A Good Life

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.

Excerpts

Chapter 1- Longing

Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desire to see good days?
Whenever I read that question in the preface to Saint Benedict's Rule, it never fails to make my heart jump a little.  I even raise my hand sometimes, or at least I do in my mind.  I believe that I am not the only one who feels inclined to raise a hand in response.
I am in search of good days, but no more or less than you and the person standing next to you are.  I am also in search of enough good days to make a life, maybe even a good life.