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A Posting from the GCGI Books to Change our Lives Series
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When Prof. Kamran Mofid, the Founder of Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) reached out to me to write an article about books that have helped me through difficult times, I had to take a step back and think about the answer. As an avid reader (especially anything about religion or spirituality), my mind went into overload.
There are so many beautiful writings out there that have touched my life…Listing them could be a massive endeavor!
So first I will share the messages I learned and the strength I received along the way. It may seem to someone in pain, or struggling during these difficult times, that Spiritual leaders and mentors don’t “have any problems.” But as I have walked these 65 years on the road of life, I have come to understand just the opposite is true! Prophets, messengers and even Shamans have all experienced and struggled just like you…in some cases, much more!
The truth in life is not that we should be cushioned from hardship and pampered. In fact you may know of people who have been, and their inner spiritual strength or wisdom seems shallow, or even lacking all together.
As I did research for my books on world religions, reading the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an and the writings of Spiritual masters from ancient times, I saw an amazing common thread. Each holy texts and writings discuss how hardship brings us courage, humility, compassion and so much more!
“And we will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, But give good tidings to those who are patient.” – Qur’an 2:155
“He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears by adversity.”- Job 36:15 KJ Bible
“A gem cannot be polished with friction, no a man perfected without trials.” - Confucius
“Hardships make us strong. Problems give birth to wisdom. Sorrows cultivate compassion. Those who have suffered the most will become the happiest.” - Daisaku Lkeda founder of Soka Gokkai Buddhism
“Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.”— C. S. Lewis
The concept of a plain, boring piece of carbon (coal) after extreme heat and incredible pressure, becomes the exquisite and indestructible Diamond is so true! It is the struggle of a butterfly in a cocoon, which strengthens its wings for flight. Hardship is not a punishment…it is a gift! I have learned, invariably, that my trials were lessons I needed to learn. Some were brought on by my mistakes, and some seemed to come out of nowhere. But each one changed me for the better.
In fact this lesson had been burned into my soul. I believe it so strongly that I never wish someone’s trial be taken away. Instead, I pray for them to have courage and wisdom; using their inner light to guide them through the darkness.
As far as books that have touched me, there are so many. But here are a few that immediately come to mind.
“The Shack” by William P Young, is about God’s love for us and the understanding of tragedy in our lives.
“My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers is a series of devotionals that give you a small light to start each day.
“The Greatest Miracle in the World” by Og Mandino is an oldie with a powerful message about how YOU are miraculous.
“The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle teaches the concept of not just walking through life unconsciously, but BEING involved in every moment, and finding the tiny miracles of each experience.
“The Book of Joy” by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu discusses the spiritual journey that these two amazing men had when they spent a week together. Sharing their tears, trials and joys.
“Come Be My Light” (posthumously published) by Mother Teresa, is a series of letters that she wrote to her Bishop during her darkest hours. A powerful reminder that even exceptional people struggle and have dark times; and the value of keeping focused and moving ever forward.
“Azim's Bardo - A Father's Journey from Murder to Forgiveness” by Azim Khamisa is a powerful true story about the murder of his son, and the path he walked with the killer’s grandfather to find love and forgiveness.
And of course the musings and writing of the Prophets, messengers and seers of old.
I wish you strength, courage and the peace that surpasses all understanding,
With Love,
Robyn E Lebron
Robyn E Lebron
Award winning author
40 World Religions and Faith Practices: The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos
Finding the Common Ground Between Science and Spirituality
About Robyn E. Lebron
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Books can help us cope with the existential dread of our times and to make sense of the current madness
“All I have learned, I learned from books.”― Abraham Lincoln
Books to Change our Lives
As a lifetime learner in pursuit of truth, out of all the different ways to learn, books remain my favourite way to absorb knowledge and discover new ideas.
What I like about books is that I can read them by myself, in silence, anywhere and anytime I wish. It’s me and the author, one on one, having a conversation in my mind. I can then engage with others, dialoguing about the subject, stretching my mind and my horizon.
So I'm going to recommend some books and ideas that are helpful in navigating this sprawling, and at times, chaotic, journey called life.
For each of us, the meaning of life is different. But, we are all seeking answers, so we can find our own meaning of life. For some of us, this is a lifelong journey. For others, it is a matter of taking the right steps to figure out why we are here, and what we are meant to do with our lives. There are several great books out there that can help us with our search. Here are a few pearls of wisdom, amongst a very long list.
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‘These are tough times, infused with anger, anxiety and ambiguity. Where to turn, whom to trust? How to find the energy, let alone the will, to become engaged, active citizens of the world when we are constantly being pushed into cultural tribes and mental ghettos? Now we need books more than ever, and we must keep our reading lists diverse, including fiction and nonfiction.’- Booker-shortlisted novelist Elif Shafak
What are the best titles to help us through tough times?*
Elif Shafak chooses and recommends the following books to help us through tough times – books about how to persevere under difficult circumstances, works full of wisdom, heart and hope.
‘Robert Macfarlane’s Underland is a wonderful book, full of wisdom and hope. Beautifully written, it is a journey into the fascinating, but mostly unknown world underneath our feet. A lyrical exploration of time, nature, memory, literature and landscape, it took Macfarlane 10 years to complete, but it will take you longer to forget it.
George Monbiot’s Heat: How We Can Stop the Planet Burning is a solidly researched, well-presented answer to climate deniers everywhere. For anyone who cares about the survival of our biosphere, anyone trying to find the right balance between preserving lifestyle and cutting carbon emissions, it is the perfect guidance.
For a brilliant perspective on the nature of human beings, what better than Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox? Written as an essay on Tolstoy’s view of history, it is so much more than that and strangely relevant to our times. Berlin claimed it was just an intellectual game, but recall the line by the Greek poet Archilochus: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Berlin’s writing helps us to find out which approach is better for our conflicted, polarised world.
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s first novel, The Water Dancer, is a remarkable story about inequality, slavery, memory, freedom and dignity. I found it important and universally relevant. Read Etgar Keret’s short stories in Fly Already, not only for their brilliant language and imagination, but the depth of Keret’s craft. Jeanette Winterson’s Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere is a slim volume with a big heart. It will provide us with the energy we need as we walk the long road ahead to attain true gender equality.’
*This writeup was inspired by and is based on the Book clinic: what are the best titles to help us through tough times?
A Selection of related inspiring books and articles full of wisdom, heart and hope from the GCGI Archives:
"Passing of Knowledge" by Victor Tan Wee Tar
A Must Read Book about how Adam Smith can change your life for better
The must-read book: A clarion call to shut down the business school!
Honor, Humiliation, and Terror: A must-read book
A must read book: Economics Unmasked
Unconditional Love - An Unlimited Way of Being: A Must Read Book
A Must-read book on the “I Have a Dream” speech
A beautiful book to read as the nights close in this autumn
The World would be a Better Place if Economists had Read This Book
What is Money? Is it Money Money Money, Must be funny?
The beauty of living simply: the forgotten wisdom of William Morris
Education Needs a Revolution: Values-led Slow Teaching and Reading
We need to come together to stop the plunder of the commons
Neoliberalism destroys human potential and devastates values-led education
In Praise of Darwin Debunking the Self-seeking Economic Man
‘Baba’s Wisdom: Inspiration for a Simple, Happy Life’- A Reflection
Izaak Walton: Our Stepping Stones to Pastoral Paradise, Serenity and Beauty
Are you physically and emotionally drained? I know of a good and cost-free solution!
How to defeat hatred and fear: Don't Despair Walk On
Poverty is not Natural: A Must Read Book
Long Way from Adi Ghehad: A Powerful and Inspiring Story of an Asylum Seeker
Would Henry George’s ‘Remedy’ help us combat today’s global crises?
A Non-Violent Path to Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding- Kamran Mofid (Editor), et al
Moving from moral to legal wrong: Polly Higgins
"Caritas in veritate"(Charity in Truth):Economics and Theology Together Again
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BY George Curtis
Published by Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd, January 2020
“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings” - Nelson Mandela
The first United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”
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Ending poverty is not just an economic issue, but a moral one as well. Across Europe, politicians and economists remain locked into micromanaging the welfare state established post-war, tweaking it here and tweaking it there to ameliorate the consequences of poverty, but failing to end poverty.
Instead of focusing on consequences, George Curtis seeks the cause of poverty. This was laid bare in a book, Progress and Poverty, by an American economist, Henry George, in 1879. Two years later, without any prior knowledge of George’s work, an Irish bishop, Thomas Nulty, came to the same conclusion from a theological point of view. Yet despite poverty remaining a crisis in today’s 21st century society, the moral and economic arguments made by George have remained unaddressed.
Curtis regenerates George’s ideas, recognising that the cause of poverty is entrenched throughout the world in a widely accepted social institution, just as slavery once was. As Mandela recognised, ending poverty is first and foremost a moral issue: “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice”.
Henry George argued that a true understanding of Christianity led to the conclusion that the “right of property, originating in the right of the individual to himself, is the only full and complete right of property. It attaches to things produced by labor, but cannot attach to things produced by God”.
A Financial Times article in 2009 by the economist, John Kay, revealed the significance: “You can become wealthy by creating wealth or by appropriating the wealth created by other people. When the appropriation of the wealth is illegal it is called theft or fraud. When it is legal economists call it rent-seeking.”
As the Nobel laureate, Joseph Stiglitz, points out: “One of the most important but underappreciated ideas in economics is the Henry George principle of taxing the economic rent of land”. George Curtis analyses Henry George’s remedy for poverty with a fine balance between Christian moral sensitivity and economic pragmatism, observing its effect on Christian social teaching, and its relevance in addressing the contemporary nature of poverty. Poverty is not Natural demonstrates that what is morally right is also the most economically efficient.
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George Curtis attended 7 different village schools in Lincolnshire before starting full-time work at the age of 14, as his parents moved from farm to farm. He became a qualified Methodist local preacher and served for 30 years as the North Lincolnshire district organiser of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. In later life he was awarded a BSc (Hons) degree from the Open University.
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