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In Joyce Shafer's book "I Don't Want to be Your Guru," readers are invited to contemplate life's mysteries through a conversation between two strangers at a diner. The narrative focuses on Bill and AJ, who chat over apple pie about how they view themselves and how they fit into the world around them. "I Don't Want to be Your Guru" explores both abstract questions about existence, and mundane thoughts on everyday life, but does not point readers to any particular answers. Shafer says the premise of her book is to inspire individual consideration, rather than to preach or direct. "We're not homogeneous, nor will we ever be, but we can determine what is appropriate for us to become our best selves," Shafer says. "Incongruity appears when we believe there should be only one way and that everyone should agree on it. That's unrealistic when we consider nearly 7 billion individuals are having individual experiences on the planet at one time."
I Don't Want to be Your Guru, but I Have Something to Say (New Edition)
Joyce Shafer
Lulu.com (2007)
ISBN 9781430314110
Reviewed by Narissa Johnson for Reader Views (6/07)
“I Don't Want to be Your Guru, but I have Something to Say” is Joyce Shafer's gift to me. This book, short and easy-to-read, makes me realize that other books, sharing wisdom that I have read, were merely building up to this book. The book could be read in one afternoon, but why would you want to? I took my time reading this book and intentionally did not mark in it, highlight or flag any part of it. I want to read it again before I really pull the lessons out of the text.
Through an easy going conversation in a cafe, lessons about how we view ourselves and the world around us are shared between two people. Each lesson is one which I want to savor – like a delectable amuses-bouche. An amuses-bouche is bite-sized morsel served before the first course of a meal. And its intent is to tantalize (or amuse) the mouth and indeed tease the diner with what the chef has prepared for the following courses. “I Don't Want to be Your Guru” serves up an array of amuses-bouche – each lesson teasing me with the possibility of how my life could be altered, bettered, lifted by integrating these lessons into it.
In “I Don’t Want to be Your Guru,” the loose story which surrounds these lessons is a young woman named AJ (though I suppose it could be a man, but as I am a woman I suspect Ms. Shafer intended me to view AJ as a woman) who is returning to the site where she had this life-changing conversation with Old Bill. She is returning ten years after the conversation – and I suspect that of everything she learned in her conversation with this “guru,” it could take ten years to really integrate and reflect on these lessons as part of your everyday life. And I, for one, can't wait to get started!
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