- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan (23 Feb 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0333904907
- ISBN-13: 978-0333904909
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.2 x 2.4 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 676,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A guide to help you cope with even the most mundane of household chores! Gary Thorp shows how the principles of Zen can bring harmony and peace to your life at home. He explains how everyday activities can bring satisfaction and self-growth and provide an opportunity for Zen practice.
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16 reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
A Reminder of How Joyful Routine Tasks Can Be
29 Mar 2000
Format:Hardcover
Mr. Thorp's deceptively small book is packed with wisdom, clarity, and humor. The book speaks to mundane tasks in every day living: Sweeping, washing dishes, and various other chores both in and outside of one's dwelling. Taking what would seem to make for a boring book topic (namely housework), Thorp explains and demonstrates what he refers to as the state of mindfulness. This zen-based approach to moving through the business of life's details is a challenging concept initially. Satisfaction in doing the many little things that are a part one's daily regimen seems foreign to most of us; it certainly was to me. The writer allows the reader to see things through a different lens, with a new perspective and a fresh perception. After reading Sweeping Changes, I felt an acute awareness and appreciation for the world literally at my fingertips, and a more positive feeling about myself and about the little things I do that mean a lot. I now feel mindful of the things I touch and of the things I do, and I feel a new appreciation for myself and how I am connected to all things. Finally, I do, at least for the time being, experience a real joy in doing things that I formerly would have considered dull. I look forward to Mr. Thorp's next work.
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
A joy to read and think about
6 Dec 2000
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I received this book the rougher edged pages made it intriguing to handle. In a way this prepares you for the message of the book. It is the little things that form us as well.
Upon reading the first section of the first chapter, a mere page or two, I knew this book was going to be a treat. It frames for you a single thought or consideration about the world around you. This I found well worth using the rest of the day to ponder.
I deliberately then read only one section each day. Sadly after 39 days of having this book as my daily companion, I have finished reading it.
It was shear joy, as this book illuminates your own life, your common everyday occurances and helps you see how each contributes to the whole. I plan to read this over and over again. This has given me an inside to Zen, that I would not have oridinarily had. With the bibliography in the back of the book I'm encouraged to read more.
Also, as not to miss the point of the name "Sweeping changes" it gives a much more satisfying view on housework. It brings it more into an overall perspective. You are caring for the things that help support you. It is a synergistic relationship.
Fantastic book
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Full of wisdom that is actually useful
22 May 2003
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Maybe it is a California thing but as a native, I think the term Zen gets overused. The author notes on page 2 "Zen is the Japanese word for "meditation," and while this is usually understood as sitting quietly in a formal posture, it can also be applied to the everyday movements of daily activity."
I am neither Zen or Buddhist in the purest form of the word. But I bought the book because I have been involved in simple living for almost two decades and I am always interested in how different people approach simplicity and quietness in everyday life.
So what value did I find in this book? Well, for starters its nice to see the everyday tasks that must be done, elevated to a higher or revered level. I have always believed that preparing food or making a house a home and feeding the bodies as well as the mind of the ones around us is something very spiritual or even holy. That bring order from chaos is wonderful. And seeing smile and laughter and contentment from daily tasks is a sure sign of enlightenment.
There are so many gems in this books from pots and pans to where one sleeps, to the colours that surround us and how that effects us, to simple things like learning that in Japan that when a precious tea container is broken it is not only mended but gold leafed so that the repair is shown as a continuance of the life of the item. Whereas here in America when something is broken it usually gets tossed out and a new replacement is sought.
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