This inclusivity is admirable, certainly one thing which we dearly need in this world is a demonstration of the things which unite us, rather than divide us. His ‘simple, compassionate teachings transcend religion, borders and ages, and serve as a calming reminder of the strength and joy that come from slowing down’. Building on a large Twitter and Facebook presence, where he tweets missives and guidance, he has aimed to offer ‘advice on everything from handling setbacks at work to dealing with love and relationships’. Sunim is a Buddhist monk, who lives between his native South Korea and the United States, where he lectures. I am personally a very calm person, and rarely get stressed out, but I find books like this lovely to dip in and out of they are soothing, almost. The subtitle of The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, ‘How to Be Calm in a Busy World’ will, I am sure, speak to many of us in the modern world. It is essentially a guide to mindfulness, of how to make the most of oneself despite outside factors sometimes wishing to throw us off course. This year, in fact, marks the publication of its first English translation. Nearly three million copies of the book have been sold worldwide since its publication in 2012, and it has been translated from its original Korean by Chi-Young Kim in collaboration with the author himself. Thoughtfully, Abbie wrote in her note that she thought this tome would be a good antidote to in-depth thesis reading, and it was. I was given a copy of Haemin Sunim’s The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by a dear friend after she undertook a stint of work experience at Penguin.

I haven’t made many forays into non-fiction during my Reading the World Project whilst this has not been deliberate by any means, it is lovely to be able offer something a little different for this week’s post.

Haemin sunim the things