Overview
A lovely Caribbean island and its people awaken in author Robert Benson a sense of place and home. The islanders’ warmth and welcome prompt a new understanding of ideas of beauty, community and spiritual belonging.“We live in a world where such welcome and gentleness and civility are increasingly rare. Most of the conversation between strangers is terse and quick and far too often, it is cold and rude. It can even be that way, more often than we care to admit, among people who are not strangers. And such is the way of the world that we live in that we are almost stunned by welcome whenever it breaks out around us, and we are certainly drawn to the people and to the places where we find such welcome in abundance.”
Synopsis
A lovely Caribbean island and its people awaken in author Robert Benson a sense of place and home. The islanders’ warmth and welcome prompt a new understanding of ideas of beauty, community and spiritual belonging.
“We live in a world where such welcome and gentleness and civility are increasingly rare. Most of the conversation between strangers is terse and quick and far too often, it is cold and rude. It can even be that way, more often than we care to admit, among people who are not strangers. And such is the way of the world that we live in that we are almost stunned by welcome whenever it breaks out around us, and we are certainly drawn to the people and to the places where we find such welcome in abundance.”
Publishers Weekly
Spirituality writer and retreat leader Benson (A Good Life) offers a series of reflections on island vacationing. He and his wife have been returning yearly to the same Caribbean idyll for a week or two of vacation in honor of their anniversary. If most readers won't be able to relate to that kind of freedom, armchair travelers will appreciate the careful recounting of rituals like watching the sun dispel the grayness of dawn, feeding the sugar birds and getting fried chicken at a lime bar in town. Benson captures a world in which time slows down and material things become of less importance. People are generally kind and hospitable, and the daily ritual of meals can create holy moments shared with close family or new friends. Spiritual insights are light, but offer clues and questions about how life can be best lived. For example, Benson writes poignantly about how island life has helped him abandon the American practice of "hurrying up just to wait," and about what he may have missed during the years he was rushing through life. However, for all its sweetness, the overall purpose and audience for the book are unclear. (Apr. 18) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.