The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - by Robin Sharma

Okay, this book was long overdue on my reading list. And those of my friends who are always after my life to read something meaningful had almost given up on me. Then as 2009 was about to fade into the sunset, I was suddenly tired of all the whodunits and that's when I reached for this book.

Here I must confess that I am not very enthusiastic about self-help or inspirational books. We read it, feel great for a day or two and then get caught up in the grind of our daily lives. It's back to square one then. But I decided to give this one a try.

The story isn't all too unfamiliar in this day and age when all of us are running so hard after material things that we have forgotten that life has a spiritual side too. So we have a lawyer who doesn't realize that he is running too fast till he collapses in a packed courtroom one day. That's when he decides to make a journey to an ancient land. Another confession is in order from me. When I read the words "ancient land" I thought he will go to Tibet or to some Mayan city. Turns out he comes to India. :-) oh, oh, I thought, here we go again. The sages in Himalayas and all that. But I had vowed to finish this book and so I hung on.

I am glad I did. I agree I am not going to stare at a rose every morning (where do I get one to begin with?) or to take a walk in the lap of nature (I am hemmed in on all sides by concrete monstrosities). I am equally sure that the journey of life has jaded me too much to believe that I will be able to attract good things in my life just by thinking about them. :-( But I was glad to find that I am already practicing many of the 10 Rituals - though maybe not on a daily basis. And that I don't have to spend a lot of time and energy to do them anyways.

But what I have been observing since I read that book is that I have stopped taking life very seriously. I have started to let go. I have started to look out for solutions to problems than complaining about them.

Now, I cannot say how long this will last but I am glad that it has at least begun. :-)