I’ll say up front that this is a book
directed at women. Men, I’m sorry, this one is not for you. However
don’t despair, Sarah is writing (I believe it may have just recently been
published) one just for you, and if it is as wonderful and transforming as this
one has been, it is worth a look. Now ladies it is to you this review will
speak to.
I first heard of Sarah Ban Breathnach in the summer of
‘98. She was on Oprah, a show I only catch occasionally. The focus of that
episode was her life transforming best seller called Simple Abundance. The Testimony of many on that
show spoke of the profound, life altering positive changes the book had made in
their lives. I was intrigued. Both the author and title found residence in my
subconscious.
Life continued; ‘98 and the first half of ‘99
were tough for us. During that period our son, Steve’s, health and kidneys
rapidly failed and led us to transplant in June of ‘99. My sisters came up
to be with us the night before the surgery. One of them gave me the book
Simple Abundance as a gift. (Who says
angels aren’t working in our lives.)
The book is set up with daily
entries that cover the whole year. Each entry is less than a page and provides
a smorgasbord for the soul. The book’s purpose is to help the reader
excavate her “authentic self”; the part of her that is her true self,
that holds her desires and dreams for the life she wants. This “authentic
self” is separate from the roles we all have as wife, mother, daughter,
sister, teacher, nurse, doctor, etc. For me, and I expect for many, we often
become the roles we play, and sit back wondering why we feel sad, and
unfulfilled for no particular reason.
Sarah, with her book, helps to
find that reason for unnamed despair, and offers a plan to reverse it. Through
simple principles that build on each other...gratitude, simplicity, order,
harmony, beauty, and joy, she shows how to reconnect with our heart, and find
happiness with the ordinary, everyday journey of life, and not the destination.
She offers tools for the journey, such as the “daily gratitude
journal”, and the “illustrated discovery journal” to help us
begin the excavation to our heart. She lights the path, offers tools for the
journey, but to successfully complete it we must choose to walk the walk. The
reward can be immense as we discover a Universe waiting to help us tap into
creativity, love, and the purpose for our being.
Sarah sums up her
remarkable book with these thoughts. “Simple Abundance is a creative and
practical path full of joyful simplicities waiting to be revealed in the small
moments.... Believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in the One who believes in
you. All things are possible to she who believes.”
And finally,
“The Soul’s awakening is gratitude. The Soul’s essence is
simplicity. The Soul’s serenity is harmony. The Soul’s passion is
beauty. The Soul’s purpose is joy.... Through the parting of the mists
where doubt and faith meet you will see the authentic self is the soul made
visible.”
I highly recommend this life affirming and life
transforming book to anyone who at times has felt weary, or lost, or hungry for
something hidden in the mists of life. Reach out, seek, and
Simple Abundance will show you the way.