Summer Book One: Final Post

My mother and I disscussed our opinions on the book, and realized hers was much higher than mine. She thought the book was perfect, and it couldn't have done a better job of helping her out. However I believed while the ideas were good, it seemed like one of those books that shouldn't have been a book, but was very forced to reach a certain number of pages. I think that the information taken from this book could have easily been condensed to a simple blog like I have written. Not a full blown book.

I think that the reason we differ on this topic is because when she read this book she really needed it, she was having a lot of trouble and needed help through it. She used it as an outlet. Whereas I have never been happier with my life and I didn't really need help. There wasn't a reason for me to read this book other than the fact that it was reccomended by my mom and required by my school. I think that this book should be read by anybody going through hard times, that is down on themselves, and wants some sort of outlet. And if that is the case I would undoubtedly reccomend this book.

Summer Book One: Active Blog Four

Well I am done with the book! But I will save my opinion on the book for the little wrap up blog after I talk to my mother about opinions. For now, lets get onto the Fourth Agreement. The Fourth and final agreement is Always Do Your Best. At first I thought this was kind of a given, and it is, but he twists it a little bit. He notes that your best is going to completely differ from moment to moment. From awake to tired, sober to drunk, healthy to sick, you will always have a different version of your best. He says that as long as you are doing your best in every situation, no matter what your best actually is, you will avoid self judgement, self abuse, and regret.

Summer Book One: Active Blog Two

Right Now I just finished the Third Agreement and had to write a blog about it because I actually have used this a lot pre reading this book! Exciting stuff right? The third agreement is Don't Make Assumptions. This is crazy because I always abide to the rule "Don't assume or you'll make an ass out of you and me". Get it? Ass-u-me, I know I'm hilarious right? Well Mr. Miguel here says that we need to find the courage in us to always ask questions and so we can truly express how we feel based on facts not assumptions. And this rule alone can help you avoid much drama, sadness, and misunderstandings. This rule can and will completely change your life, and I can second that because it has actually helped me a lot in my life so far.

Summer Book One: Active Blog One

It looks as though I am getting close to being halfway done with The Four Agreements. So far I am honestly not enjoying it as much as I thought! Which is a bummer, but oh well. The ideas behind the book are good so far. Essentially this guy Don Miguel Ruiz has these four "rules" to life and he is telling the audience what they are. He had this idea we are all living in a "hell" and by following his rules we can get out and live in our own "heavens". Unfortunately for him I am a teenager who doesn't like to listen to rules, and an atheist who doesn't really use the "heaven" and "hell" words. However lucky for him, I am an accepting individual who is willing to finish the book.

So far I am through the first two agreements which I actually can relate to and side with. The first agreement is titled Be Impeccable With Your Word. Essentially he is trying to say that when you speak you need to say only what you truly mean. You also need to use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love, not to gossip about others or bring others down. Because when you bring others down you are only bringing yourself to a lower level and that is the opposite of what you should be doing. The second agreement is Don't Take Anything Personally. By this he means that nothing anything says to you is because of you. We all live in our own realities and when we talk down, or even up, to others it is just a projection of ourselves. When you take things others say to you personally, it can lead to needless suffering or undeserved reward/pride. All we need to know about ourselves is what we personally think about ourselves, not what others think.

Summer Book One: The Four Agreements

The first adult I interviewed, for the first book I will read, was my mother—Sharon Daddi. She decided that a book that really changed her perspective on life and the way she thinks of the world and herself is a book called The Four Agreements. At the time she read this book she was in her late 30's and going through very hard times in her life. She was going through her second divorce, while trying to quit drinking, and was struggling quite a bit with how she viewed herself through the whole process.

She described the book to me as a book that will change the way you act toward the world and generally make you a happier person. To me it sounds like a self help book, but we will see. She said that it reveals certain keys to life that will help you realize that the world we are trapped in is all a dream, a hell in a way, because of the ways we have been raised and adapted to the world. She said it freed her mind of a lot of stress and worry and taught her to be a much calmer person.

She said she picked this book because she thinks it could help me out a lot with my life. She thinks I over think a lot of problems in my life because of the childhood I grew up with. Living in 12 different houses and going through three divorces turned me into a person that often overlooks the simplest things to protect any possible problems. She said she noticed that I did live defensively and this book could help me break free of that, and live in a haven that I will never want to leave.