Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity
by David Whyte
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Book Summary Information
Author: David WhyteEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2001-03-15
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 257
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Book Reviews of Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity
Book Review: Finding Fulfilling Work Means Embracing the Uncertainty of One's Journey
Summary: 5 Stars
Each of us will likely reach a point in our professional lives when we ask ourselves what is the value of what we're doing. Some may ignore the impulse and go on with their routines with little adverse effect, while others may feel they are on the edge of a precipice with no path marked toward fulfillment. Author David Whyte, who is both a professional poet and a Fortune 500 consultant, certainly has the experience to write a book about self-discovery, and his most pervasive theme is one of pilgrimage toward our real selves. What makes Whyte's book essential reading is how he is able to translate this journey to our working lives. For many, work is a means to ward off fears of poverty, but the author illustrates how work at its best can be joyful, a "hidden trove of imaginative treasure that we hope can give us self-respect, independence and the ease we desire". At the same time, the harsh reality is that most companies deprive us of time and spaciousness and cause us to lose our creative spark, even ourselves.
Using his life as a guiding post for the reader, the author reveals many of the questions, crises, and turning points in his own search for meaningful work suited to his nature. He candidly discusses the life-changing encounters in his life, as well as the family memories and formative experiences that shaped his own psyche. More specifically, Whyte discusses his stint as a naturalist in the Galapagos Islands and the key role his ancestors have played in shaping the structure and form of his creative work. This emphasis he places upon our inheritance from those who have gone before us is probably the most inspiring message he conveys here. He cites his inspirations from William Blake's paintings, Rainer Maria Rilke's poems, and from the way poet John Keats lived his brief life. Keats believed that truly great people have the ability to accept that not everything can be resolved, that they can thrive in uncertainty. Such dependence on what Keats called the "holiness of the heart's affections" is what Whyte feels needs to be valued now.
Keats' concept of negative capability is the crux of Whyte's thesis, that one should follow one's calling and be guided by one's desires and aptitudes in spite of the uncertainty. Choosing or working at a job or career one is not suited to by nature is a mistake many make due to blinding factors like keeping up with the bills or placing emphasis on what others think. Whyte shows why and how to get back in touch with one's nature and get back on track and why it is so important for people to do so. This is not a stepwise manual toward self-fulfillment. Rather, it's a book of the author's own decisive path, and as such, certain sections of the book will be more relevant than others. Fortunately, Whyte knows firsthand what the corporate world is like and shows how he got back to writing poetry and what the costs and benefits were of doing so. Now he works in the corporate world, using his poetry self to help those who have left behind their creative, inner selves to regain them. It appears he has found the best of both worlds.
Summary of Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity
This bestselling author of The Heart Aroused and internationally renowned Fortune 500 consultant explores work as an opportunity for discovering, shaping, and nurturing our deepest selves.When our work is right for us and it gives back to the world, when we develop, as the poet William Blake said, "a firm persuasion," we feel we can move mountains. Maybe we've felt this way only for a moment, maybe some feel this way all the time, or maybe some have never felt this way. But a sense of fulfillment is possible for all of us, and David Whyte can show us how to restore it to our lives. Whyte applies the stages of a holy pilgrimage to the process of seeking identity through the unknown sea of work. These are:
? Longing for refuge
? Finding the strength to begin the journey
? Desiring growth
? Overcoming obstacles
? Avoiding distractions
? Connecting-meeting and traveling with others with a common purpose
? Helping others-a desire to bring hope and help to those left behind
We may think of family, relationships, friends, religion, or spiritual practice as the domains in which the soul is refined, in which our identities are nurtured and shaped. But we overlook the area in which we spend the majority of our time: work. As Whyte indicates, what holds us back at work is what will hold us back the longest in our life's development. Crossing the Unknown Sea illustrates how to embrace the opportunity that work provides for us to begin to inhabit fully our individuality and maximize our creativity.
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