathering thing that needed to be put somewhere else before I went to bed; I knew I wasn’t ready to go to sleep. So I stood at the bookshelf while my tea steeped and scanned spines. Something not too hard, nor too light. Something I hadn’t read. This last is easiest, as most the books in the house are my wife’s, I stopped keeping books many moves ago.
The beggar king caught my eye; and in one sitting I’ve finished it. It was the story I needed to read, I think.
It might be the story you need to read. Give yourself a little space, it does pull a few tears as it flows; but more laughter, sometimes bittersweet.
Thanks.
The beggar king caught my eye; and in one sitting I’ve finished it. It was the story I needed to read, I think.
It might be the story you need to read. Give yourself a little space, it does pull a few tears as it flows; but more laughter, sometimes bittersweet.
Thanks.
July 11, 2024
3.5 stars
A sweetly told story through the stories of a story teller … an odyssey of returning home to find what you had not seen before. Perhaps the secret of happiness is that there is no secret - yet we keep searching because maybe the simple act of looking for it makes us happy.
Favorite Quotes:
* In this life, you have a choice. You can laugh along with God, or you can cry all alone.
* But something had shifted inside me; I had crossed the line from confusion to bewilderment. It’s a nice feeling, bewilderment – the same confusion on the inside, but wrapped in a sense of wonder.
* You are never more alive than when you’re standing next to death.
* (Description of his mother at the end of life) a woman with a gift for enjoying the meager portions she had been given, for finding the beauty and life where it seemed like there was none to be seen, even at the end of her life, where she had managed to face her own death with a valor I had never seen.
* Sorrow and joy are an inseparable couple, and a little laughter can tickle out the grief.
* Grief has a way of bringing out the sweetness in life .
* Who is rich? The one who can appreciate what he has.
A sweetly told story through the stories of a story teller … an odyssey of returning home to find what you had not seen before. Perhaps the secret of happiness is that there is no secret - yet we keep searching because maybe the simple act of looking for it makes us happy.
Favorite Quotes:
* In this life, you have a choice. You can laugh along with God, or you can cry all alone.
* But something had shifted inside me; I had crossed the line from confusion to bewilderment. It’s a nice feeling, bewilderment – the same confusion on the inside, but wrapped in a sense of wonder.
* You are never more alive than when you’re standing next to death.
* (Description of his mother at the end of life) a woman with a gift for enjoying the meager portions she had been given, for finding the beauty and life where it seemed like there was none to be seen, even at the end of her life, where she had managed to face her own death with a valor I had never seen.
* Sorrow and joy are an inseparable couple, and a little laughter can tickle out the grief.
* Grief has a way of bringing out the sweetness in life .
* Who is rich? The one who can appreciate what he has.
March 4, 2019
LOVED this book. I'm grateful for a dear friend who reviewed it here and pointed me in the direction of this treasure. My favorite take away - don't try to "escape" your own story as you are only in the middle! So many times in recent weeks I have faced challenging moments and that bit of wisdom has helped me to find a sense of peace, balance and clarity. I will definitely be ordering a hard copy of this one as I want to read the stories and mark the book. But listening to it was a treat as well. This is one I will return to again and again!
July 9, 2023
This is a great candidate for an audio book in a long car ride. The author weaves many stories from traditional Jewish and world cultures to teach us some of the most important life lessons. Mr. Izzy also is quite vulnerable about his own life in this book. This is a nice book to take a breather from your usual genre or routine. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2017
A very lovely little book with gems packed inside. A must read!
April 7, 2019
خیلیها این کتاب رو خوندن و دوست داشتن ولی نه شیوه روایت نویسنده و نه جهانبینیش برام جالب نبود برای همین من این کتاب رو دوست نداشتم
October 31, 2019
Pretty good in the end. It was an interesting message—the only way to be happy is to let go of the belief that you will always have good things happen to you, and that you have to learn to find joy in the times that are hard. It reminded me a little too much of The Little Prince at times.
April 6, 2019
My original plan was to write down all the quotes and stories I love from this book. However, after filling too many pages, I decided this books is one really long amazing quote! A must read!
September 1, 2020
I wasn't looking for this book and the style of it forced me to relax and let it come to me... I enjoyed the process.
December 29, 2024
I received this one as an early Christmas gift and got caught up in it right away. I came close to giving this one the full five stars however he got a few things (from history) incorrect and that always causes a struggle for me. It also isn't fair to this book that it came into my life so soon after finishing Into the Magic Shop. This one pales in comparison to that book. That being said, I still loved this story, this man's experience, and the lessons he learned. It is one that I would recommend. Of course, this man's life experience was a good read, but I loved the stories and tales that he included from all over the world and from many different cultures. (You should read the book, I cannot add all the stories below!)
"True?" he snapped. "What do you mean by 'true'? You want to know if it happened, word for word, exactly as I told it? Makes no difference. You may as well ask me if it's a good story, because a good story is true, whether it happened or not. And a bad story - even if it happened - is a lie. The question," he added with a grin, "is not whether the story is true, but whether there is truth inside it, the kind with a capital T. And that is a mystery only time can solve. But I'll warn you, Joel - never be such a horse's ass to think that just because you can tell a story, you've found all its truth. There are stories in this world that need to rattle around inside your brain for twenty years before they reveal a final, hidden grain of truth." (Lenny had collected many such grains over the years and they stuck to him, like grit to sandpaper, which may account for his personality. Yet his warning comes to mind whenever I use the word 'truth'.)
"What seems like a blessing may be a curse. What seems like a curse may be a blessing."
"Someone like you wastes time looking for answers, when you should be looking for questions."
"Here's what I know: Life is a tough teacher. First she gives the test. Then she gives the lesson."
"I'd had no great epiphany. But something had shifted inside me; I had crossed the line from confusion to bewilderment. It's a nice feeling, bewilderment - the same confusion on the inside, but wrapped in a sense of wonder."
"A student visits a great Zen master, seeking enlightenment. The student knows he must let the master speak first, according to tradition, but the master does not speak. They sit in silence for a long time. Eventually, the master offers him a bowl of rice, and they eat in silence. Finally, the master speaks.
'Have you finished eating?" he asks.
"Yes," says the student.
"Now wash your bowl."
That's the story. I'd always found the story unsatisfying, but now, as I scoured the drip pans from the stove, it made perfect sense. Sometimes there's nothing else to do but wash the dishes. Simple as that. We look for bells and whistles, flash and fanfare, but when you get right down to the truth, sometimes it's very simple. Years earlier I'd traveled through Alaska, telling stories, and was amazed when I visited a glacier. I'd never known what glaciers really were - vast, frozen rivers that scrape bare everything in their path, right down to the hardest stone. That's what the truth is, the stone beneath the ice. There was something more in the Zen story: a sense of completion. He's finished, now he must wash his bowl. That's what I needed - completion. Closure. To be finished."
"Nothing weighs more than a lie."
"How can you learn when your head is already full?"
"What I've learned is that the answers come when they're ready. The harder the question, the simpler the answer. For your question, it probably comes down to a single word."
"There was once a Swiss guard who worked at the border of Austria. He had worked there for many years and took a great deal of pride in his work. One morning an Austrian man arrived at the border, riding a bicycle. On the front of the bike was a basket filled with sand. Another guard might have simply waved him through but the Swiss guard did not. Instead, he brought out a special comb he kept for just such a purpose and began to sift through the sand in the basket. You see, he suspected the Austrian might be a smuggler. Finding nothing but sand, however, he waved the man through. The same thing happened the next day and the day after that. Though he never found anything, he kept on looking, day after day, for thirty years. Finally, one day, the Swiss guard spoke to the Austrian man. 'I must ask you a question,' he said, 'that has been on my mind for many years. This is my last day of work. Today I shall retire. All these years, I suspect you have been a smuggler. Now I ask you, for I must know - are you indeed a smuggler?' The Austrian man hesitated, and the Swiss guard reassured him. 'Do not worry - I have you my word of honor that I will not prosecute you. But I must know.'
'Very well,' said the Austrian. 'Then I will tell you - I am indeed a smuggler.'
'Ah-ha!' said the guard. 'I knew it! But each day I look through your basket and find nothing but sand. Tell me, please, what have you been smuggling?'
'Bicycles.'"
"It's the hardest thing to do. See what's right in front of your face."
"Letting go," he said softly. "That's what life is all about. We're born with fists clenched, holding tight. Yet we die with our hands open." He reached out his right hand, palm up. "We have to get good at dying, so we do it a little each day."
"Everyone asks - Why? Why has this happened to me? Everyone wonders. So maybe we should be asking 'Why us?' instead. And the answer is, that's life. It's filled with misery and suffering and loss after loss until, in the end, you lose everything."
"Are you trying to cheer me up?"
"Why would I do that? I've done everything I can to chase away the unicorns and dry up the rainbows, so you can face your demons and see life for what it is: the sum total of all we've lost, divided by what we learn from it. And you'll go on suffering until you've learned your lesson. The future has slipped through your fingers, the past is gone, and you're left with nothing but this very moment, right here, right now."
"Job is a great story and it has a great moral; simply put - 'there are things in this life we just don't understand.' Islam teaches the same lesson. In the Koran, God takes Moses to the Red Sea, where he sees a little sparrow dive down for a mouthful of water. 'You see how much water is in the sea?' asks God. 'That is how much knowledge there is. And the water the sparrow drinks? That is how much humans know.'"
"You're never more alive than when you're standing next to death."
"Tell me something," he said again. His voice sounded far away. "When does the night end?" There was a long pause, during which time he seemed to be chewing something. "That is the question asked of the rabbi by his disciples." His voice sounded mournful, almost pleading. He turned to stare at me, but his eyes did not seem to focus.
'Does it end when you can see the morning star?' asked one.
'No," said the rabbi. 'That is not the time.'
'Is it when you can see all the lines on the palms of your hand?' asked another.
'No, that is still not the time.' said the rabbi.
'Then when?' asked the disciples.
'When you can look at your neighbor's face and see that it is your own. Then, at last, the long night is over.'"
"God is sending you a message...something so obvious you can't even see it...It comes down to a single word." Listen.
"I was thinking of Blanche," she explained, "and a concert she took me to last year for my birthday. Actually, I took her - well, I drove." One of my mother's closest friends, Blanche is almost completely blind. "I was at Ambassador Auditorium - they played Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Pastoral." Her eyes had a dreamy look.
This puzzled me. "Could you hear?"
She shook her head. "A little. It all sounded far away. But there are other ways to listen to a concert. I could see it in the way the conductor moved his baton, and the way the instruments followed. I watched Blance, and I could feel the music coming through her. And when I closed my eyes and I felt it in the arms of my seat. The music was so rich - like whipped cream."
After a time she said, "Isn't it still funny, what God takes away from us? And what we get in exchange? When I was young and had my hearing, I always liked music. Hearing your father play the violin, records, dancing. But I've never enjoyed music like I did at that concert."
"True?" he snapped. "What do you mean by 'true'? You want to know if it happened, word for word, exactly as I told it? Makes no difference. You may as well ask me if it's a good story, because a good story is true, whether it happened or not. And a bad story - even if it happened - is a lie. The question," he added with a grin, "is not whether the story is true, but whether there is truth inside it, the kind with a capital T. And that is a mystery only time can solve. But I'll warn you, Joel - never be such a horse's ass to think that just because you can tell a story, you've found all its truth. There are stories in this world that need to rattle around inside your brain for twenty years before they reveal a final, hidden grain of truth." (Lenny had collected many such grains over the years and they stuck to him, like grit to sandpaper, which may account for his personality. Yet his warning comes to mind whenever I use the word 'truth'.)
"What seems like a blessing may be a curse. What seems like a curse may be a blessing."
"Someone like you wastes time looking for answers, when you should be looking for questions."
"Here's what I know: Life is a tough teacher. First she gives the test. Then she gives the lesson."
"I'd had no great epiphany. But something had shifted inside me; I had crossed the line from confusion to bewilderment. It's a nice feeling, bewilderment - the same confusion on the inside, but wrapped in a sense of wonder."
"A student visits a great Zen master, seeking enlightenment. The student knows he must let the master speak first, according to tradition, but the master does not speak. They sit in silence for a long time. Eventually, the master offers him a bowl of rice, and they eat in silence. Finally, the master speaks.
'Have you finished eating?" he asks.
"Yes," says the student.
"Now wash your bowl."
That's the story. I'd always found the story unsatisfying, but now, as I scoured the drip pans from the stove, it made perfect sense. Sometimes there's nothing else to do but wash the dishes. Simple as that. We look for bells and whistles, flash and fanfare, but when you get right down to the truth, sometimes it's very simple. Years earlier I'd traveled through Alaska, telling stories, and was amazed when I visited a glacier. I'd never known what glaciers really were - vast, frozen rivers that scrape bare everything in their path, right down to the hardest stone. That's what the truth is, the stone beneath the ice. There was something more in the Zen story: a sense of completion. He's finished, now he must wash his bowl. That's what I needed - completion. Closure. To be finished."
"Nothing weighs more than a lie."
"How can you learn when your head is already full?"
"What I've learned is that the answers come when they're ready. The harder the question, the simpler the answer. For your question, it probably comes down to a single word."
"There was once a Swiss guard who worked at the border of Austria. He had worked there for many years and took a great deal of pride in his work. One morning an Austrian man arrived at the border, riding a bicycle. On the front of the bike was a basket filled with sand. Another guard might have simply waved him through but the Swiss guard did not. Instead, he brought out a special comb he kept for just such a purpose and began to sift through the sand in the basket. You see, he suspected the Austrian might be a smuggler. Finding nothing but sand, however, he waved the man through. The same thing happened the next day and the day after that. Though he never found anything, he kept on looking, day after day, for thirty years. Finally, one day, the Swiss guard spoke to the Austrian man. 'I must ask you a question,' he said, 'that has been on my mind for many years. This is my last day of work. Today I shall retire. All these years, I suspect you have been a smuggler. Now I ask you, for I must know - are you indeed a smuggler?' The Austrian man hesitated, and the Swiss guard reassured him. 'Do not worry - I have you my word of honor that I will not prosecute you. But I must know.'
'Very well,' said the Austrian. 'Then I will tell you - I am indeed a smuggler.'
'Ah-ha!' said the guard. 'I knew it! But each day I look through your basket and find nothing but sand. Tell me, please, what have you been smuggling?'
'Bicycles.'"
"It's the hardest thing to do. See what's right in front of your face."
"Letting go," he said softly. "That's what life is all about. We're born with fists clenched, holding tight. Yet we die with our hands open." He reached out his right hand, palm up. "We have to get good at dying, so we do it a little each day."
"Everyone asks - Why? Why has this happened to me? Everyone wonders. So maybe we should be asking 'Why us?' instead. And the answer is, that's life. It's filled with misery and suffering and loss after loss until, in the end, you lose everything."
"Are you trying to cheer me up?"
"Why would I do that? I've done everything I can to chase away the unicorns and dry up the rainbows, so you can face your demons and see life for what it is: the sum total of all we've lost, divided by what we learn from it. And you'll go on suffering until you've learned your lesson. The future has slipped through your fingers, the past is gone, and you're left with nothing but this very moment, right here, right now."
"Job is a great story and it has a great moral; simply put - 'there are things in this life we just don't understand.' Islam teaches the same lesson. In the Koran, God takes Moses to the Red Sea, where he sees a little sparrow dive down for a mouthful of water. 'You see how much water is in the sea?' asks God. 'That is how much knowledge there is. And the water the sparrow drinks? That is how much humans know.'"
"You're never more alive than when you're standing next to death."
"Tell me something," he said again. His voice sounded far away. "When does the night end?" There was a long pause, during which time he seemed to be chewing something. "That is the question asked of the rabbi by his disciples." His voice sounded mournful, almost pleading. He turned to stare at me, but his eyes did not seem to focus.
'Does it end when you can see the morning star?' asked one.
'No," said the rabbi. 'That is not the time.'
'Is it when you can see all the lines on the palms of your hand?' asked another.
'No, that is still not the time.' said the rabbi.
'Then when?' asked the disciples.
'When you can look at your neighbor's face and see that it is your own. Then, at last, the long night is over.'"
"God is sending you a message...something so obvious you can't even see it...It comes down to a single word." Listen.
"I was thinking of Blanche," she explained, "and a concert she took me to last year for my birthday. Actually, I took her - well, I drove." One of my mother's closest friends, Blanche is almost completely blind. "I was at Ambassador Auditorium - they played Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Pastoral." Her eyes had a dreamy look.
This puzzled me. "Could you hear?"
She shook her head. "A little. It all sounded far away. But there are other ways to listen to a concert. I could see it in the way the conductor moved his baton, and the way the instruments followed. I watched Blance, and I could feel the music coming through her. And when I closed my eyes and I felt it in the arms of my seat. The music was so rich - like whipped cream."
After a time she said, "Isn't it still funny, what God takes away from us? And what we get in exchange? When I was young and had my hearing, I always liked music. Hearing your father play the violin, records, dancing. But I've never enjoyed music like I did at that concert."
December 31, 2020
Drop dead WONDERFUL!!!
My Full Review
My Full Review
June 3, 2018
بخش هایی از کتاب :
قصه ایوب محشره.می دونستی تنها جاییِ کتاب مقدسه که یَهُوِه می خنده ؟ از اون مهم تر :پیامِ اخلاقی مهمی داره.به زبان ساده چیزهایی تو زندگی هست که صاف و ساده ما ازشون سر در نمیاریم . توی عرفان اسلامی هم چنین درسی هست .خدا موسی رو به دریای سرخ می رسونه و موسی در اونجا پرستویی رو میبینه که شیرجه میزنه و یه قلپ آب میخوره . خدا میپرسه می بینی چقدر آب در دریا هست ؟اندازه علم جهان هم همینقدره .اون آبی که پرستو خورد ؟ انسان همینقدر میتونه از این علم آگاه بشه .
هنوز تصور مي كنم كه اتفاقات اين عالم به دليلي رخ مي دهند.اما گاهي اين دليل صرفا پس از رخ دادن آن اتفاق خود را نشان مي دهد. دليلي نيست كه پيدايش كنيم، دليلي است كه لازمش داريم و از درد و خسران ما شكل ميگيرد و با عشق و عاطفه به هم پيوند مي خورد. هرچقدر هم در طلب آن دليل باشيم، تنها وقتي آن را مي يابيم كه دنبالش نگرديم و به گذشته نگاه كنيم تا ببينيم كجا بوده ايم و چه ها آموخته ايم. شكل گيري دليل از امور زندگي فرايندي طاقت فرساست ؛ اما تلاش تنها كاري است كه از دست ما بر مي آيد . و ثمره ی تلاش هایمان قصه می شود .
قصه ایوب محشره.می دونستی تنها جاییِ کتاب مقدسه که یَهُوِه می خنده ؟ از اون مهم تر :پیامِ اخلاقی مهمی داره.به زبان ساده چیزهایی تو زندگی هست که صاف و ساده ما ازشون سر در نمیاریم . توی عرفان اسلامی هم چنین درسی هست .خدا موسی رو به دریای سرخ می رسونه و موسی در اونجا پرستویی رو میبینه که شیرجه میزنه و یه قلپ آب میخوره . خدا میپرسه می بینی چقدر آب در دریا هست ؟اندازه علم جهان هم همینقدره .اون آبی که پرستو خورد ؟ انسان همینقدر میتونه از این علم آگاه بشه .
هنوز تصور مي كنم كه اتفاقات اين عالم به دليلي رخ مي دهند.اما گاهي اين دليل صرفا پس از رخ دادن آن اتفاق خود را نشان مي دهد. دليلي نيست كه پيدايش كنيم، دليلي است كه لازمش داريم و از درد و خسران ما شكل ميگيرد و با عشق و عاطفه به هم پيوند مي خورد. هرچقدر هم در طلب آن دليل باشيم، تنها وقتي آن را مي يابيم كه دنبالش نگرديم و به گذشته نگاه كنيم تا ببينيم كجا بوده ايم و چه ها آموخته ايم. شكل گيري دليل از امور زندگي فرايندي طاقت فرساست ؛ اما تلاش تنها كاري است كه از دست ما بر مي آيد . و ثمره ی تلاش هایمان قصه می شود .
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