The Echo Within: Finding Your True Calling

by Robert Benson

Book Overview

"I can remember the words people said that meant so much to me and my own sense of who I was and who I might become.... You know you have heard such a sentence when you hear inside a corresponding... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400074347
• ISBN13: 9781400074341
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful book about finding your purpose

The Echo Within by Robert Benson is a lyrical and thoughtful look at the quest to find your calling in life. Benson is a colorful character who lived a full life before finally discovering and acknowledging the calling God had placed within him to be a writer. Through short, yet powerful essays, Benson takes the reader through his own journey to peace while planting seeds for thought for the reader's own quest. The echo within is the voice that resonates inside each of us about what God has put us on earth to do. It's the thing we get excited about, that moves us, and that when we find brings a deep sense of peace and purpose. Because Benson is a writer, he tends to focus on writing, and because writing is my own dream, I found much to relate to within the pages. The reader is left with the impression of a man who is deeply in love with God, and who revels in the fact that God is just as deeply in love with him. His message is one of encouragement for everyone to find that kind of peace and love by listening to the echo within each of us. It's beautifully written with a touch of whimsy.

I hear it too...

I'm so glad I got to review this book. Len Sweet commented on it in an endorsement saying, "In this so beautiful book, Robert Benson provides the sky in which your soul can soar. You can fly." He says it much more poetically than I could, but the end result is the same; this is a wonderful and beautiful book. I'm sure I will be processing it for some time. There are so many profound "one line" thoughts...that capture the essence of a lifetime of experience and conversation. Over and over, with each turn of the page, my heart was resonating with affirmation, agreement, and understanding of the words that I read. I realize this is the goal of the poet-writer, to elicit this type of response, but I also know this is not a gimmick for this book. The Echo Within is real. The Whisperer and the Voice is real; I have heard it and I am following it even now as I write this review. I enjoyed the casual and friendly writing style of Benson. Coincidentally, I recently had ordered and received another book by Robert Benson. I have yet to read the book, In Constant Prayer (Part of the Ancient Practices Series Edited by Phyllis Tickle), but it is on my bookshelf having recently arrived just a couple weeks before the opportunity to review The Echo Within presented itself. It is interesting to me that this sequence of events has unraveled in the context of the story of finding one's calling and life vocation. Interesting indeed. There are wonderful nuggets throughout the book that were bonuses for me. I loved the excerpts and quotations from Thomas Merton, Annie Dillard, and Robert Mulholland in particular. I was also introduced to the Academy for Spiritual Formation (I was unaware this organization existed prior to reading The Echo Within). I have no doubt that I'll be sharing other words influenced by this book in my journal and on my blog; still lots to be unraveled in my head and heart from this read.

Beautiful, Poetic, Enriching & Entertaining

This little book is packed-full of wisdom and beauty. Robert Benson masterfully and poetically describes the journey of discovery... of finding your true calling. He shares openly and honestly from his life the many lessons learned in becoming the man God spoke into being. I enjoyed The Echo Within immensely. I found it to be entertaining, thought-provoking and enriching. You will benefit from this book... read it as a devotional for a month or just devour it in one sitting.

"The Echo Within"

I had the privilege to review this book and participate in a "blog tour" this week. When I first read the description of this book, I thought of my friend Adam who has been struggling with what God is calling him to do. I gave him my extra copy and I hope when he reads it, he is able to find some words of wisdom. For me, I know that at times in my life I have struggled with whether it's my voice or God's voice that I'm hearing. I think the author explains this in a great way. "There is within each of us an echo of the Voice of the One Who whispered us into being. We must listen for that echo and to that echo; we must listen fiercely and faithfully and fearlessly. Within the echo of the Voice that spoke us into being is the sound of our own true voice." "The fact that the Voice that calls to us often sounds like our own is not something to be mistrusted or feared. It is a sign of how close God is to us." Throughout the book it uses examples in the author's life where he had to wait,listen,know,live,choose,be and even dream to figure out his path in becoming a writer. No one can tell you if you are going the right path...only you will know that. There are signs that make it a little less murky and he shares those in each of the chapters. The author describes himself as an introvert and I think I connected to his thoughts because of that. I have a difficult time with change and I like my "ducks in a row". The following quote describes what I feel to a T: " Sometimes what we want is to be allowed to hunker down in the life we are living, or are hoping to live, or are constructing for ourselves. Without any upset, without any change in plans, without any of our ducks being disturbed. But sometimes when we say yes to some new thing that seems to be calling to us from the echo within, then we may as well be prepared to head for God knows where after that. And to head there with God knows who as well." This is a small book which can be easily read in a day but it is something that I think you will refer back to and chew on for longer.

A Very Neat Book

I think most of us have struggled with understanding God's plan for our lives. We've listened for that still small voice, only to end up wondering if it was really God speaking, or if we were just trying to convince ourselves to do what we wanted to do. The Echo within is about hearing that voice and recognizing it. It's also about discovering ourselves, learning what we were created to do. The Echo Within isn't an instruction book with a list of things to do. It's about one man's journey to understanding himself and finding his calling. As Robert Benson points out, he can't tell us how to live our stories, he can only live out his own. This book caused me to review my own life story, pitfalls, detours, and all. I ended up with a better understanding of who I really am and how I got to be this way. I'd like to sit down with Robert Benson over a cup of tea or coffe, and just talk. I'm sure it would be a very enjoyable experience This book has a special spot in my bookshelves and I have a feeling I'll refer to it more than once. Recommended