When it comes to the zeitgeist of our times, author Arianna Huffington put it best: “To say the world is in a state of transition is an almost comical understatement. We all have our individual challenges, but what we share is the fact that we have no idea what the shape of our daily lives will be in a year, or even in a few months.”
For this reason, Huffington recommends everyone to read Bruce Feiler’s new book, Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age. His new book began when he found himself in the middle of multiple personal crises and transitions: a cancer diagnosis, near bankruptcy and his father’s attempted suicide. So he set out to interview 225 Americans, in all 50 states, who had been through profound crises and life changes, from divorce and life-threatening injuries to the loss of a child and career changes.
He wanted to identify the patterns and lessons learned. The result is intended to be “a tool kit for navigating these transitions.” As Huffington explains, the book is a Rorschach test, meaning that each reader will take away a different big lesson.
“For me, the biggest takeaway is how we can use this time of personal and collective transition to answer the fundamental need we all have to connect with something larger than ourselves,” she writes. “Any time our linear daily lives are disrupted we are more drawn to reconnect with our nonlinear spiritual selves and more in need of that deeper connection.”
Huffington reminds us that challenging times offer us a chance to rediscover meaning in our lives and experience renewal. If you are keen to make the most of our collective life transition, have a look here at this fantastic column from Huffington—and consider having a look at Bruce Feiler’s new book.
