

**Ishmael by Daniel Quinn ** Not exactly about religion but a turning point for me.
Ishmael is a half ton silverback gorilla. He is a student of ecology, life, freedom, and the human condition. He is also a teacher. He teaches that which all humans need to learn — must learn — if our species, and the rest of life on Earth as we know it, is to survive.
The book opens with a deceptively ordinary personals ad: “Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world.” Seeking a direction for his life, a young man answers the ad and is startled to find that the teacher is a lowland gorilla named Ishmael, a creature uniquely placed to vision anew the human story.
Being active is so important to your health. Take where you’re at and just build on it. One thing I always tell myself is that things won’t get better if I don’t act on it. Yeah, I want to loose 10 lbs so I’ll start exercising and eating less. Tomorrow. Nope, it’s got to start now. And give yourself some grace. Changing habits is hard and you will backslide. Don’t beat yourself up, just awknowledge the slip and say you’ll try to do better.