As we count down the days to the onset of 2024 with less than two weeks leading up to the new year, the annual ritual of introspection and resolution-making is upon us. It’s that time when the events of the past year play back in our minds like an evocative trailer, prompting us to reflect and set intentions for the year ahead.
However, the reflections this year bear a weightier significance. 2023 has witnessed an endless stream of destruction, horrifying injustices, and an immense loss of life. As a result, a collective awakening seems to be upon us, where people are finally starting to wake up, and acknowledge that changes are to be made— a change that is needed to head into 2024 and beyond.
While self-improvement should always be a resolution on top of every list, this year, we should all consider making an active effort to engage in collective, love, care, and compassion. As This Here Flesh writer Cole Arthur Riley once said, “If your spirituality is a self-improvement plan, emptied of collective care and advocacy for the oppressed, you can rightfully be suspicious of it. We dont get free alone.”
With that being said, MILLE has compiled a list of books that could change the way you view yourself and the world. From books that address the topic that should never stop being on anyone’s mind (Palestine) and books that aim to shape our spiritual understandings and collective awakenings to teaching us about what it actually means to love, below, four books that will change your life for the better.
‘The Question of Palestine’ by Edward W.Said
Among the first books to raise Palestine as a serious topic of debate, The Question of Palestine remains relevant as ever today. Edward W. Said traces the fatal collision between two peoples in the Middle East and its repercussions in the lives of both the occupier and the occupied– as well as in the conscience of the West.
‘The Creative Way of Being’ by Rick Rubin
One of the biggest producers, and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Rick Rubin, takes readers through what it means to be truly creative, exploring the boundless possibilities that await us when we embrace our inner artists. For anyone with a creative block, this is a great place to start.
‘Secrets of Divine Love’ by A. Helwa
Secrets of Divine Love draws upon the spiritual secrets of the Qu’ran, mystical poetry, and stories from the world’s greatest prophets and spiritual masters to help you reignite your faith, overcome your doubts and deepen your connection with God.
‘All About Love’ by Bell Hooks
Bell Hooks offers radical new ways to think about love by showing its interconnectedness in our private and public lives. The author offers a rethinking of self-love (without narcissism) that will bring peace and compassion to our personal and professional lives, and asserts the place of love to end struggles between individuals, in communities, and among societies.
Photo: Bell Hooks
