Nouwen was a gentle and fresh voice to hear in a year of not much theological/spiritual reading. In fact, I'm always impressed by his gentleness and humility, all while sharing deep and vital truths.

This book receives 5 stars simply because it resonated with me and communicated simple and profound truths in a very accessible way. Nouwen was sometimes vague or went on a tangent I didn't follow well...sometimes I thought he overspiritualized things and sometimes I wasn't on board fully with his conclusions. But as with talking with a good and true friend, I felt as if Nouwen was creating a space for sincere questions, seeking, pilgrimage, and community within the pages of this book. He invites readers to listen in as he shares his own revelations; he does not demand readers to cosign his doctrine or opinions. Therefore, I felt invited to see myself, others, and God more honestly through this book and Nouwen's tender offerings of wisdom.

There is much in this book that I needed to hear, and much that I know I will continually need to hear forever probably. So this review is, more than anything, a note to self: return to this book often!

Some interesting and good ideas spread out through the book, but overall I was unimpressed by his writing style and the way he chose to get his points across.

فحيثما يُرٰحب دائماً بنا لا يُكترث كثيراً لغيابنا وعندما يُأهل بأي شخص كان فما من احد يُفتقد كثيراً

وتكبر وحدتنا عندما ينتابنا الشك في ان لا احد يعيرنا اهتماماً او يمنحنا الحب بلا شروط وكذلك الامر كلما نُستغل في نقاط ضعفنا وهناك ظواهر طفيفة وكثيرة تدل علي رفض الآخرين إيانا

كما ندفن آلامنا وكأنها معدومة ، وقد جعلنا تعودنا المتزايد هذا النوع من التخدير نخاف ونرتعد عندما لا نجد احداً او اي شئ يلهينا وبالمقابل نقترب اكثر من اكتشاف وحدتنا الانسانية المتأصلة فينا وذلك عندما لا يعد لنا مشروع ننجزه او صديق نزوره او كتاب نقرأه او عرض نشاهده او تسجيل نسمعه ففي هذه الحالات نلتجئ الي اي وسيلة لمزاولة اعمالنا ومتابعة لعبتنا السرية التي توهمنا بأن كل شئ علي ما يرام بالرغم من كل مشاعرنا

فكلما هربنا من وحدتنا وسعينا الي الهاء انفسنا من خلال المعاشرة وتجربة بعض الخبرات نكون غير واقعيين مع اوضاعنا البشرية الصعبة وقد يؤدي بنا هذا الهروب الي ان نصبح اناس كئيبين يعانون من حاجتهم العميقة التي لا تُشبع ويتألمون بسبب رغباتهم وتوقعاتهم التي لا تُحقق ابداً

عندما تفقد حياتنا طابعها الباطني الخاص تنحط محادثتنا مع الآخرين فتصبح مجرد ثرثرة ولهذا لا نلتقي الا نادراً شخصاً يمكنه ان يخبرنا شيئاً لم يقرأه في الجريدة او سمعه من جاره

وكما تفقد الكلمات قدرتها عندما لا تولد من الصمت كذلك يفقد الانفتاح معناه عندما تصبح امكانية الانغلاق معدومة

وعوضاً عن الهروب من وحدتنا ومحاولة نسيانها او تحاهلها علينا ان نحميها ونحولها الي وحدة مثمرة

ومع هذا فأن العزلة ذات القيمة هي عزلة القلب التي هي حقيقة سجية داخلية او موقف ضمني لا يعتمد علي الانفراد الجسدي

ونشعر احياناً كأن نصف العالم يطلب نصيحة النصف الآخر في حين يقبع الطرفان في الظلمة نفسها

عندما نحول وحدتنا ببطء الي خلوة عميقة نخلق فينا مساحة قيّمة حيث يمكننا ان نسمع الصوت الذي يخبرنا بما يدفعنا بإلحاح نحو ما نحن مدعوون اليه اذ لا نكون واقعيين ولا نتوصل الي اجابات نابعة منا الا اذا افسحنا المجال لأسئلتنا ومشاكلنا واهتمامتنا لتنضج وتُختبر في العزلة

اني اكتشفت في العزلة العميقة اللطف الذي يؤهلني لأحب حقاً اخوتي فكلما كنت اكثر انعزالاً كنت اشعر بحنان تجاههم اكبر


فليس من برية رحيبة وجميلة وقاحلة ومثمرة كتلك التي هي برية التعاطف والشعور بالاخرين

فالذين لا يهربون من اوجاعنا بل يلمسونها بتعاطف وشعور بالاخرين هؤلاء يأتون بالشفاء والقوة الجديدة فالمفارقة هنا ان اي بداية الشفاءتكمن في التضامن مع الالم

الصلاة هي تنفس الله فينا

الانتظار بتأن وترقب هو اساس الحياة الروحية

فالمرء بانتظاره الشخص المحب بصبر يكتشف كم سبق وملأ الحبيب حياته

في ما يخص الصلاة في عمقها لا بد لنا من ان نكون في حضرة الله صامتين وبلا نفع وفي اول الامر تكون غالباً اصواتنا الذاتية الباطنية جامحة ومدوية فنسمعها اكثر مما نسمع صوت الله ويصبح من الصعب تقبل صوت الله ونكتشف تدريجياً وببط شديد ان وقت الصمت يهدئنا ويعمق ادراكنا انفسنا والله وسرعان ما نصبح متحسرين علي الاوقات التي كنا محرومين فيها من الصمت

ان صلاة القلب غمرته بفرح كبير واكسبته بخبرة لا توصف عن حضور الله ومنذ ذلك الوقت لم يكن بوسعه الا ان يتكلم عن الله الساكن فيه اينما ذهب

عندما يمتلك الله قلبنا فان العالم بقواته لا يستطيع ان يسرقه منا وعندما يصبح الله سيد قلبنا فاننا نتغلب علي غربتنا في اساسها

وكلما اصبحت صلاتنا صلاة القلب احببنا اكثر وتالمنا اكثر وراينا مزيداً من النور والظلام والنعمة والخطيئة وراينا الله والبشرية بوضوح اكبر . اذ الحب والالم يتواجدان هناك معاً

Nouwen writes about the movements in the spiritual life from loneliness to solitude, from hostility to hospitality, and from illusion to prayer. Much to ponder. Three of my favorite quotes:

"The real spiritual guide is the one who, instead of advising us what to do or to whom to go, offers us a chance to stay alone and take the risk of entering into our own experience. He makes us see that pouring little bits of water on our dry land does not help, but we will find a living well if we reach deep enough under the surface of our complaints."

"The mystery of love is that it protects and respects the aloneness of the other and creates the free space where he can convert his loneliness into a solitude that can be shared."

"As long as we are lonely, we cannot be hospitable because as lonely people we cannot create free space. Our own need to still our inner cravings of loneliness makes us cling to others instead of creating space for them."

This is a book I have given to a friend who was sick and had to stay home for a month. She told me later on that she thought it was mean of me to let her read this book when she herself needed to be reached out. Of course she was judging the book by its cover. Surprisingly the book ministered to her in touching ways.

My favorite book of 2015! Reading this book was a transformative experience for me.

I was very thankful for this energizing & thought-provoking quick read. In an age of "me-centered" culture, Reaching Out was both challenging and refreshing. Nouwen pushed me to think differently about cultivating solitude rather than accepting loneliness... which is super relevant during an isolating pandemic! His chapters on hospitality did make me long for social gatherings but were inspiring too - to keep seeking out and serving others in creative ways.

4.5 Solitude over loneliness, hospitality over hostility, prayer over illusion—the three spiritual movements. A really lovely reflection in a very Nouwen manner. Worth returning to.

His note on the way sentimentality and violence often coexist really struck me. Our self-delusions are powerful and require our honest confrontation with the exile of our bodies. Only from that place of emptiness can we encounter space for God to reside.

I always appreciate Nouwen's writing. It is always inspiring and thoughtful.

I was so deeply influenced by this book that the moment I finished reading it, I promptly began it again. This has moved into my top ten of Christian books. Simply and profoundly written by one who has a profound love of and moment-by-moment walk with Jesus. Nouwen does not hide his struggles, but lets us learn from them and identify with them. This book feels as relevant today as when it was written - at moments, surprisingly so! How so much richness can be packed into such a little book blows me away. This is a new classic that I plan to reread at least once a year.

At once vague and specific, this book exists to draw out the tension between dichotomies and show that tension is exactly where positive spirituality exists. Nouwen kind of writes his book backwards from his thesis but it makes perfect sense given that he has to start simple to work towards the grander ideas. The last chapter deserved more attention from me than it got, but overall I found the book to be enlightening and while largely Christian there were aspects that encourages strong spirituality no matter what your religion. A bit trite I’m sure but I liked it. Kind of a warm blanket of a “theology” read.

1st book of 2020. Within it, a resolution (or, rather, three) that found me:

"In the midst of a turbulent, often chaotic, life we are called to reach out with