{"id":37888,"date":"2021-10-01T22:37:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T02:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37888"},"modified":"2021-10-01T22:37:56","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T02:37:56","slug":"review-of-love-for-imperfect-things-by-haemin-sunim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37888","title":{"rendered":"Review of Love for Imperfect Things, by Haemin Sunim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Love for Imperfect Things<\/p>\n

How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfection<\/em><\/p>\n

by Haemin Sunim
\ntranslated by Deborah Smith and Haemin Sunim<\/p>\n

Penguin Books, 2018. Originally published in Korean in 2016. 259 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written June 27, 2020, from a library book<\/p>\n

This is a lovely and peace-inducing book written by a Zen Buddhist teacher. It worked well to read a chapter or half a chapter each day, as I had time, and I was uplifted when I did.<\/p>\n

The book is illustrated with peaceful pictures. It\u2019s a book about loving yourself and others, and about healing and going through the world with compassion \u2013 very general, nice things. The format is each chapter has a section or two of narrative and then several pages of shorter bits of wisdom.<\/p>\n

The book didn\u2019t give me any new, earth-shaking insights, but reading its wisdom helped me calm my thoughts and meditate on truth.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll grab a few examples of the sort of sayings you\u2019ll find here:<\/p>\n

When someone does something to distress you
\nfor no apparent reason,
\nor behaves completely unreasonably,
\nfor your own sake, repeat to yourself:
\n\u201cBig world, some weirdos!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you want to kindle firewood,
\nthere needs to be space between the logs.
\nIf you pack the wood too densely,
\nthe fire will not take; the flames need room to breathe.
\nIn the same way, if our lives have no breathing room,
\nwe won\u2019t be able to enjoy all the things we have,
\nno matter how great or precious they are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you point out someone\u2019s faults,
\ndon\u2019t expect their behavior to change.
\nOften all that happens
\nis that they get hurt.
\nInstead, praise their strengths,
\nwhich will grow to overshadow their weaknesses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are many aspects of life that we cannot control.
\nWhen it comes to our children, spouse, relatives, and friends,
\nwe can love them, pray for them, show them interest,
\nbut we cannot control them,
\neven when we have good intentions,
\nsince their happiness ultimately depends on themselves.
\nLet them take responsibility for their choices.
\nWhen we get through an illness, we develop immunity.
\nIf we protect others from illness,
\nthey may not develop proper immunity against life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I found those quotations on pages I opened to at random \u2013 the quality of the observations is consistently good. You can see that they aren\u2019t necessarily things you don\u2019t already know \u2013 but they are things it\u2019s good to be reminded about.<\/p>\n

haeminsunim.com<\/a>
\npenguinrandomhouse.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/love_for_imperfect_things.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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