Forgive the book its pretentious, silly name. Otherwise, it's a gem.
Which is exactly the point of Eckhart Tolle's superb new picture book, Guardians of Being, packed with hilarious, big-hearted art by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the comic Mutts. Tolle rocketed to fame with a little help from Oprah and his two self-help, philosophical books that climbed the bestseller list and never came down, The Power of Now and A New Earth.
In Tolle's spiritual teachings, animals live in the present moment. He asserts that the "vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn't been fully recognized. They keep millions of people sane." Haven't you always suspected that, really? According to Tolle, when I pet my cat, I'm participating in his "nowness," that my grumpy, comical, bossy feline friend is constantly teaching me and healing me, attuned to the moment, living effortlessly in the now. Proving this point are McDonnell's illustrations that are pure genius, achingly touching and quietly goofy and unpretentiously wise.
Your guides through the picture book, illustrating Tolle's philosophical vision, include big-mustached Ozzie and his adoring mutt, Earl. They don't need a leash because the two are connected at the heart. In fact, Ozzie and Earl can both deliver the same command to each other, "Heal!" and mean entirely different things.
As I finish the book, shaken and strangely emotional, deeply touched by Tolle and McDonnell's blatant, undisguised passion for their pets and their powerful vision of the role of animals in our spiritual and mental lives, I look down at the furry creature curled up in my lap, my own personal little Zen master. I'm weeping. He's sleeping.--Nick DiMartino
Shelf Talker: A gem of a book about the role animals have in our spiritual and mental lives.