BIG BLOG
Breakfast with Buddha
BY JEFF REDMON/BREAKTHROUGH IMPACT GROUP
What is a daily ritual of yours?
One of my daily rituals is to maintain an empowering context. For me, that means being open to opportunities as they pop up. Over and over, I have said yes to some random opportunity and was pleasantly surprised. Breakfast with Buddha was just one of those opportunities I said yes to.
While getting an Uber ride to my car on a recent trip, the Uber driver suggested a book I might enjoy, Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo. While complete fiction this story draws you in, keeps your attention, and challenges some of our conventional midwestern practices.
Otto Ringling and his sister have lost their parents and Otto has traveled with his sister to drive back to North Dakota with a trailer to clean out the family farm. She refuses to go but wants her Monk to go in her place as she has decided to donate her half of the 2,000 acres to him for a retreat center.
Frustrated but game, Otto and the Monk make the journey, off the Interstates. The ever-skeptical Otto tries to westernize his passenger with a visit to a chocolate factory, a bowling alley, and a Cubs game. The Monk uses his quiet ways to teach Otto a thing or two.
With Merullo’s masterful prose, Otto tells the story with wonder, bemusement, and a wry sense of humor that teaches all of us we might not be as smart as we thought we were.
Fun story, easy read, and worth a few hours.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to work with someone the polar opposite of you? Comment below.