A Good Life: Benedict's Guide to Everyday Joy

"There is no shortage of good days," writes Annie Dillard. "It is good lives that are hard to come by." Reflecting on what makes a "good life," Robert Benson offers a warmhearted, humorous guide to enriching our lives with the wisdom of Benedict, a 6th century monk. Each chapter is shaped around a Benedictine principle: prayer, rest, community, and work, and reveals the brilliant and infinitely practical ways that Benedictine spirituality can shape our lives today. Benson is honest and wise, sharing his own failings and the constant tension that he feels between the demands of the temporal and the spiritual. For anyone who feels caught in a web of conflicting priorities, or who finds the pace of modern life more draining than fulfilling, A Good Life will come as a welcome treat for the soul."If one has never read anything about the Rule of St. Benedict, this is a great place to start. I strongly recommend that you have a copy of the Rule also. In fact, I recommend you read the Rule of St. Benedict and then read this book.If you are well acquainted with the Rule, as I am, you may still from joy reading it because the author shares his own personal stuff with us and illumines the RB through his experiences. I've been living a Benedictinesque (I made that word up) since Feb,1982 and I had much enjoyment reading it.

Little more bent than I would have liked for the price

Direct and lovely written book re: St. Benedict order. Loved it!

Practical and clear. Written by a family man. Short and profound.

have read it and reread it and find it inspiring approach to every day spirituality

Robert Benson's measured prose is well-suited to his topic of following St. Benedict's advocacy for an ordered life. Using personal experience and just enough challenge to the reader, Benson draws us in to believe that a good life is possible and worth pursuing. Along the way, he explains how this can take place.A takeaway for me comes out of Benson's chapter on Work, where he speaks of Benedict's recognition of three roles in community: abbot, artist and cellarer. Abbots lead, out of humility and from experience. Artists contribute the skills of hand and mind to the immediate community's well-being, often by being active in the outlying neighborhood. Cellarers are busy behind the scenes, doing what's necesary so that all else runs smoothly. But once he identifies these 'roles', Benson points out that a simple 'division of labor' does not alway apply. That is, it's not like in each community (a family, a church, an intentionally gathered group of friends) there are individuals assuming each position for the duration, but rather that all members are likely to fill each role on different occasions.A friend loaned me this book and I've been glad for the gift. Highly recommended.

Unpretentious, straight forward, and inspirational, this little volume (85 pages) makes an excellent devotional booklet for the Benedictine oblate. It has seven short sections. Taken one each day, this book will take a week to read. I usually read a chapter in place of compline and give myself something to think about as I go to sleep. Non-Benedictines might want use this book as a one-week retreat to experience a flavor of benedictine spirituality.

This is a very simple and short book on how to balance your life - work, rest, exercise, family etc. Has made me feel less guilty about putting the computer aside and spending time on other activities.

A short volume but my oh my what a read! It packs more into its 85 pages than other more weightier volumes could ever do in a style which is easy to read but at the same time intelligently written.

Für alle, die sich mit den Ordensregeln des Heiligen Benedikts befassen möchten und sich nach einem ausgewogenen Lebenstil sehnen, ist dieser schlanke Band von Robert Benson genau das Richtige. Gezielt und ansprechend gibt der Autor Anregungen, wie es möglich sein kann, in Anlehnung an die Ordensregeln in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft einen ausgewogenes und geistlich orientiertes Leben zu führen. Ausgewählte Literaturangaben zum Thema fehlen nicht. - Alles in allem, ein sehr lesbares und ansprechendes Buch.