Burkett Tim - Zen in the age of anxiety: wisdom for navigating our modern lives

CHAPTER ONE

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost.I am helpless.

It isnt my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

CHAPTER TWO

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I dont see it.

I fall in again.

I cant believe I am in this same place.

But, it isnt my fault.

It still takes me a long time to get out.

CHAPTER THREE

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall inits a habitbut,

my eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

CHAPTER FOUR

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

CHAPTER FIVE

I walk down another street.

PORTIA NELSON

W ALKING DOWN A DIFFERENT STREET is not about changing what we do or how we do it. It is about changing what and how we think. It requires a new approach to lifeand that is what this book offers.

Is this book for you? A glance at the table of contents may tell you.

Part One, Wounding and Splintering, looks at the primary causes of pain and confusion in our culture. The title reflects the fact that our deeply ingrained way of thinking about and responding to frustrations, disappointments, and setbacks wounds not only us but also those around us. We are not isolated beings living isolated lives. When we fall into a hole, we take others with us.

In this first section, author Tim Burkett writes about the split between the heart and mind, and the inevitable splintering of the psyche that follows. Splintering is the source of our deepest pain. One by one, Tim discusses the areas that cause the most splintering: feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing, issues related to sex and to money, and the stigma associated with failure. Often we are so splintered we feel as if were moving through life alone, in a trance-like state, unaware of the abundance that is fundamental to our interdependent nature.

Part Two, Suturing and Healing, introduces an ancient wisdom that offers a different approach to life. Unlike many wisdom teachers today, Tim doesnt use obscure or ambiguous language of the past, choosing instead images and metaphors drawn from our own popular culture. The last chapter of the book, Living and Dying in a State of Readiness, delves unflinchingly into our greatest anxiety, revealing how even the fear of death can be bridged.

The first nine chapters each contain a Key, short enough to use as a mantra or to write on a sticky note for your refrigerator. A section called Doing the Work ends each chapter. You will begin to experience life in a different way as you engage these ancient teachings, personally and intimately.

In the epilogue, Tim offers some final thoughts about the common thread connecting the worlds major religions and traditions. Its the same thread that can suture and heal our splintered heartsand that can also heal our world.

An ancient wisdom says if you pull a single thread, a whole world comes into being. May that world be a compassionate one.

WANDA ISLE

Editor