"ESSENTIALS" by David Whyte
Inside everyone is a great shout of joy waiting to be born.
-”The Winter of Listening” by David Whyte: Essentials . Many Rivers Press. Kindle Edition.
Book Summary:
IT’S TIME FOR A LITTLE COMFORT READING
2020 ushered the entire world into a time of great uncertainty. These days… I find a LOT of my time goes to reading the news. Daily. Compulsively. I’m scanning those headlines, looking for certainty, and solutions - some way to tell me what’s going to happen in the future. To be honest, I’ve had a hard time focusing on reading anything at all other than the news.
Yet, there’s a strong desire to find some words of comfort, and the news feeds have nothing to offer. Did they ever? Really?
For the first time in a long, long, time, the thing that’s soothing my soul is poetry.
If you have not yet read anything from Davie Whyte, now is the time to start! Cut back a bit on the news feeds, ditch the comfort food, make some time for reflection - read some poetry for a minute. Without a doubt, you will not have any regrets.
3 Reasons You Will LOVE David Whyte: Essentials
The Backstories
This is a book of poems and essays. For each poem or “writing,” Whyte tells a kind of backstory about what inspired the writing. And reader…the backstories are as beautifully written and heart centered as the poems!
“The House of Belonging is a poem about transitions. Whyte writes:
“The House of Belonging” was written after waking up into a strong, almost tidal sense of new arrival in my life, a literal morning waking in a very old house that was very new to me, the weather of difficulty and heartache under which I had journeyed to get there swept away in the morning light, and the sudden realization that I was in a new place and in a new conversation with the future. (David Whyte: Essentials . Many Rivers Press. Kindle Edition. )
The Poems of course!
“Sweet Darkness” seems especially relevant during this time. From the poem you get a sense how shutting down for a bit leaves you with some strong ideas about those things that matter. Maybe it’s you that matters - and maybe you just forgot how much you really do matter.
“Sometimes it takes darkness
and the sweet
confinement of your
aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.”
“David Whyte: Essentials . Many Rivers Press. Kindle Edition. )
Life Happens Inside these Poems
The stuff real life is made of - like seasons of TRANSITION, LOVE, and times of LETTING GO. In his writing “Despair,” Whyte captures not only the essence of despair, he brings the reader to the end state - which is really just another beginning:
“Despair is a necessary and seasonal state of repair…a temporary healing…” (David Whyte: Essentials . Many Rivers Press. Kindle Edition. )
Deeper Thoughts:
Some things (ummm like poetry) are harder to grasp until life slows you down a bit. But, what a comfort it is to read literature that activates our senses and emotions - gifting us readers with time for quiet reflection as we ponder the different seasons of life. Like 95% of my books, this one was downloaded to my reader. This book is too good for an electronic reader though- this is a book to be enjoyed more than once - this one is for the bookshelf.