The Exquisite Risk

Book excerpt: A fresh perspective on the art of being alive and essential insight into how we can minimize what stands between us and an authentic experience of life, in the spirit of works by Deepak Chopra and Ram Dass “Once again, Mark Nepo draws us to the heart of what matters. He illuminates love with the light of his own understanding.”—Marianne Williamson In these fast-paced times, the exquisite risk facing each of us every day is to slow down so that we may experience life rather than simply manage it. In The Exquisite Risk, poet and teacher Mark Nepo encourages readers to become quiet enough and open enough to listen to what truly matters—our own hearts, our loved ones, the wonders of nature—in order to live a life with nothing held back. In rich, lyrical prose, Nepo shares his own spiritual path, including a battle with illness that helped him understand how daring to embrace all that life has to offer can bring us to a deeper appreciation of its meaning and beauty.