Eileen Flanagan met via this blog. She kindly sent me her new release (available for pre-order now, out Spetember 17th) , The Wisdom to Know the difference: When To Make a Change and When to Let Go. It is a moving book with great insights about discernment and self-reflection. After all, how much of our time is spent worrying about that which we cannot change?

The book offers real-life case studies of various people who have gone through life-altering experiences. While not all of us face the same challenges, we all face the same choice ~ to let go or hold on. Oftentimes it is not clear which path to take.

Eileen offers encouragement to seek out what is truly important to us. The second chapter, Knowing Yourself, resonated the most as it provides a framework for mindfulness. She quotes Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Nanh:

When you need to slow down and come back to yourself, you do not need to rush moe to your meditation cushion or to a meditation center in order to practice conscious breathing.

Or consciousness, for that matter. You can breathe consciously wherever you are.

Eileen goes on to say how parenting is an ‘extended course in mindfulness’ as young children constantly live in the ever present moment.

I highly recommend the book for its useful discourse about the choices we make and the challenges we seek. The wisdom in life is knowing the difference.