The Mystery of Everyday Life

This remarkable book takes a fresh look at life as a process, not an end, encouraging readers to look for the meaning of life not in terms of achievement or others' opinions, but in the everyday joys of living. From the Preface ... It is easy to become attached to goals. Goals promise certainty, and the anxiety they induce only makes their achievement seem more meritorious. The trouble is that goals, even worthy ones, remove our sense of proportion and our sensitivity to what is happening around us. It sometimes takes a fall to bring us back into the present. 'Where have I been? What have I been doing all my life?' We awaken to the world as if for the first time. We have written this book out of an increasing sense of the importance of these moments. Once you recognise life as a gift rather than an achievement, you realise that 'meaning in life' is found only in the vitality of the social relations in which we participate.