Book Review - I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk - Björn Natthiko Lindeblad
I’ve often wondered what it’s like to get 'the call’ - the desire to drop everything and take up a spiritual vocation. I have a cousin who did get the call to be a priest when he had already finished training to be an accountant. At the time I thought it might have been nice if he’d been asked before all those years of studying, but I appreciate it doesn’t work like that.
I often pass the ruins of a monastery when I’m out for a walk, and I wonder what it would have been like to live there four or five hundred years ago. Spending your days serving others and seeking your own spiritual salvation. I've sometimes wondered what it would be like to join a Buddhist monastery but the closest I ever got was going on a silent ten-day meditation retreat in an old boarding school in Kells, Co Meath. I enjoyed it, and it left me feeling renewed, but I didn't experience what I’d describe as a calling.
Forest Monk
In ‘I may be wrong’ Björn Natthiko Lindeblad does exactly that. After working as an economist, he gives up his promising career to spend 17 years as a forest monk in Thailand and in this book shares what he has learnt in that time. There’s plenty of humour in the initial stages as he talks about the problems he faces as a monk - he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
I liked how the book was structured. Chapters were often based on wisdom he had picked up along the way from his teachers, and he shared his understanding with us whilst talking about his own life experiences. I enjoyed the various parables that he's learned from his along the way, they illustrated how our lives aren't so different and we face many of the same problems.
What did he value the most?
‘What I value most from my seventeen years of full-time spiritual training is that I no longer believe my every thought.’
As someone who meditates, and continues to have an attachment to thought, this is something I can very much relate to. Meditation is loosening those bonds to make us realise - I am not my thoughts. We have no control over what pops into our minds, but we can control whether we believe them or not.
You’ll find yourself highlighting passages in this book, but I’m going to share some of what resonated with me. There’s a lot of wisdom on these pages and I often found myself reading just a couple at a time and then leaving it down for a bit to let it settle. It’s a relatively short book but there’s plenty to ponder.
I may be wrong
The title itself is based on a talk given by one of his teachers when he told the class he was going to give them a mantra. He said the next time you felt an argument starting, or a conflict brewing, repeat to yourself three times the magic words:
I may be wrong
I may be wrong
I may be wrong
Easier said than done, but the next time I’m in a ‘heated debate’ I’m going to try to remember this advice. I can see how humbling the words are, and how they can defeat the ego. Life doesn’t turn out the way we want it to and we are essentially clueless.
It starts with you
I found the chapter called ‘It starts with you’ particularly effective. Being compassionate towards ourselves is something we find hard to do. I know I do, and the below resonated with me.
‘What does it take for us to feel we deserve human warmth from ourselves? How good, beautiful, or successful do we have to become? How long do we have to atone for our tiny mistakes……it would do all of us good to bear in mind that we’re doing the best we can. Others are doing the best they can, too.’
Secular life
His calling to return to his secular life is just as strong as his initial feeling. I found it interesting how he took the lessons he learnt from his life as a monk back into 'everyday' life in Sweden. There's a period of readjustment, as you'd imagine, and I'm not going to say anything more on that.
I realise this book has been translated from Swedish, and a fine job they’ve done. But there’s one really clumsy simile in the book, when Björn is talking about his health problems and how he ‘fell asleep like a clubbed seal’. Goodness me, in a book about mindfulness, compassion, and the life of a forest monk, surely they could have found a better simile than that.
That's a minor criticism. There's a lot of wisdom and comfort throughout the book.
Humility
‘I was never promised a long life. We, humans, are like leaves on trees in that respect. Most leaves hold on until they're withered and brown. But some fall while they’re still green.’
'I may be wrong' is full of humility and grace, and his writing style is warm and engaging. The book is based on talks he has given, and you can tell from the conversational tone of the book. It's like he's sitting beside you.
It’s not a surprise that this book has become a bestseller. It has a quiet wisdom that has resonated with readers and I’m always delighted to see a book about meditation, mindfulness and compassion in the book charts.
I found this to be a beautiful and moving work. Björns own words sum up this book better than I can.
Thanks to Netgalley & Bloomsbury Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy.
