A Field Guide to Happiness: What I Learned in Bhutan About Living, Loving, and Waking Up - Couverture souple

Leaming, Linda

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1401945090 ISBN 13 : 9781401945091

Editeur : Hay House, 2014

Synopsis

"In the West," we have everything we could possibly need or want--except for peace of mind. So writes Linda Leaming, a harried American who traveled from Nashville, Tennessee, to the rugged Himalayan nation of Bhutan--sometimes called the happiest place on Earth--to teach English and unlearn her politicized and polarized, energetic and impatient way of life. "In Bhutan," if I have three things to do in a week, it's considered busy. In the U.S., I have at least three things to do between breakfast and lunch. After losing her luggage immediately upon arrival, Leaming realized that she also had emotional baggage--a tendency toward inaction, a touch of self-absorption, and a hundred other trite, stupid, embarrassing, and inconsequential things--that needed to get lost as well. Pack up ideas and feelings that tie you down and send you lead-footed down the wrong path. Put them in a metaphorical suitcase and sling it over a metaphorical bridge in your mind. Let the river take them away. Forced by circumstance and her rustic surroundings to embrace a simplified life, Leaming made room for more useful beliefs. The thin air and hard climbs of her mountainous commute put her deeply in touch with her breath, helping her find focus and appreciation. The archaic, glacially paced bureaucracy of a Bhutanese bank taught her to go with the flow--and take up knitting. The ancient ritual of drinking tea brought tranquility, friendship, and, eventually, a husband. Each day, and each adventure, in her adopted home brought new insights and understandings to take back to frantic America, where she now practices the art of "simulating Bhutan." This collection of stories, impressions, and suggestions is a little nudge, a push, a leg up into the rarefied air of paradise--of bright sunlight and beautiful views.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

'In the West, we have everything we could possibly need or want - except for peace of mind,' Linda Leaming writes, 'We go to extravagant lengths to try to be happy. Living in Bhutan and the United States has taught me that we can all learn to create a space within us where we are untouched, at our best, where we can be open to life and we can be, even in the darkest hours, calm and relatively happy.' A Field Guide to Happiness is a practical and inspirational guide to living more simply and in balance. From her experiences as an American writer and teacher living in Bhutan, Linda Leaming shares endearing, often humorous stories from the happiest country in the world. Having spent her early years in Nashville, and most of her adult life in Thimphu - two wildly different and unique cities in their own right - Linda has been forced to think differently about time, work, money, family and herself. Instead of fuming impatiently in line at the bank, she decided to take up knitting. By calming down and going with the flow, she's learned to relax and embrace the absurdity that is everywhere. And facing her own mortality, 'thinking the unthinkable', has inspired her to live life to the fullest, with ease, fearlessness and believe it or not, laughter. A special section at the end of each chapter gives concrete steps for creating more happiness in our lives.

Biographie de l'auteur :

LINDA LEAMING is a writer whose work has appeared in Ladies’ Home Journal, Mandala, Guardian UK, A Woman’s Asia (Travelers’ Tales), and many other publications. Eric Weiner included her in his bestseller The Geography of Bliss. Originally from Nashville, she has an M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Arizona; and she regularly speaks about Bhutan at colleges, churches, seminars, and book groups. She is married to the renowned Bhutanese thangka painter Phurba Namgay. Find her at: www.lindaleaming.com and www.twitter.com/lindaleaming.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Hay House
• Date d'édition: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1401945090
• ISBN 13: 9781401945091
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 252