This is one of those books that doesn’t try to prove anything, doesn’t preach, and doesn’t teach explicitly — and yet it says more about life than many spiritual treatises ever do. Before the Summer Comes touches on exactly the same themes that spirituality speaks about: impermanence, transience, the illusion of control, attachment, loss, and presence. What’s striking is that Remarque was not a spiritual teacher. There is no evidence that he studied Buddhism, Zen, or any formal spiritual system. And yet… he discovered all of this on his own, directly through life. And that is what makes this book so powerful. These truths are never explained outright. They live inside the characters — in their choices, reactions, dialogues, and silences. Remarque places them in the mouths of his characters so naturally that the reader begins to notice them without ever feeling guided or instructed. This is a book from which a great deal can be discovered, if one reads attentively. The story carries itself — without cheap tricks or grand gestures. The meanings emerge along the way, sometimes only after the book has been closed. For anyone curious about spirituality, the inner path, or simply wanting to see life as it truly is — without illusion and without escape — Before the Summer Comes is absolutely worth reading. A quiet, deep, and honest book.

If a fairy or a genie came to me and offered me three wishes, I would say that I want to live in constant enlightenment, have the strength of a titan whenever I want it, and not need food or water to survive. And you?

Feel like I’m currently wavering between the person recognising and focusing on awareness and being that awareness. In meditation after a certain point I perceive things from the perspective of being the awareness and insights just come; but in day to day life like working, kids, family, sport, dealing with things etc I’m still the person trying to focus on and stay with the awareness as I’m doing. Any tips for tipping the scales towards the recognition of being awareness?