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Kent Nerburn

Kent Nerburn Books

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“All work nourishes the soul of your creative imagination. And all work increases your understanding of your craft. Sometimes a work takes a flower, sometimes it merely enriches the soil. And sometimes the seed of an idea, long abandoned and even forgotten, emerges suddenly in a place where it was least expected. And sometimes the blooms that it produces are the most beautiful of al.”

ImaginationCreativeCreation
Book:Dancing with the Gods: Reflections on Life and Art
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“Loneliness is like sitting in an empty room and being aware of the space around you. It is a condition of separateness. Solitude is becoming one with the space around you. It is a condition of union. Loneliness is small, solitude is large. Loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. Loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nobody answers; solitude has its roots in the great silence of eternity.”

LonelinessSolitude
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“In times past there were rituals of passage that conducted a boy into manhood, where other men passed along the wisdom and responsibilities that needed to be shared. But today we have no rituals. We are not conducted into manhood; we simply find ourselves there.”

MenTodayPastResponsibilityBoysNeededRitualPassagesAdolescenceManhoodTimes Past
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love
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“Like children, the elders are a burden. But unlike children, they offer no hope or promise. They are a weight and an encumbrance and a mirror of our own mortality. It takes a person of great heart to see past this fact and to see the wisdom the elders have to offer, and so serve them out of gratitude for the life they have passed on to us.”

HeartChildrenPersonsFactsPastGratitudePromiseOffersWeightMirrorsBurdenMortalityEldersNo HopeGreat Hearts
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love
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“It is the same for all men. None of us can escape this shadow of the father, even if that shadow fills us with fear, even if it has no name or face. To be worthy of that man, to prove something to that man, to exorcise the memory of that man from every corner of our life--however it affects us, the shadow of that man cannot be denied.”

IfsMenFacesFatherNamesMemoriesOur LivesProveShadowCornersWorthyDenied
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love
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“I want you to consider this distinction as you go forward in life. Being male is not enough; being a man is a right to be earned and an honor to be cherished. I cannot tell you how to earn that right or deserve that honor. . . but I can tell you that the formation of your manhood must be a conscious act governed by the highest vision of the man you want to be.”

MenWantI CanEnoughVisionHe ManHonorHighestConsciousDeserveMalesDistinctionI Want YouManhoodFormationForward In Life
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love
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“This is not to say that becoming a father automatically makes you a good father. Fatherhood, like marriage, is a constant struggle against your limitations and self-interests. But the urge to be a perfect father is there, because your child is a perfect gift.”

ChildrenSelfFatherInterestPerfectMarriageStruggleBecomingOur ChildrenConstantLimitationYour ChildrenUrgesFatherhoodSelf InterestGood FatherConstant StruggleBecoming A FatherPerfect Father
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“But no matter how they make you feel, you should always watch elders carefully. They were you and you will be them. You carry the seeds of your old age in you at this very moment, and they hear the echoes of their childhood each time they see you.”

FeelsShouldMatterMomentsAgeWatchesChildhoodSeedsOld AgeEchoesElders
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Women, Life and Love
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“You need to understand this. We did not think we owned the land. The land was part of us. We didn't even know about owning the land. It is like talking about owning your grandmother - you can't own your grandmother. She just is your grandmother. Why would you talk about owning her?”

ThinkingKnowsNeedsTalkingLandGrandmotherYour Grandmother
Book:Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder
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“I sometimes like to think of God as a great symphony and the various spiritual paths as instruments in an orchestra. The gift that you have is like music waiting to be played. You need only to find the instrument that will best bring it out. You alone can never play all the instruments, and your music might not find voice in all the instruments. All you can do is find the instrument that suits you best, play it as well as you can, and add your music to the great symphony of divine creation.”

ThinkingNeedsWellsSometimesPlayMightSpiritualWaitingVoiceCan DoPathCreationDivineInstrumentsAddVariousSuitsOrchestraSymphonySpiritual PathSuits You
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“Giving is a miracle that can transform the heaviest of hearts. Two people, who moments before lived in separate worlds of private concerns, suddenly meet each other over a simple act of sharing. The world expands, a moment of goodness is created, and something new comes into being where before there was nothing... But true giving is not an economic exchange; it is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have; it multiplies the effect we can have in the world.”

PeopleWorldGivingHeartDoeTwoMomentsSimpleEconomicEffectsGoodnessConcernMiracleSomething New
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“We measure our presence in generations; we cannot dig down ten thousand years and find our bones. Our arrival is scribed upon the line of history; it does not drift upon the winds of story, or float upon the shrouds of myth. We are still explorers and discoverers, seeking meaning through movement and examination. But we are coming to a time of listening. Our sweat and breath are now upon this land. Voices rise up, and we begin to hear the echoes in the stones.”

YearsDoeStillsStoriesVoiceLinesGenerationsLandMovementWindListeningThousandTenStonesBreathsSeekingBonesMythSweatEchoesThousand YearsFloatsExaminationArrivalsExplorersShrouds
Book:A Haunting Reverence: Meditations on a Northern Land
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“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say while some fields will blossom and others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices in life no more easily made. And give. Give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than how is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.”

WayGivingLooksHeartChildrenMadeDreamCarePastRememberChoicesDifferencesChanceSunFieldsLaysGentleBrownHarvestAugustLife Choices
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“When you give of yourself something new comes in to being... the world expands, a bit of goodness is brought forth and a small miracle occurs. You must never underestimate this miracle. Too many good people think they have to become Mother Teresa or Albert Schweitzer, or even Santa Claus, and perform great acts if they are to be givers. They don't see the simple openings of the heart that can be practiced anywhere with almost anyone.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWorldGivingHeartMotherBitsSimpleGoodnessMiracleOpeningSomething NewGood PeopleUnderestimateSantaGiverSanta ClausNever UnderestimateTeresaSmall Miracles
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love
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“Solitude is a condition of peace that stands in direct opposition to loneliness. Loneliness is like sitting in an empty room and being aware of the space around you. It is a condition of separateness. Solitude is becoming one with the space around you. It is a condition of union. loneliness is small, solitude is large. loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nodbody answers; solitude has it's roots in the great silence of eternity.”

SpaceAnswersRoomsSilenceConditionsLonelinessBecomingSolitudeConversationSittingDirectRootsEmptyEternityInfiniteUnionsOppositionInternalsBeing AloneSeparatenessBecoming OneEmpty Rooms
Book:Simple Truths: Clear and Simple Guidance on the Big Issues in Life
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“...Good leaders wait to be called and they give up their power when they are no longer needed. Selfish men and fools put themselves first and keep their power until someone throws them out. It is no good to have a way where selfish men and fools fight with each other to be leaders, while the good ones watch.”

MenWayGivingFirstsFightingWaitingLeaderWatchesFoolNeededGiving UpSelfishSelfishnessGood LeaderSelfish Men
Book:Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder
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“Until you have a son of your own . . . you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the sense of honor that makes a man want to be more than he is and to pass something good and hopeful into the hands of his son. And you will never know the heartbreak of the fathers who are haunted by the personal demons that keep them from being the men they want their sons to be.”

KnowsMenWantLooksHeartFeelingsHandsJoyFatherLove IsHe ManSonDadHonorDemonLook UpHopefulLove My DadPersonal Demons
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“We are born male. We must learn to be men. Remember, strength is a force. It is an attribute of the heart. Its opposite is not weakness and fear, but confusion, lack of clarity, and lack of sound intention. If you are able to discern the path with heart and follow it even when at the moment it seems wrong, then and only then are you strong. Remember the words of Tao te ching. "The only true strength is a strength that people do not fear." Strength based in force is a strength people fear. Strength based in love is a strength people crave.”

PeopleIfsMenHeartMomentsSeemsAbleRememberStrongForceFearSoundBornLove IsPathWeaknessOppositesIntentionMalesConfusionClarityAttributesTaoCraveBe A ManDo Not FearTao Te ChingTrue StrengthWeakness And Fear
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“The human being is a surprisingly resilient organism. We are impelled toward health not sickness. Your spirit, as surely as your body, will try to heal....So you should not fear tragedy and suffering. Like love, they make you more a part of the human family. From them can come your greatest creativity. They are the fire that burns you pure.”

ShouldTryingHumansBodySpiritSufferingHuman BeingsCreativityFirePureTragedyYour BodyHealSicknessOrganismsResilientLike LoveHuman Family
Author:Kent Nerburn
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“That is why we need to travel. If we don't offer ourself to the unknown, our senses dull. Our world becomes small and we lose our sense of wonder. Our eyes don't lift to the horizon; our ears don't hear the sounds around us. The edge is off our experience, and we pass our days in a routine that is both comfortable and limiting. We wake up one day and find that we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days.”

IfsWorldNeedsDreamEyeOrderLostSoundLosesWonderOne DayOffersProtectComfortableEarsWake UpEdgesSensesLiftsDullOur WorldHorizonRoutineOur DreamsSense Of Wonder
Book:Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Women, Life and Love
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“We are all born with a belief in God. It may not have a name or face. We may not even see it as God. But it is there. It is the sense that comes over us as we stare into the starlit sky, or watch the last fiery rays of an evening sunset. It is the morning shiver as we wake on a beautiful day and smell a richness in the air that we know and love from somewhere we can't quite recall. It is the mystery behind the beginning of time and beyond the limits of space. It is a sense of otherness that brings alive something deep in our hearts.”

KnowsHeartMayGodLastsBeautifulFacesNamesBeliefBornSpaceBehindsWatchesMorningAliveAirMysterySkyLimitsAnd LoveSmellEveningStaringSunsetRaysRecallsRichnessFieryBelief In GodShiverOthernessBeautiful Day
Book:Simple Truths: Clear and Simple Guidance on the Big Issues in Life
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