Zen Penguins My most recent book again with talented wordsmith, Patrick Regan, is another in a series of five gift books we have collaborated on in the past 5 years. Each book takes about a year or two to produce. Finding a publishable concept, pitching this to our publishers, negotiating a contract, then the writing, photo selection and editing is a time consuming process. To add a educational element to these book, I have typically included detailed expanded captions to each image at the back of the book plus an essay on an environmental aspect of penguins.
The Blurb
It’s a long way from the Zen temples of the Himalaya to the barren icescapes of Antarctica, but as this little book discovers, the chubby flightless birds of the far south are true masters of the Zen way. Their life lessons bring a little lighthearted enlightenment to us all.
“The obstacle is the path.” “Live the life in front of you.” “Be Still. Stay Chill.” What better creature to teach us to live in the moment and be flexible and chill out (so we won’t flip out!) than the biped birds at the bottom of the earth? Penguins are intuitive, practical, and cooperative; they naturally know the art of keeping chill. Jonathan Chester’s renowned penguin photography whimsically illustrates the sage Zen wisdom presented here in every enlightened spread.
With their preternatural composure, it’s easy to imagine penguins as little Zen masters. They are patient, tolerant, aware of their surroundings, and live in the moment…all tenets of the Zen philosophy. A penguin’s life is not an easy life, and yet the Zen masters of the Antarctic waddle on. What can they teach us? As this little book shows, quite a lot actually.
“To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental, about both animals and us.”—Frans de Waal
Emily C.
I absolutely love this book and all the others like this – the sayings that go with the terrific photos are so fitting and its impossible not to smile. I gave it to my son on his 21st birthday. He loved it!