When you have an person that is older and wiser than you, whom you deeply respect, say, “this book should be on the top of your reading list,” you immediately go to Amazon and get the book.
Such is the case with Fr. Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward: a spirituality for the two halves of life. Yesterday, I renewed a discipline that I’ve fallen away from since I left my last church of taking one day-per-month and getting out of the office for focused reading, quiet, prayer, reflection, journaling, walking in the woods, etc. In short, tending to my soul. And so, I planned to start this book yesterday morning as part of my day.
And then I couldn’t stop myself, and read the whole thing. I’ll post a couple specific thoughts in the coming days, but for here, I’ll just say this: on one of the blogs that I follow, the author recently recommended Falling Upward, as his most-challenging book on spirituality. I think I agree. I think several years from now I will still be pointing back to this book as a pivotal read for me. (Much as I have with Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian.)
In a nutshell, this book, as the subtitle suggests, is about seeing spirituality in terms of two halves. The first half of the spiritual life is about establishing one’s identity, fighting for a cause, & establishing boundary markers. The second half is a journey that not all choose to go on because it’s one that requires pain, loss, an ongoing battle with the self (what he calls “shadowboxing”) and most certainly a feeling of homesickness. And while it sounds depressing, it’s here, Rohr says, that we find that we can live in peace, secure in paradox, and finally able to give back to the next generation.
This book touched on all kinds of thoughts, feeling and raw nerves in my soul. And while I read it in the span of about 5 hours, I know in the coming days, weeks & months, I will be discussing and further digesting this book.
Twitter Updates
Charlie, I’m so glad you liked this book because Fr. Rohr is my favorite author. While I’ve read most of his books, I haven’t read this one yet. I saw him give a speech about it before it was released, so I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ve had similar reactions to yours with some of his other books. He has a way of saying things that make a profound impact on me and have helped me mature spiritually.
I’m planning to start The Enneagram in the next couple weeks. I’m full of anticipation!