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Life is unfair. It often does not give us what we want. More often it does not give us what we deserve. There is too much death, betrayal and frustration. There is not enough love, happiness and hope. It is quite clear that the universe does not conform to the human moral agenda.
A just universe is also a meaningful universe. It is also a sane universe. An unjust world is a meaningless world. It is also a crazy world. Staying sane in a crazy world is not easy. It requires a special kind of human ingenuity and determination.
Sherwin Wine explores what it means to cope successfully with an unfair world. The first step is to dismiss illusions that hide the reality we must face. Being rational and realistic is not a cold response to life. It is tied to the passion for personal strength and dignity.
Wine develops the ten steps to sanity. These steps are answers to certain fundamental questions of life. What is happiness? What do I need to do to be happy? How do my fear, anger, love and guilt fit into my search for personal dignity? What does it mean to be ethical in a world that is less than ethical? How can I find the strength I need to cope with the problems of my life?
Staying Sane in a Crazy World is a fresh and somewhat outrageous new approach to the search for meaning in life. In an age when it is fashionable to give people answers that they want to hear but cannot use, Wine provides less fashionable -- but more effective -- answers to the fundamental issues of the human condition.
Sherwin Wine is the founder of Humanistic Judaism, a fifth alternative in Jewish life. He has been the rabbi of the Birmingham Temple in suburban Detroit for the past thirty-plus years. He is also the founder of the Center for New Thinking, a forum for the presentation of new ideas in the arts, sciences, and philosophy. As chief lecturer of the Center, he directs much of his attention to the issues of ethics and self-esteem. Other books written by Sherwin Wine include Judaism beyond God and Celebration.
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