J. Ruth Gendler is an artist and teacher who possesses a keen imagination, a poetic sensitivity, and a playful spirit. On the acknowledgement page of this popular paperback she describes herself as a person who "wears orange socks, arranges her clothes by color in the closet, keeps the herbs in alphabetical order, and doesn't understand the separation between work and play."
The Book of Qualities is a classic in the growing field of books probing the emotions and the significant roles they have in our lives and experiences.
With immense skill and creativity, Gendler personifies over seventy emotions in the human repertoire.
We were pleased to discover the following qualities from our Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy: faith, compassion, beauty, imagination, forgiveness, devotion, and joy.
Let's shine a light on some others:
"Pleasure is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers. She loves the sun and the wind and the night sky. . . . As I have changed, Pleasure has changed. I have learned to value her friendship."
"When Intuition moved in, she washed all the windows, cleaned out the fireplace, planted fruit trees, and lit purple candles. . . . She doesn't have many possessions. Each thing is special. I wish you could see the way she arranged her treasures on the fireplace mantle."
"Beauty is startling. She wears a gold shawl in the summer and sells seven kinds of honey at the flea market. She is young and old at once, my daughter and my grandmother. . . . Beauty will dance with anyone who is brave enough to ask her."
"Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is quite small. He has a vivid imagination. He composes horror music in the middle of the night. . . . Speak out boldly, look hi in the eye, startle him. Don't give up. Win his respect, and he will never bother you with small matters."
The Book of Qualities is a key to unlocking the doorway into the inner world and mysteries of human emotions. There is an evergreen nature to this unique book that keeps it relevant to contemporary life even though it was first released in 1984!
