I needed this short but insightful read more than I realized I would…

This book is essentially a run-down on the responses that a wise man of great influence (i.e. the Chosen One) gives to his admirers on topics of their choosing while waiting for his oceanic Uber back home after being away for more than a decade.

I found it so beautiful that, as he waits, he’s faced with a dilemna based solely on the mark that the land and the people of Orphalese have left on him. But at the same time, the people of Orphalese battle with losing a man whose been afforded the opportunity of watching and closeness with them. We first hear from Almitra, the first person to believe in Almustafa when he arrived in Orphalese, and all that she asks is that, as a welcomed observer, he give them words that will live on for their children in that land.

This is so beautiful to me because it’s such a story of legacy, trust, openness, mindfulness, meditation and the impact of travels on ourselves and those around us.

On a serious note: this book is something that I truly need right now. It’s been providing me with simple messages that resonate and that linger in my mind in a way that helps me meditate on what’s happening to me in my life right now that’s causing me pain or suffering, joy or sorrow, and so on.

This book does address things like: reason and passion, crime and punishment, death, marriage, love, children, money/wealth, giving, eating and drinking, work, homes, clothes, laws, freedom, etc. and it does so in a way that’s both poetic and masterful. It does it in a way that makes you think beyond the words on paper.

These are some of my favorite lines:

On Love:

“… When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep… For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.”

On Marriage:

“Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness.
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.”

on Children:

“You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
… You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.”

On Work:

“… Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger…”

On Joy and Sorrow:

“… Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
… When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

As you can see, just these bits and pieces of what’s said by Almustafa are powerful, even in their simplicity. Again, these are gentle words of wisdom that have been helpful to me as of late.

I hope that you pick this gem of a book up for yourself because, I’d be shocked if there’s not a passage or a line in there that will speak to you in a way that you’ve been needing.

Best [reading],
Bree 🤍