Synopses & Reviews
Engage the Spirit and Truth of the Active Life
What spiritual sources can we draw on to receive guidance for-and from-our lives in the world of action?
The Active Life is Parker J. Palmer's deep and graceful exploration of a spirituality for the busy, sometimes frenetic lives many of us lead. Telling evocative stories from a variety of religious traditions, including Taoist, Jewish, and Christian, Palmer shows that the spiritual life does not mean abandoning the world but engaging it more deeply through life-giving action. He celebrates both the problems and potentials of the active life, revealing how much they have to teach us about ourselves, the world, and God.
Synopsis
In this reissue of a 1990 book that was ahead of its time, Palmer shares his own search for a spirituality that celebrates the active life, rather than making it seem second-best to a life of contemplation.
Drawing upon evocative stories from several religious traditions, Palmer celebrates the exuberance and unpredictability of the active life. He also frankly names its many temptations: the desire to prove ourselves, to be powerful, to dazzle others, to settle for quick fixes, to allow our sense of inadequacy to prevent us from acting. But the path to wholeness, he argues, lies as much in our failures as our successes, and in the compassion they teach us.
Synopsis
The Active Life is Parker J. Palmer's deep and graceful exploration of a spirituality for the busy, sometimes frenetic lives many of us lead. Telling evocative stories from a variety of religious traditions, including Taoist, Jewish, and Christian, Palmer shows that the spiritual life does not mean abandoning the world but engaging it more deeply through life-giving action. He celebrates both the problems and potentials of the active life, revealing how much they have to teach us about ourselves, the world, and God.
Synopsis
Engage the Spirit and Truth of the Active LifeWhat spiritual sources can we draw on to receive guidance for-and from-our lives in the world of action?The Active Life is Parker J. Palmer's deep and graceful exploration of a spirituality for the busy, sometimes frenetic lives many of us lead. Telling evocative stories from a variety of religious traditions, including Taoist, Jewish, and Christian, Palmer shows that the spiritual life does not mean abandoning the world but engaging it more deeply through life-giving action. He celebrates both the problems and potentials of the active life, revealing how much they have to teach us about ourselves, the world, and God.
About the Author
PARKER J. PALMER Writer, teacher, and activist, Parker J. Palmer is senior associate of the American Association for Higher Education and senior advisor to the Fetzer Institute. In 1998, he was named as one of the thirty most influential leaders in American higher education. Author of such widely praised books as The Courage to Teach and To Know As We Are Known, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of the Religious Society of FriAnds (Quaker) and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Table of Contents
Preface (1999)
1. Spirituality in Action: On Being Fully Alive
2. Action and Contemplation: A Living Paradox
3. "Active Life": The Shadow Side
4. "The Woodcarver": A Model for Right Action
5. "The Angel": Action, Failure, and Suffering
6. "Jesus in the Desert": The Temptations in Action
7. "Loaves and Fishes": Acts of Scarcity or Abundance
8. "Threatened with Resurrection": Acts of Death or New Life
NotesAbout the Author