It's Easier Than You Think by Sylvia Boorstein Review

I picked this up on a whim, as I usually read books that boast their accredited status, and this one did not seem to be as popular or well known as other self-help titles. But this ended up becoming one of my top non-fiction reads of all time, and I can confidently say that it has changed my life and perspective for the better. I enjoyed this a lot, as it was highly readable and didn't contain a lot of psychology or technical terms and context to distract from the methods and anecdotes that cut straight to the chase: How does one deal with the pain of living and the thoughts that tend to hold one down from living freely and happily?

Boorstein provides a fresh perspective on what happiness really is, how elusive it is, how we cannot expect happiness at all times and ultimately how and why we should be okay with that truth, which will lead to more peace and, guess what, more happiness in our lives. I really liked how candid Boorstein chose to be, and how open she was about her own life experiences, how she has been practicing and teaching Buddhism as a way of life as well as meditation, but even she has bad days, her moments of angst and pain, but how she ultimately overcomes it, and allows them to pass. She plainly states that life is painful, yes, but what can you do about it? Nothing. Unless you choose to experience suffering as a result of not being able to accept the pain, and therefore prolonging its impact on your mental state, pain just comes and goes. It's as simple as that, we assign moments and actions the amount of time we spend wallowing on them. But we don't have to.

I found her anecdote of how she once had a moment of weakness very impactful and thought-provoking: she recounts how she yells at breakfast, overcome by her frustration of what life deals us and others, angrily and sadly. Her company simply listened and kept going about the meal. And so did she. It was as simple as that, she states. Moments of pain, like moments of joy, all come and go. Who says we must linger on these facts of life, realizations, and instances, and allow them to control us? Just grasp moments as they come, and be okay when they pass, as they all do, we’re all simply coping with our individual lives as we move along.