Let your life speak Essay

Questions for ReflectionDuring which moments/activities do you feel more or less alive?What be your feelings close to close to matchless doing the proper social function for the wrong reason?In what ways do you go tabu from graven image?What kinds of things most drain you? Stress you?What activities give you the space to invent on what is going on in cipher you? How oft do you do them?Consider the aphorism Your greatest strength derriere also be your greatest weakness. What is the partnership amidst your strengths and your limits? Suggested employmentPray by with(predicate) St. Ignatius suppliant of Examen.See www.marshill.org/groups/hc/ Select the link titled Prayer of Examen in the Practices section.Parker PalmerLet Your life-time announceChapter 2-Now I Become MyselfQuotes to conceive of or soWhat a enormous time it can take to catch the soul wizard has always been. How practically in the process we m consume ourselves in faces that atomic number 18 non our admit p. 9. We ourselves, driven by fear, in like manner often betray true self to gain the approval of early(a)s p. 12. that inspected through the lens of paradox, my desire to become an aviator and an advertiser contain clues to the core of true selfclues, by explanation, atomic number 18 coded and mustiness be rewrite p. 13.If you seek vocation without under lasting the material you atomic number 18 working with, what you launch with your invigoration leave behind be ungainly and whitethorn well abrogateow lives in peril, your sustain and both(prenominal) of those around you p. 16.In the tradition of transithardships be seen non as accidental unless as intact to the trip itself p. 18.I saw that as an organizer I had neer stopped being a t each(prenominal)er-I was tho 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. throng equal me be raised to live autonomously, non i nterdependently. I had been skilful to compete and win, and I had developed a taste for the prizes p. 22. Be suffice I could non acknowledge my fear, I had to disguise it asthe white horse of perspicacity and self-righteousness p. 28.Self care is never a selfish act-it is simply advantageously stewardship of the yet feed I have, the establish 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 both(prenominal) truth just most themselves that they hold out deeply on the inside p. 32. Some journeys are direct, and some are circuitous some are heroic, and some are imposing and muddled. But e precise journey, h whizzstly undertaken, stands a chance of taking us toward the place where our deep gladness meets the conceptions deep motive p. 36.Questions for reflectionWhat role does gaining the approval of others play in how you live your behavior? As Palmer recalls his childhood, he is qualified to uncover cl ues to his true self. Parents, siblings, and even spo designs are great offsets 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 amid 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 go to at another(prenominal) person, institution, or situation and point out shortcomings than it is to look at our possess. 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 only others as well.What does self care look like for you? What restores y ou? What are the things in your life that refer your soul tired?Who are the Martin Luther King Jr.s, the Rosa Parks, and Gandhis of yourlife? Who are the heap that you admire so much that you seek to model aspects of your life after them? why these people?Learning who you are doesnt simply destine make up whizzs minding your strengths tho also your limitations. Who are you? is a very b pathway and difficult question to answer. I may not be able to see you who I am, but Ive got a list of stories to tell you who I am notFinish the sentence I could never_____ its just not me. Suggested ActivityPalmer says that clues are coded and must be deciphered. good turn a blank sheet of paper on its side and mystify a straight airwave from the left side to the right side. The line will serve as a chronological timeline of your life from consume until now. Place significant experiences and events that have shaped who you are today on the timeline. Examples family of origin, deaths, bir ths, school and work experiences, relationships, spiritual journey, great moments of joy, or great moments of sadness. allot time to share with one another closely what is on your timeline and wherefore it is significant.Parker PalmerLet Your Life SpeakChapter 3-When Way ClosesQuotes to signify about there is as much guidance in what does not and cannot glide by in my life as there is in what can and does-maybe more p. 39.If you are like me and dont readily admit your limits, embarrassment may be the only way to get your attention p. 42.As Americanswe tolerate the very idea of limits, regarding limits of all sorts as temporary and regrettable impositions on our livesWe dissent 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 lift when way closes-and I am more likely both to evanesce my limits and to do harm to others in the process p. 43. on that point are some roles and relationships in which we thrive and others inwhich we wither and die p. 44.It took me a long time to understand that although everyone directs 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 command to prove myself than from the others need to be cared for p. 48.Our strongest gifts are ordinarily those we are barely awake of possessing. They are a part of our deity 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 giftsa exceptional weakness is the inevitable trade-off for a particular strength. We will become better teachers not by trying to necessitate 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 li ves 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 gloss our nature, and we must trust and use our gifts in ways that fulfill the potentials graven image gave us p. 55. Questions for reflectionCan you identify a moment in your life when perfection used a closed door kind of of an open door to guide your life in the direction it mandatory 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 fresheting with our shortcomings? In American culture, weaknesses and limitations are often viewed as things that need to be turned into strengths. Palmer seems to make out 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 esteemed rather than turned into strengths strike you? If our strongest gifts are usually the ones that we are most unconscious(predicate) of, what typesof things do people tell you are your strengths that you feel unaware of? Suggested ActivityIdentify and write down two recent moments in your life. 1. A moment when things went so well that you tangle confident that you were innate(p) to do whatever you were doing at the time. 2. A moment when something went so poorly that you never valued to repeat the experience again.Break into groups of two or three people and share these moments. In the groups, begin by service of process one another see the strengths that made the great moment possible. after(prenominal) doing that, reflect with one another about the moment that went poorly. Instead of go critiques, think about the strengths discussed in the first moment. Knowing that our strength s 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 unitedly as one group and discuss what you discovered.Parker PalmerLet Your Life SpeakChapter 4 All the Way Down*Before your discussion of chapter 4, it is very serious to lay a framework for your discussion. Anytime people are discussing their brokenness, it must be done in a place of safety and confidentiality. admit 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 aboutI had no choice but to write about my own deepest woundI rarely spoke to him about my own darkness even in his gracious heading, I felt too ashamed p. 57.Second, depression demands that we reject simplistic answers, bothreligious and scientific, and learn to embrace brain-teaser, something our culture resists p. 60.I do not like to let loose ungratefully of my visitors. They all blind drunkt well, and they were among the few who did not avoid me altogether p. 61. first is the last state of disconnection, not just between people but between ones mind and ones 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 persons mystery p. 62. One of the hardest things we must do sometimes is to be present to another persons pain without trying to fix it, to simply stand respectfully at the edge of that persons mystery and chastisement p. 63.Functional atheism-saying pious words about Gods 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 beforehand 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 reflectionIdentifying our wounds is a critical part of the in 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 lifes questions can be comforting. Do you accommodate? why or why not?Do you feel it is important to show up when others experience hardship ortragedy? Why or why not?Discuss Palmers suggestion that no one can fully experience another persons mystery and misery.How is the phrase I know exactly how you feel a positive statement between two people? How is it a interdict 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 eat someone read line of descent 29-13.What can we learn about how demarcations friends respond in these few verses? Read demarcation 48 and then Job 135.What is Eliphaz suggesting about Job in 48? What can be learned from Jobs response in 135?Parker PalmerLet Your Life SpeakChapter 5-Leading from WithinQuotes to think aboutI 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 go along 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 whichAnnie Dillard writes? Because there is no way out of ones 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. 8 5.But extroversion sometimes develops as a way to get laid with self-doubt we plunge into external activity to prove that we are expensey-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 souls 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 reflectionPalmer 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 mightiness 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 ActivityRead Matthew 152,10, and 11.Have someone wrap an empty misfortune 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? afterwards several minutes of observation, have someone open thegift to undo the empty box. Jesus observes that the Pharisees are so concerned with the exterior that they drip what is inside. How is this true in our lives? Parker PalmerLet Your Life SpeakChapter 6-There Is a gentleQuotes to think aboutAnimated by the imagination, one of the most vital p owers we possess, our metaphors often become reality, transmuting themselves from language into the living of our lives p. 96.We do not conceptualize 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 parentage 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 thingsa hidden wholeness p. 99. Until we take down 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 transient it alongIf we want to save our lives, we cannot cling to them but must spend them with a bandon p. 105.Authentic abundance does not lie in secured stockpiles of nutrition 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 doesnt 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 reflectionWhat season do you feel that you are currently in? Why?In your mind, what is the weirdest most obscure sentient being in all of Gods good psychiatric hospital? 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 expound and extravagance. We can sometimes feel that the way we join God is trivial and insignificant compared to the way others do. But it isnt. 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 attain 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 ActivityAfter discussing what it might look like for your community to live for the benefit of others, finish by retentiveness hands in a circle and reciting the Lords Prayer. Matthew 69-13.