Neil Pasricha’s “The Book of Awesome” began its life offering “simple, brilliant things” online last year and has become the recent buzz-word book.
We have all experienced preciously cute and drippingly sweet e-mails. In fact, I have to plead guilty to forwarding deliciously irresistible photographs of a tangle of puppies, sleeping together in a warm dollop of loveliness (much to the disdain of my older Scottish brother, Dick)!
However, Pasricha’s book may strike a chord with even the most curmudgeonly, flinty Scott. Not that I’m saying my brother is a curmudgeon, however, I do recount an incident when, after Princess Diana had just died and I had called him, transatlantic, leaving a weeping, distraught message, he was reported to have later said to our sister, Jennifer, “I didn’t know my little sister was such a slush bucket!”
But I digress…
So, then, what is the attraction of Neil Pasricha’s book?
I think its appeal is because, instead of honey sweetness, each awesome-thing triggers an immediate recognition: a “Yes! Exactly!” moment when you suddenly realize that (if you had bothered to give it more than half a moment’s thought) without even being consciously aware of it, you already knew that the little, everyday thing in question, was, indeed, awesome.
Having taken some Shamanic courses, one of the goals is to develop one’s self-awareness so that we begin to listen to that inner voice that whispers what’s right and what’s wrong; what’s awesome and what’s not. In that way, we begin to become more attuned to our lives; to appreciate beauty and, ultimately to, more deeply value our lives.
The Shamanic way encourages adding “Find Beauty” to our ubiquitous “TO DO” lists and to then prioritize that task with the same vigour and determination that we meet deadlines for reports or pick up milk for the children’s breakfast.
When this concept was initially introduced to me, my first thought was, “those Shamans didn’t have kid’s projects to organize or a businesses to run!”, but the seeds of Shamanism quietly germinate and, I now try to make room in each day to see beauty. My kids and my business actually do mean that I don’t have a lot of time each day, but beauty and awesomeness doesn’t need time. It needs a different mindset. For me, my camera accompanies me everywhere. The afternoon sun illuminating a sprig of fresh basil atop some prosciutto and juicy olives is as awesome as it is beautiful.
So consider making a mental nod to the beauty and awesomeness of when you pour a drink and the bubbles go right to the top, but not over (Awesome Thing #833) or when you finally get to pee after holding it forever (Awesome Thing #529) or when you hear the sound a juicy steak makes as it hits a hot grill (Awesome Thing #643).
On that note, some sparkling wine and prosciutto awaits me, this beautiful Friday evening.
Louise C.B. Wall, April 30 2010
Neil Pasricha’s “The Book of Awesome” is published by AEB/Putnam, a division of Penguin Publishing.
