Some inspiration for the New Year - part two

A follow on from last week to motivate you for 2023

Following on from last week, here is the second instalment of some inspirational books to start your 2023.

Non-fiction and biographies (or auto biographies) are among my favourite genres. I love reading people’s life stories, and when there is an “overcoming adversity” element to it, I love it even more. I often find myself unable to put these down, and my family will often find me sobbing in a chair as I read, offering me hugs and tissues!

One such book which is an oldie but a goodie is “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. This book was first published in 1997 and I kept seeing it pop up on people’s favourite books of all time lists. This is quite a small book, and is really easy to read – I finished it one afternoon in December. It is the story of Mitch and Morrie – Morrie was Mitch’s favourite college professor. They had lost touch until one day Mitch saw Morrie doing a TV interview about the fact he was dying. Mitch contacts Morrie and they start spending Tuesday’s together, with Mitch interviewing Morrie about his lessons for life. Two messages that I couldn’t move past without jotting into my phone notes are below:

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

“Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it.. You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can’t substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship… I can tell you, as I’m sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you’re looking for, no matter how much of them you have.”

I never get sick of hearing these messages, and definitely need regular reminders that I don’t need more stuff in my life, and to focus on what’s important.

Another book that I read in 2022 which I devoured in a day (another short one, but a good one published in 2020) is “The Happiest Man on Earth” by Eddie Jaku. In 1938, Eddie was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. He spent the next 7 years of his life facing the horrors in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. “He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'. Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful,

heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.” This is such a beautiful book with such a powerful message – I highly recommend you add this to your list! This is a must read in my opinion. If you like the sound of this one, I also recommend The Choice by Edith Eger (also read by me in 2022), and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl.

If you’re looking for something a little more upbeat, I read Aroha: Māori Wisdom for a contented life lived in harmony with our planet by Dr Hinemoa Elder in 2022. I borrowed this from the library but I have been meaning to purchase a copy because it is so beautiful and I would love to have it on hand to refer to. I think this would make a lovely gift for your hard to buy for friend. In Aroha, Dr Elder explains the root of ancient whakatauki (Māori proverbs), and a lesson from the whakatauki for the modern world. Often Dr Elder will relate the whakatauki to her personal experiences.  The book is divided into sections so if you wanted to flick through it depending on your mood, I think that would work well for some bite sized inspiration. Dr Elder’s follow up book, Wawata – Moon Dreaming. Daily wisdom guided by Hina, the Māori moon, was released in 2022 but I am yet to read this one. I am sure Wawata will be equally as beautiful as Aroha. I should probably pick them both up next time I am in a bookstore, because life is too short to read bad books!