REVIEW: What Does It Profit a Man?
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REVIEW: What Does It Profit a Man?
Fondly called ‘the men’s book’, What Does It Profit a Man is a collection of contributions by eight men who share their stories of personal success in the many guises available and that, no matter how successful, glamorous even or admired by many, the riches and accolades of the world are not it and in truth never have been.
‘The men’s book’ is transparent in that the authors don’t hold back describing what they were lured by and fell for and the societally laid out hardening process that they willingly subscribed to in order to make it in the world, in their own eyes and the eyes of society at large.
Where else does an adolescent or young man go when you know with all of you that dropping out is not an option and everybody around tells you that there is a role to step into – a role with many apparent rewards but at the expense of the innate tenderness if not heart-melting sweetness of the young boy and his exquisite and ever maturing caring nature.
But all that gets sacrificed if not brutalised sooner rather than later and the tools are many: an education system that also includes paedophilia in its curriculum; endless days and nights of rigorous study and unexpected exam failure; competitiveness and excellence in the sporting arena and the ensuing recognition and accolades. These men have been feted for their achievements in medicine, industry and sports and they seemingly had it all – all that we are told we want and need for a fulfilling and successful life, the picture-perfect cookie cut-out and blueprint for success, for officially and unequivocally having made it.
But there is more, much more. These men turned their lives around and became pioneers and giants of their internal world; they put a stop to the trajectory into evermore comfort and in truth given-upness, a path that would only take them further and further away from their innateness and who they really are.
They faced the incongruencies and contradictions and realised that anything the world has to offer pales into insignificance when compared to the stillness and settlement that the connection with our divine nature easily accords.
These men did not turn to charity and pledge their fortune; they did not turn to orthodox/institutionalised religion and subjugate themselves to man-made dictums; they did not seek the solitude of a cave in the Himalayas or any other kind of retreat – they instead plumbed the depth of their inner-heart and the vastness of the connection with their Soul; they lived and walked this connection and from this connection engaged even more deeply with their chosen profession and the service they bring to the world and all of us.
These men live and breathe the fact that outer riches without the riches of our Soul and without our divine nature are useless, null and void when it comes to what life is truly about – the return to our divine origins.
And in that they live and breathe true charity, the act of being role models and beacons of light for a future that is easily our present, if we so choose.
These men are living it now and showing us how.
To purchase the book visit Golden Mean Books
Filed under
Competition, Education, Soul, Stillness
