Eight Paths of Purpose by Tuvia Teldon has only 131 pages and yet, it took me a long time to read this book. In those 131 pages, the book is packed with some interesting observations about the purpose of life and death.
Eight Paths of Purpose
Everyone has bad luck and good luck. No one gets by in life unscathed. The book, Eight Paths of Purpose, helps the reader reflect back on his or her life and try to make sense out of things that happened and how they impacted the future.
How many times have you heard from friends or relatives that they had a horrible childhood? I hear that all the time. My reaction to that, “we all had bad things that happened to us, it’s the way we use those bad things to help us grow that counts.”
The author, Tuvia Teldon, who is a senior Rabbi on Long Island, feels that the more we connect to our purpose, the more “productive and happy our lives will be.”
The book explains the eight paths and then reiterates those paths throughout the book so that you can fully understand them.
Rabbi Teldon feels that the eight paths include:
- Make the world a better place
- Make the circumstances better
- Procreate
- Survival
- Treat the tests in life as being part of the purpose
- Have a purpose based attitude
- Use the experiences as an opportunity to bring positive change
- Connect to a higher power
About Rabbi Teldon
I don’t know Rabbi Teldon. I was introduced to him by a mutual friend. He sent me a copy of the book to review. The Rabbi’s eldest son was born with Cystic Fibrosis and had 13 years of life. After that, for emotional and spiritual support, he delved into the ancient wisdom of the Jewish Sages.
As a result of the tragedy, he and his wife endured, he felt his purpose was to teach all people about the powerful lessons and tools he learned regarding how purpose is formed.
My takeaways:
The book made me think. That’s probably why it took me so long to read it. I would pick it up, read a page or two and put it down. It’s that type of book. You can’t just read the whole thing in one sitting.
I started to think about my life growing up and the struggles that my parents faced. I started to think about my own struggles throughout life and the purpose of losing my mother at 72 and my sister at 59.
Even at work, every time I thought things were going well, we would get hit with a hardball that would set us back. So, trying to understand this, makes you think.
There were some miscellaneous things in the book that resonated with me. I also thought the Rabbi’s questions after many of the chapters were thought-provoking.
Eight Paths of Purpose by Tuvia Teldon is available on Amazon for $15.95. Here’s the link – https://www.amazon.com/Eight-Paths-Purpose-Tuvia-Teldon/dp/1977215807
