This is what I read...

Dewey Point, Yosemite National Park.  February 14th, 2016

Last week, this week, and next week I wanted to focus on posts about my personal health and goals.  Waking up at 4am (discussed last week) has helped me be more conscious of my sleep, which in turn has reduced the amount of alcohol I drink during the weekdays, which consequently really helped me be more productive with my time.  That habit has given me time to reflect and realize that I wanted to do more reading for enjoyment and personal growth (this week).  These seem to me to be all really healthy things.  I am listing the books below in hopes that someone out there wants to discuss them.  Opening a book that I'm interested in and that can offer me a new perspective as I start or end my day helps get me out of the 24-hour news-cycle, meme-infested social media world we live in and forces me to concentrate on one thing of substance or importance for an extended period of time.  I am not listing these books just because they were influential to me but because I actually read bits from them on a weekly or monthly basis.  They help me keep track of my thoughts and they are a center for me to return to if I get a little too crazy.  In no particular order:

"Letter's to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke:
This is the newest book added to my must take with me where ever I go list.  I was blown away when I started this book and realized that the advice given by this mentor to a young man, about growing up into a man, written back in the early 1900's, is still profoundly applicable to my life today.  As humans I suppose we have universal and never ending struggles with ourselves, our surroundings, and our loves.  The advice to deal with these issues is out there, like the stuff offered by Rilke, but we must go through the emotion ourselves to truly understand and be able to reflect on this advice.  So even if you feel like you are completely in control of everything in your life this book and the next one are fun to read and reflect on why you are so well equipped to deal with all that life has to offer.

"A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle:  
I remember this book very vividly because upon graduation from St. Olaf my uncle Tim asked me what I would want for such a special milestone... I jokingly said, "nothing, okay, maybe a life-changing book."  So this is what he bought me.  I put it on my shelf for 2 years because I couldn't even finish the intro... maybe it was the timing of my attempts or maybe it was that I was busy buried in pharmacology as I was pursuing my doctorate, but regardless I read it in 2011 and it has literally changed my life (or at the very least put a reasonable frame/filter on my life).  My main take away from this book is that the world is going to happen around us and to us the way in which it wants... it's up to us to decide how we react to it and move forward from it.

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.” 

― Eckhart Tolle

"The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff: 
This fable was given to me by Dr. Jacob Held after we got into a discussion about taoism during residency.  Everybody loves the innocence of Pooh and he does a wonderful job explaining the most fundamental concepts of this philosophy through his adventures.

"Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:
Subtitled "The Psychology of Optimal Experience" this is all about understanding the difference between pleasure and enjoyment and breaking down why people that are happy are enjoying life.  For the athletes out there "flow" is synonymous with "the zone".  Time flies when we are having fun and this is a good breakdown of the science of that phrase.  It has helped me be more reflective and aware of when I am in my "flow state" and what got me there.  If by knowing the basic criteria of my enjoyment then I can be more able to put myself into that state and be more productive and satisfied in my work life as well as my free time.  What is good for you may not be good for me and vice versa.

"365 Tao" by Deng Ming-Dao:  
Often an entire book is a daunting task.  That's where this little gem comes in handy.  Throughout the course of this book many taoist thoughts and angles on life are looked at but you only really need about 10 minutes or less a day to get through each passage.  Before you know it it's over with!  This book has been the foundation of my morning and bedtime routine for the past year.  No matter your religious or spiritual stance I believe this one could turn into an essential part of your routine.  It ends up being about 2 pages per day and goes well with a cup of coffee early in the morning.  So, while it is a very light book it does tend to weigh heavy on the mind as the taoist poems and concepts are translated into very relatable passages.

"Super Freakonomics" (and I suppose "Freakonomics") by Steven Levitt and Sephen J. Dubner
Great (interesting) data on, and different angles to, problems "solved" and policies passed and how they are truly affecting our world and economy.  This book can be very polarizing on many subjects including abortion, prostitution, seat belts, and global warming but when read with an open mind can help you realize what we really don't know in terms of cause and effect.

Not listed...
...any book or short story about wilderness survival stories.  I find it fascinating to think what my limits are if I were faced with true survival.

I read a lot about where I fit within this world and how life acts on me and how I can affect the world because these questions fascinate me.  This is not meant to be an evangelical post, it's simply letting you guys know how I spend my time and how I spend my mental energy.  I'd love to hear if you have any must reads, don't be shy.