Abstract
The book by author Henri J. M. Nouwen Reaching out is an interesting description of peoples’ relationships in general touching upon their innermost features and urge for the entire amenities such as happiness, goodness, love. The author using direct glimpses of ordinary life situations which everyone comes through illustrates the way of right following in this everyday life. The only thing which the author opposes to a happy life of a man is loneliness and its effects in various fields of a man’s activity.
A connection of a man with his/her innermost self the author rises above all. This is treated by him as a core problem of people who constantly ask others for their issues. The audience of this author is quite great due to the universal significance of it when looking at the psychological part of human beings. Henri J. M. Nouwen comments the situation of a man’s potential by the further words: “…reaching out to our innermost being can lead to a reaching out to the many strangers whom we meet on our way through life.” (Nouven 46)
The Bible is the source of the author’s inspiration. The examples from it as well as the authority of it are the core arguments for him to present a reader with. The concept of hospitality Nouven considers to be the main stimulus for reaching out the depth of our souls and getting to the point that we are brothers and sisters to each other, thus, we should love one another as Jesus appointed. Also, hospitality is considered to be the reason for talents when the family is taught to follow the everlasting instructions of the Bible.
Almost every page of this book depicts to a reader the explanatory pictures of life and logical evaluation of our behaviors so that to point out the real reasons of peoples’ bad parts of the character. Every word is full of wisdom and prescription of how to act in further life situations. Such things as occupation and restlessness are the factors that cause a delay in a man’s life. The author leads in his book to a logical conclusion of how to deal with the right path and how to follow it throughout the obstacles which this cruel society stimulates people to go through. The author sees the reason in an individual himself.
Nevertheless, the author opens the pictures of our souls and examines the processes which are connected with us individually. The book is easy to read due to a simple manner of narration without some specific terminology or data. The author is inclined to make people think over their priorities and possibly forgotten values of life during and after reading this book. The word-by-word sequential thoughts manifestation helps, in this case, to be put in the picture.
Concrete Responses
Frankly speaking, I appreciate the work of Henry J. M. Nouven for the true statements and simple things which seemed so difficult sometimes. This book reminded me about the example of my friend Mary who tended to be like an all seeing eye with his own opinion about every person she knew. The thing is that every objection of hers was full of condemnation and hatred. She always seemed helpless and covered under the statements of different philosophers, so that to assert her designated way of life. She had not reached yet her innermost self and already commented every deed of a man looking through the orifice of hr narrow-minded survey.
Once we were looking for jobs and the economic crisis made this task a bit difficult, but we tried a bit until Mary demonstrated some pieces of pretense insisting on the generally worse situation all over the country. She was disappointed and lonely in her decisions, but I followed further steps in interviewing and searching for the best work I could find at that moment. The personal credo “he who seeks, will always find” helped me to balance my hopes and not to lose inner harmony due to the word of God.
Mary, on the other hand, only a year later could find a job with poor wages and a big list of requirements. Still she is misled in her life and loneliness occupied her soul. Her stubbornness could not give me an opportunity to help her even by a good word with a sort of advice. I know that some sides of her mind urge her to follow the right way in searching herself, but the pride became a barrier for right decision making.
Reflection
As it is seen, the characteristic feature of the book is to bring good message to a reader and make him believe in the better and greater opportunities after he/she feels the need in reaching the harmony and God’s identity inside. People do really forget about the value of joy and pleasure which are prescribed in Holy Scriptures. The society is full of dull people with shades of despondency and dissatisfaction with life.
The theme of loneliness in the book discovers the real reason for such behaviors and maintains effective ways of their destruction. “A sense of loneliness reflects a discrepancy between an individual’s expectations of interpersonal relations and his or her social situation in reality (Asher, Parkhurst, Hymel, & Williams, 1990).” (Cited in Rokach & Brock, 154, 1997) Indeed, the things which can be expected from life are enclosed into the circumstances and problematic situations which stop the progress in a man’s life.
Henry Nouven in return gives personal recipe as a solution when making stress on the role of church where one can “still hunger and thirst at its tables.” (Nouven, 62) The problem of loneliness is rather grave for today’s society and leaves much to be desired when some critics say: “Forget about the Information Age; we live in the age of loneliness.” (Cited in Hudson, 27, 2002)
When pointing out the concept of hospitality in the book, the author shows us the many-faceted nature of it. This is a genuine factor which creates many talents, as Nouven writes, and serves as an amenity for being happy. In fact, when a man rejects loneliness and hatred, and jealousy or other negative elements of human nature, he/she can receive the flow of so needful and useful outcomes. It is so, because “by its very nature, hospitality work has a spiritual dimension.” (Spillane, 16, 2001)
Moreover, there is no doubt that people who think, speak and act in an optimistic manner using and showing the good traits of their characters are able to do and live more, because they are taught how to behave in bilateral nature of life with black and white sides of it. One should understand, though, the vital significance of hospitality.
If the theology of hospitality is to create a welcome environment where the word of God is more easily heard and understood, then we must always be attentive to what people need so that their eyes, ears, hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of God. (Anderson, 643, 1998)
Action
As far as it was analyzed in this paper, the book by Henry J. M. Reaching out is a socially-aimed description of so-called “dos and dons” which people tend to replace and ignore on the whole. The factors of goodness are greatly outlined in it, so I am eager to recommend this book for every single person searching for himself within the conditions of cruel reality. The idea of the book prevents a reader from further probable emergence of illusionary correlations and, in fact, it leads to proved expectations which are raised in several conceptual part of the book. So, it will be grateful for my friend, mentioned above, to thoroughly read it.
This concerns the sphere of a man’s psyche. The book also makes emphasis on the spiritual approach towards the issue observed. This easy-to-read book is convenient for all types of audience and personally I would give it to my lovely parents and friends. The more you read it, the more you recognize the truth of essence.
Reference
Anderson, M. W. (1998). Hospitality Theology. The Christian Century, 115, 643.
Hudson, J. (2002). Virtual Reality’s Lonely Lifestyle; in a Society Where So Much Emphasis Is Placed on Mass Communication, It Seems Surprising That Loneliness Has Become a Major Ailment Afflicting Many Americans. Insight on the News, 18, 27.
Nouwen, Henri J. M. (1986). Reaching out: the three movements of the spiritual life Image Books.
Rokach, A., & Brock, H. (1997). Loneliness and the Effects of Life Changes. Journal of Psychology, 131(3), 284-298.
Spillane, J. J. (2001). The Christian Humanization of Work: Job Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry. Review of Business, 22(3), 16+.