Reviewer says: Moore Gently Gardens through our Soul

The Literary Addict - Compulsively Experiencing Words

While browsing for reviews of Thomas Moore's "A Life at Work", I believe that I discovered one that Barque: Thomas Moore does not have. The review seemed to be life offering an answer to my emotional comment on Opus Day 2, Living Creatively. The author of Reading Thomas Moore's "A Life at Work", her entry of March 9, 2008, is Lorette Luzajic. Luzajic is, herself, a published author of The Astronaut’s Wife – Poems of Eros and Thanatos, a collection of poetry. She quotes Moore's comment concerning her poetry on her website. Moore said, "Your book of poems is wonderful. I like the style very much. Imaginative, witty, blessedly free of normal logic, surprising, profound, very human, touching, sassy. I like them and thank you for sending them. Looking forward to the next book.”

After beginning with a quotation that I haven't read in the book yet, about the Icarus syndrome, she writes,
"Moore points out the glory of thinkers like Icarus: “…the spirit of Eternal Youth may give rise to idealism, inventiveness, enthusiasm, and a strong urge to be creative.” But the pitfalls are there to smash us mid-flight: “On the negative side, it is often unrealistic and wishful. At its core there often sits a smoldering narcissism- excessive self-regard, extreme self-consciousness….(he) thinks up one project after another and rarely completes any of them.” Later, although acknowledging hurt, she writes,
"While this Icarus spirit seems like an uncommitted madman, my narcissism glows after the above bruising when Moore points out, “Out of all the visionary hopes and dreams may come brilliant ideas. The lives of inventors and artists are full of the struggle to get their novel ideas grounded in real life. A youthful spirit keeps you young and flexible. It may also be the basis of a fervent spirituality…”

After talking about other teachers that she has besides Moore, including her father, she returns to Moore and his treatment of alchemy:
"Moore always finds a way to bring in some of his favourite topics like alchemy, and he illustrates how we mix and temper our past experiences, good and bad, with our hopes for future possibilities. He shows us how to come to terms with our work past- from the mundane to the once glorious and failed. He shows us how to remain open to the opus we may not yet see patterning in our lives. He doesn’t say a word about how to make a resume or impress a corporation we’re hoping to move into. Instead, he gently gardens through our soul and reminds us that whatever we have planted or grown or lost, our life is not over yet."