Saying No and Letting Go, livre ebook

An inspiring introduction to the most important lesson for today's busy world: the take-away is to take away.

"All we can hope to accomplish—by paying attention—is to learn to live with the mystery, become more comfortable with not knowing and try to enjoy life’s uncertainty. Every day is a gift, but we often squander it by missing what matters most."
—from the Introduction

Every day we are faced with choices that entail saying no—and frankly we’re not very good at it. Whether it’s the desire to please, get ahead, accumulate or impress, our lives have become so full and so busy that it is hard to determine what we really need and what’s really important to us.

The purpose of this book is to help you regain control of the things that matter most in your life. It taps timeless Jewish wisdom that teaches how to “hold on tightly” to the things that matter most while learning to “let go lightly” of the demands, worries, activities and conflicts that do not ultimately matter. Drawing insights from ancient and modern sources, it helps you identify your core values as well as the opportunities that do not reflect those values, and that you can learn to pass up. It also shows you how to establish a disciplined practice to help you adhere to your choices.

Whether it’s letting go of resentment, learning to say “no” at work or to your loved ones, downsizing your diet or asking less of the earth, this book will help you distinguish between the trivial and the profound.

Foreword ix
Introduction xi

1 • Reconnect with Holiness in Time 1
2 • Keep a Tab on Mission Drift 9
3 • Let Go of Resentment 16
4 • Downsize! 24
5 • Be Present—Really Present—in Love 35
6 • Respond to the Right Questions 43
7 • Say No to Loved Ones, Especially Your Children 52
8 • Stress Less to Do More 57
9 • Stop Ignoring Your Mental Garbage 64
10 • Take a Leap of Action 69
11 • Ask Less of the Earth 76
12 • Hear the Voice That Matters 81
13 • Don't Underestimate the Power of Small Kindnesses 88
14 • See the Divinity in Others 94
15 • Recognize There Are No Guarantees 104
16 • Let Go of Fear by Facing It First 114
17 • Abandon Revenge and Resentment 124
18 • Finish the Race You Started 132
19 • Hold on Tightly, Let Go Lightly 138
20 • Open Up Your Eyes 143
21 • Write Your Name Upon the Hearts of Others 149

Acknowledgments 159
Notes 160
Suggestions for Further Reading 164