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Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation 1st Edition, Kindle Edition
by Parker J. Palmer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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PLEASE NOTE: Some recent copies of Let Your Life Speak included printing errors. These issues have been corrected, but if you purchased a defective copy between September and December 2019, please send proof of purchase to josseybasseducation@wiley.com to receive a replacement copy.
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Dear Friends: I'm sorry that after 20 years of happy traveling, Let Your Life Speak hit a big pothole involving printing errors that resulted in an unreadable book. But I'm very grateful to my publisher for moving quickly to see that people who received a defective copy have a way to receive a good copy without going through the return process. We're all doing everything we can to make things right, and I'm grateful for your patience. Thank you, Parker J. Palmer
With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.
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Product description
From the Inside Flap
"Is the life I am living the same as the life that wants to live in me?" With this searching question, Parker Palmer begins an insightful and moving meditation on finding one's true calling. Let Your Life Speak is an openhearted gift to anyone who seeks to live authentically.
The book's title is a time-honored Quaker admonition, usually taken to mean "Let the highest truths and values guide everything you do." But Palmer reinterprets those words, drawing on his own search for selfhood. "Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it," he writes, "listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.
"Vocation does not come from willfulness, no matter how noble one's intentions. It comes from listening to and accepting "true self" with its limits as well as its potentials. Sharing stories of frailty and strength, of darkness and light, Palmer shows that vocation is not a goal to be achieved but a gift to be received.
As we live more deeply into the selfhood that is our birthright gift, we find not only personal fulfillment. We find communion with others and ways of serving the world's deepest needs. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
From the Back Cover
A Compassionate and Compelling Meditation on Discovering Your Path in Life
With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.
"Parker Palmer's writing is like a high country stream-clear, vital, honest. If your life seems to be passing you by, or you cannot see the way ahead, immerse yourself in the wisdom of these pages and allow it to carry you toward a more attentive relationship with your deeper, truer self."--John S. Mogabgab, editor, Weavings Journal
"An exuberant and passionate book. I was deeply moved and I cannot, nor do I want to, shake off the haunting questions that it raises for me. This book penetrates the soul, and it will definitely stir you to explore more of your own inner territory. What an extraordinary achievement."--Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart; chairman, Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems--This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
PARKER J. PALMER holds a Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley. He is a founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage and Renewal, senior associate of the American Association for Higher Education, and senior advisor to the Fetzer Institute. In 1998, he was named one of the thirty most influential senior leaders in higher education. He is the author of the widely praised books The Courage to Teach and To Know As We Are Known. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Review
"Parker Palmer's writing is like a high country stream-clear, vital, honest. If your life seems to be passing you by, or you cannot see the way ahead, immerse yourself in the wisdom of these pages and allow it to carry you toward a more attentive relationship with your deeper, truer self." (John S. Mogabgab, editor, Weavings Journal)
"An exuberant and passionate book. I was deeply moved and I cannot, nor do I want to, shake off the haunting questions that it raises for me. This book penetrates the soul, and it will definitely stir you to explore more of your own inner territory. What an extraordinary achievement." (Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart; chairman, Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems)
"At a time when our culture is seeking a new language for expressing the spirit in everyday life, Parker Palmer is our leading voice of clarity and wisdom. In Let Your Life Speak, Palmer continues to deepen our ways of understanding the relationships between the inner life of spirit and the outer life of action." (Rob Lehman, president, The Fetzer Institute)
"In our search for authentic vocation, this book should be the starting point and deserves a prominent place in every home, school, and college. It is vintage Parker Palmer, providing his unique insight to the interconnectedness of selfhood and vocation with eloquence and personal experience." (Doug Orr, president, Warren Wilson College) --. --This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Publisher : Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (18 May 2009)
Print length : 128 pages
Parker J. Palmer
PARKER J. PALMER is a writer, teacher, and activist whose work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. Author of ten books—including several best-selling and award-winning titles—that have sold nearly two million copies, Palmer is the Founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. In 1998, the Leadership Project, a national survey of 10,000 educators, named him one of the 30 most influential senior leaders in higher education and one of the 10 key agenda-setters of the past decade. In 2010, he was given the William Rainey Harper Award (previously won by Margaret Mead, Marshall McLuhan, Paulo Freire, and Elie Wiesel). In 2011, the Utne Reader named him as one of "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.” In 2021, the Freedom of Spirit Fund, a UK-based foundation, gave him their "Lifetime Achievement Award” in honor of work that promotes and protects spiritual freedom. For 20-plus years, the Accrediting Commission for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has given annual Parker J. Palmer “Courage to Teach” and “Courage to Lead” Awards to directors of exemplary medical residency programs. "Living the Questions: Essays Inspired by the Work and Life of Parker J. Palmer," was published in 2005. Born and raised in the Chicago area, he has lived in NYC, Berkeley, CA, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, PA. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
JANUARY 10, 2019
LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK
BY PARKER J. PALMER
This is my second pass through Let Your Life Speak. Thank you Parker Palmer for the insights into the "voice of vocation." "Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening," writes Palmer." His contention: How we are to listen to our lives is a question worth exploring. This book will help you listen! It is a vocational must read!
Palmer is not going to give you an ABC or 123 step-by-step plan, but his insights into vocation are great road signs to point you in the right direction. Here are a number of my takeaways:
10 Takeaways:
1. The Hasidic tale of Zusya: In the coming world, they will not ask me: 'Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me: 'Why were you not Zusya?' (yourself). I never forgot that from my first reading years ago. We find our authentic callings by being who we are, not trying to be someone else. "Ask me whether what I have done is my life." So good.
2. The Clearness Committee: See pages 44ff, 92. Having participated in a Clearness Committee, I can testify this is a powerful practice. Sitting among a small group of trusted advisors who are prohibited from offering "fixes," but instead can 0nly ask probing questions to help the one seeking clarity come to their "inner truth."
3. Frederick Buechner's definition of Vocation: The place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need. From Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC, p. 119.
4. The heart of my vocation: Teaching is at the heart of his vocation and will manifest itself in any role he plays. I'm asking: "What is the at the heart of my vocation that will manifest itself in whatever I do?" I will discover, create, equip.
5. Vocation as something I can't not do. Vocation at its deepest level is, "This is something I can't not do, for reasons I'm unable to explain to anyone else and don't fully understand myself but that are nonetheless compelling." 25 "Our strongest gifts are usually those we are barely aware of possessing." 52
6. Truth through weakness. We are led to the truth of our vocation by our weaknesses as well as our strengths. I must "take an unblinking look at myself and my liabilities." 28 "There is as much guidance in what does not and cannot happen in my life as there is in what can and does -- maybe more." 39; -- Contrary to popular belief, you can't be anything you want (see 44ff). How do your limitations (nature:physical makeup, personality; context: place and season of life) help define and clarify vocation?
7. Burnout: "One sign that I am violating my own nature in the name of nobility is a condition called burnout." 49 That thought is worth a lot of thought!
8. Depression: Chapter 4, "All The Way Down" is very helpful for understanding depression, how to process it and how to help others in the midst of it. Depression became part of God's means to help Palmer determine vocation. Such helpful insights in these pages.
9. Leadership: "A leader is someone with the power to project either shadow or light onto some part of the world and onto the lives of the people who dwell there." 78 "Good leadership comes from people who have penetrated their own inner darkness and arrived at the place where we are at one with one another, people who can lead the rest of us to a place of 'hidden wholeness' because thy have been there and know the way." 81
10. Identity: Identity does not depend on the role we play or the power it gives us over others. It depends on the simple fact that we are children of God, valued in and for ourselves.
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Top reviews from Australia
Mike Riddell
5.0 out of 5 stars A cracking read!Reviewed in Australia on 6 June 2020
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Read this as part of a unit requirement at Bible College. For years I’d heard of Palmer’s influence on leaders who have positively influenced me. Now, after seeing firsthand the wisdom shared in this shirt book, I see why.
Highly recommend for those discerning their journey in life- where they’ve been and where they’re going.
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Andrew Pearce
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on vocation I have ever readReviewed in Australia on 11 September 2014
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Best book on vocation I have ever read. So honest and vulnerable. Shows how God uses every season of our lives.
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meditatecreate
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, heartful...a must readReviewed in Australia on 12 February 2018
Every time Parker comes out with a new book I get excited. He is a poet, and a treasure of our times. This book will inspire you and re-connect you with what really matters in life. It's an absolute must read!
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Dawne Kovan
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Wise and GentleReviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2015
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This is a delightful and insightful book. The warmth of the author's heart shines through his wise words. It was a revelation to me that our "Way" forward is revealed as much in the doors that close behind us as those that open in front of us. Like Dr Palmer, I have found that the doors that have shown me my own Way have always done so by closing behind me. The only issue for me is that the book isn't available as a regular book, but only as Used or on Kindle. I prefer my "work books" to be in paper rather than on screen. However, I give it 5 Stars anyway.
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Pippa
3.0 out of 5 stars MehReviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 June 2021
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This book seemed promising in the beginning, but ended up delivering little. Still, it contains some interesting points and take-aways.
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Jogger Jayne
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking readReviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2018
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Bought this preloved product. As described although an older hardback version it is in good condition & much cheaper. Palmer shares honestly his deep reflections on how he has journied through His life searching for his vocation. Helpful to anyone wrestling with find a purpose & meaning to their life.
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RevJen
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, gentle, honest, wiseReviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2017
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Wonderful book with deep wisdom and insights into the spiritual life and vocation. I wish I had read this book years ago before my own discernment process as it integrates so many questions of identity, calling, gifts and listening to the Inner Teacher that would have helped me along the way. But now in my 40s I find it just as inspiring as I consider where and what I am being called to now. I like all of Parker Palmer's books and his blog but so far this is my favorite. Very good.
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Sue Heatherington
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, life changing little bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2022
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I am profoundly grateful for the honesty and clarity with which Parker Palmer explores how to listen to your life.
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Parker Palmer Written by Brad Nelson
Let Your Life Speak Chapter 1-Listening to Life
Quotes to think about
“They remind me of moments when it is clear-if I have eyes to see-that the life I am living is not the same as the life that wants to live in me” [p. 2].
“I had simply found a “noble” way to live a life that was not my own, a life spent imitating heroes instead of listening to my heart” [p. 3].
“Before you tell
your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with
you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live
up to, let your life tell you what truths to embody, what values you represent”
[p. 3].
“There may be
moments in life when we are so unformed that we need to use values like an
exoskeleton to keep us from collapsing” [p. 4].
“Vocation, the
way I was seeking it, becomes an act of will, a grim determination that one’s
life will go this way or that whether it wants to or not” [p. 4].
“Vocation does
not come from willfulness…That insight is hidden in the word vocation itself,
which is rooted in the Latin for “voice.” Vocation does not mean a goal that I
pursue. It means a calling that I hear” [p.4].
“We have a
strange conceit in our culture that simply because we have said something, we
understand what it means!” [p. 6]
“Verbalizing is
not the only way our lives speak, of course. They speak through our actions and
reactions, our intuitions and instincts, our feelings and bodily states of
being, perhaps more profoundly than through our words” [p. 6].
“My life is not
only about my strengths and virtues; it is also about my liabilities and my
limits, my trespasses and my shadow” [p. 6].
Questions for
Reflection
During which
moments/activities do you feel most alive?
What are your
feelings about someone doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
In what ways do
you hear from God?
What kinds of
things most drain you? Stress you?
What activities
give you the space to reflect on what is going on inside you? How often do you
do them?
Consider the
aphorism “Your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness.” What is
the connection between your strengths and your limits?
Suggested Activity
Pray through St.
Ignatius’ Prayer of Examen.
See www.marshill.org/groups/hc/ Select the link titled Prayer of Examen in the Practices section.
Parker Palmer Let Your Life
Speak Chapter 2-Now I Become Myself
Quotes to think about
“What a long
time it can take to become the person one has always been. How often in the
process we mask ourselves in faces that are not our own” [p. 9].
“We ourselves,
driven by fear, too often betray true self to gain the approval of others” [p.
12].
“But inspected
through the lens of paradox, my desire to become an aviator and an advertiser
contain clues to the core of true self…clues, by definition, are coded and must
be deciphered” [p. 13].
“If you seek
vocation without understanding the material you are working with, what you
build with your life will be ungainly and may well put lives in peril, your own
and some of those around you” [p. 16].
“In the
tradition of pilgrimage…hardships are seen not as accidental but as integral to
the journey itself” [p. 18].
“I saw that as
an organizer I had never stopped being a teacher-I was simply teaching in a
classroom without walls. Make me a cleric or a CEO, a poet or a politico, and
teaching is what I will do” [p. 21].
“People like me
are raised to live autonomously, not interdependently. I had been trained to
compete and win, and I had developed a taste for the prizes” [p. 22].
“Because I could
not acknowledge my fear, I had to disguise it as the white horse of judgment
and self-righteousness” [p. 28].
“Self care is
never a selfish act-it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the
gift I was put on the earth to offer to others” [p. 30].
“They decide no
longer to act on the outside in a way that contradicts some truth about
themselves that they hold deeply on the inside” [p. 32].
“Some journeys
are direct, and some are circuitous; some are heroic, and some are fearful and
muddled. But every journey, honestly undertaken, stands a chance of taking us
toward the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need” [p. 36].
Questions for reflection
What role does
gaining the approval of others play in how you live your life?
As Palmer
recalls his childhood, he is able to uncover clues to his true self. Parents,
siblings, and even spouses are great sources of information to find out what
you were like when you were younger.
What were your
childhood fascinations? Were you an artist? Were you building forts in the
woods? What sorts of things held your attention?
Are there
connections between the things that fascinated you then and the life that you
want to live now?
Half-truths go
hand in hand with fear. In our fear, it is much easier to look at another
person, institution, or situation and point out shortcomings than it is to look
at our own. Fear may motivate us to do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
What are some of
the fears that “trigger” you to lash out at others?
Palmer says that
“self care is good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift that I was
placed on earth to offer others.” He goes on to say that a lack of self care
hurts not only the individual but others as well.
What does “self
care” look like for you? What restores you?
What are the
things in your life that make your soul tired?
Who are the
Martin Luther King Jr.’s, the Rosa Parks’, and Gandhis: of your life? Who are
the people that you admire so much that you seek to model aspects of your life
after them? Why these people?
Learning who you
are doesn’t simply mean learning your strengths but also your limitations. “Who
are you?” is a very broad and difficult question to answer. I may not be able
to tell you “who I am,” but I’ve got a list of stories to tell you who I am
not!
Finish the
sentence “I could never_____ it’s just not me.”
Suggested Activity
Palmer says that
“clues are coded and must be deciphered.” Turn a blank sheet of paper on its
side and draw a straight line from the left side to the right side. The line
will serve as a chronological timeline of your life from birth until now. Place
significant experiences and events that have shaped who you are today on the
timeline. Examples: family of origin,
deaths, births, school and work experiences, relationships, spiritual journey,
great moments of joy, or great moments of sadness.
Take time to
share with one another about what is on your timeline and why it is
significant.
Parker Palmer Let Your Life
Speak Chapter 3-When Way Closes
Quotes to think about
“There is as
much guidance in what does not and cannot happen in my life as there is in what
can and does-maybe more” [p. 39].
“If you are like
me and don’t readily admit your limits, embarrassment may be the only way to
get your attention” [p. 42].
“As Americans…we
resist the very idea of limits, regarding limits of all sorts as temporary and
regrettable impositions on our lives…We refuse to take no for an answer” [p.
42].
“When I
consistently refuse to take no for an answer, I miss the vital clues to my
identity that arise when way closes-and I am more likely both to exceed my
limits and to do harm to others in the process” [p. 43].
“There are some
roles and relationships in which we thrive and others in which we wither and
die” [p. 44].
“It took me a
long time to understand that although everyone needs to be loved, I cannot be
the source of that gift to everyone who asks me for it” [p. 48].
“When I give
something I do not possess, I give a false and dangerous gift, a gift that
looks like love but is, in reality, loveless-a gift given more from my need to
prove myself than from the other’s need to be cared for” [p. 48].
“Our strongest
gifts are usually those we are barely aware of possessing. They are a part of
our God given nature, with us from the moment we drew first breath, and we are
no more conscious of having them than we are of breathing”
[p. 52].
“Limitations and
liabilities are the flip side of our gifts…a particular weakness is the
inevitable trade-off for a particular strength. We will become better teachers
not by trying to fill the potholes in our souls but by knowing them so well
that we can avoid falling into them” [p. 52].
“If we are to
live our lives fully and well, we must learn to embrace the opposites, to live
in a creative tension between our limits and our potentials. We must honor our
limitations in ways that do not distort our nature, and we must trust and use
our gifts in ways that fulfill the potentials God gave us” [p. 55].
Questions for reflection
Can you identify
a moment in your life when God used a “closed door” instead of an “open door”
to guide your life in the direction it needed to go? Discuss your experience.
Palmer says that
embarrassment is sometimes the only way we become aware of our limitations.
Identify and discuss an embarrassing moment that helped you become aware of
your limitations.
How does humor
get used to avoid dealing with our shortcomings?
In American
culture, weaknesses and limitations are often viewed as things that need to be
turned into strengths. Palmer seems to argue that in trying to turn our
weaknesses into strengths we become something that we are not and end up living
outside of ourselves. How does the idea that weaknesses should be identified
and honored rather than turned into strengths strike you?
If our strongest
gifts are usually the ones that we are most unaware of, what types of things do
people tell you are your strengths that you feel unaware of?
Suggested Activity
Identify and
write down two recent moments in your life. 1. A moment when things went so
well that you felt confident that you were born to do whatever you were doing
at the time. 2. A moment when something went so poorly that you never wanted to
repeat the experience again.
Break into
groups of two or three people and share these moments. In the groups, begin by
helping one another see the strengths that made the great moment possible.
After doing that, reflect with one another about the moment that went poorly.
Instead of offering critiques, think about the strengths discussed in the first
moment. Knowing that our strengths and weaknesses are often opposites, help
each other identify if there is a connection between the strength of the first
moment and the weakness of the second moment. How are they two sides of the
same coin?
When everyone
has finished gather back together as one group and discuss what you discovered.
Parker Palmer Let Your Life
Speak Chapter 4: All the Way Down
*Before your
discussion of chapter 4, it is very important to lay a framework for your
discussion. Anytime people are discussing their brokenness, it must be done in
a place of safety and confidentiality. Ask the group to be attentive to not try
to “fix” one another as you interact. If you sense this beginning to happen,
remind everyone that you are not trying to fix one another but to help one
another hear. Also, be sure to communicate how important it is that what is
discussed remains confidential.
Quotes to think about
“I had no choice
but to write about my own deepest wound…I rarely spoke to him about my own
darkness; even in his gracious presence, I felt too ashamed” [p.
57].
“Second,
depression demands that we reject simplistic answers, both “religious” and
“scientific,” and learn to embrace mystery, something our culture resists” [p.
60].
“I do not like
to speak ungratefully of my visitors. They all meant well, and they were among
the few who did not avoid me altogether” [p. 61].
“Depression is
the ultimate state of disconnection, not just between people but between one’s
mind and one’s feelings. To be reminded of that disconnection only deepened my
despair” [p. 62].
“I heard nothing
beyond their opening words, because I knew they were peddling a falsehood: no
one can fully experience another person’s mystery” [p. 62].
“One of the
hardest things we must do sometimes is to be present to another person’s pain
without trying to “fix” it, to simply stand respectfully at the edge of that
person’s mystery and misery” [p. 63].
“Functional
atheism-saying pious words about God’s presence in our lives but believing, on
the contrary, that nothing good is going to happen unless we make it happen”
[p. 64].
“First, I had
been trained as an intellectual not only to think-an activity I greatly
value-but also to live largely in my head…” [p. 67].
“I had to be
forced underground before I could understand that the way to God is not up but
down” [p. 69].
“One of the most
painful discoveries I made in the midst of the dark woods of depression was
that a part of me wanted to stay depressed. As long as I clung to this living
death, life became easier; little was expected of me, certainly not serving
others” [p. 71].
Questions for reflection
Identifying our
wounds is a critical part of the inward journey. Think back to the timeline you
drew in the Chapter 2 activity. What are the wounds you have suffered?
In what ways
does shame cause you to hide who you are from others?
Discuss the
following statement: Sometimes not having answers to some of life’s questions
can be comforting. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Do you feel it
is important to “show up” when others experience hardship or tragedy? Why or
why not?
Discuss Palmer’s
suggestion that no one can fully experience another person’s mystery and
misery.
How is the
phrase “I know exactly how you feel” a positive statement between two people?
How is it a negative statement?
How do you see
“functional atheism” in the world around you? In your life?
What does “the
way to God is down” mean to you?
Palmer says
“part of me wanted to stay depressed.” Why do you think we hold onto our pain
despite the fact that we want it to stop?
Suggested Activity
Have someone
read Job 2:9-13.
What can we
learn about how Job’s friends respond in these few verses?
Read Job 4:8 and
then Job 13:5.
What is Eliphaz
suggesting about Job in 4:8? What can be learned from Job’s response in 13:5?
Parker Palmer Let Your Life
Speak Chapter 5-Leading from Within
Quotes to think about
“I lead by word
and deed simply because I am here doing what I do. If you are also here, doing
what you do, then you also exercise leadership of some sort” [p.
74].
“Why must we go
in and down? Because as we do so, we will meet the darkness that we carry
within ourselves-the ultimate shadows that we project onto other people. If we
do not understand that the enemy is within, we will find a thousand ways of
making someone “out there” into the enemy, becoming leaders who oppress rather
than liberate others” [p. 80].
“But why would
anybody want to take a journey of that sort, with its multiple difficulties and
dangers? Everything in us cries out against it-which is why we externalize
everything. It is so much easier to deal with the external world, to spend our
lives manipulating materials and institutions and other people instead of
dealing with our own souls” [p. 82].
“Why would
anyone want to embark on the daunting inner journey about which Annie Dillard
writes? Because there is no way out of one’s inner life, so one had better get
into it. On the inward and downward spiritual journey, the only way out is in
and through” [p. 85].
“But
extroversion sometimes develops as a way to cope with self-doubt: we plunge
into external activity to prove that we are worthy-or simply to evade the
question” [p. 86].
“the knowledge
that identity does not depend on the role w e play or the power it gives us
over others. It depends only on the simple fact that we are children of God,
valued in and for ourselves” [p. 87].
“A few people
found ways to be present to me without violating my soul’s integrity. Because
they were not driven by their own fears, the fears that lead us either to “fix”
or abandon each other…” [p. 93].
Questions for reflection
Palmer suggests
that anyone who is alive is a leader. He broadens the typical definition of
leadership to include things like family dynamics and relationships. Discuss
your thoughts on this.
What monsters do
you need to “ride all the way down?” What might that look like?
What activities
have you been part of in order to prove your worth or value?
Palmer finishes
the chapter by saying that it is
possible for communities to be with one another in a
way that is safe and honoring. What do you think makes communities feel unsafe?
We are meant to
support and journey with one another. What alternatives are there for
journeying together beyond “fixing or abandoning?”
Suggested Activity
Read Matthew
15:2,10, and 11.
Have someone
wrap an empty box as you would a birthday or Christmas gift. Decorate the
exterior with ribbons, bows, and other gift decorations. Set the gift in the
middle of the room and ask people to make observations about the wrapping: What
can we tell about the person who wrapped the box based on the wrapping? After
several minutes of observation, have someone open the gift to reveal the empty
box. Jesus observes that the Pharisees are so concerned with the exterior that
they neglect what is inside. How is this true in our lives?
Parker Palmer Let Your Life
Speak Chapter 6-There Is a Season
Quotes to think about
“Animated by the
imagination, one of the most vital powers we possess, our metaphors often
become reality, transmuting themselves from language into the living of our
lives” [p. 96].
“We do not
believe that we “grow” our lives-we believe that we “make” them” [p.
97].
“We are here not
only to transform the world but also to be transformed” [p. 97].
“In my own
experience of autumn, I am rarely aware that seeds are being planted” [p. 98].
“In retrospect,
I can see in my own life what I could not see at the time-how the job I lost
helped me find work I needed to do, how the “road closed” sign turned me toward
terrain I needed to travel, how losses that felt irredeemable forced me to
discern meanings I needed to know” [p. 99].
“There is in all
visible things…a hidden wholeness” [p. 99].
“Until we enter
boldly into the fears we most want to avoid, those fears will dominate our
lives” [p. 103].
“If you receive
a gift, you keep it alive not by clinging to it but by passing it along…If we
want to save our lives, we cannot cling to them but must spend them with
abandon” [p. 105].
“Authentic abundance
does not lie in secured stockpiles of food or cash or influence or affection
but in belonging to a community where we can give those goods to others who
need them-and receive them from others when we are in need” [p. 108].
“Community
doesn’t just create abundance-community is abundance. If we could learn that
equation from the world of nature, the human world might be transformed” [p.
108].
Questions for reflection
What season do
you feel that you are currently in? Why?
In your mind,
what is the weirdest most obscure animal in all of God’s good creation? Why do
you suppose God is so detailed and extravagant with his creation?
What things
contribute to the loss of imagination?
In what ways do
you “make your life” rather than listen for what God desires to make of your
life?
God asks that
his people join him in redeeming and restoring the world. How are you joining
God to redeem and restore the world? Remember that God is about details and
extravagance. We can sometimes feel that the way we join God is small and
insignificant compared to the way others do. But it isn’t. God created you to
be a gift to Him and to the world and you have something to offer. What is it?
How is this
process transforming you?
The way of
Jesus, which is the way of the cross, compels us to use our freedom and
abundance for the benefit of others. What does it look like for you to live for
the benefit of others?
What does it
look like for your community?
Suggested Activity
After discussing
what it might look like for your community to live for the benefit of others,
finish by holding hands in a circle and reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
[Matthew
6:9-13].
