No, this is not a post about my new tea pot. If it were it would have to be something more like 300 cups of tea.

I’m still laying low today while also getting the last little Halloween details ironed out. I’m just popping in to give a quick book recommendation.

The book is “Three cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I received this book in an exchange with some friends and it has long since been passed on to the next person. But it has left a distinct impression on me. I’m going to let Wikipedia provide the details for me.

What I will say is this…it was a very inspirational book. Greg Mortenson is a former mountain climber who finds a calling in helping to build schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is the founder of the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization established to further this goal. I went into this book rather biased, against it. The whole idea of an American savior (and the westernization that usually ensues) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But that was not at all the impression that I got from this book. On the contrary, I came away with a feeling of hope. We hear so many people talking about how they don’t think that war is the answer, but that they don’t know what the answer is. I don’t either. This thought process seems to lead to a tacit or grudging acceptance of war and all of it’s atrocities. One over-whelming feeling that I came away with was that this, this is an answer! It may not be the (one and only) answer, but it’s a start. And if there is one answer, then surely, surely there must be more.

Whether you agree or disagree, the book is likely to provide you with a glimpse at a different perspective and will certainly provide a lot of food for thought.

Please see the Central Asia Institute’s website for more information on their projects.