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Summary:
The old Quaker adage, "Let your life speak," spoke to author Parker J. Palmer when he was in his early 30s. It summoned him to a higher purpose, so he decided that henceforth he would live a nobler life. "I lined up the most elevated ideals I could find and set out to achieve them," he writes. "The results were rarely admirable, often laughable, and sometimes grotesque.... I had simply found a 'noble' way of living a life that was not my own, a life spent imitating heroes instead of listening to my heart."
Thirty years later, Palmer now understands that learning to let his life speak means "living the life that wants to live in me." It involves creating the kind of quiet, trusting conditions that allow a soul to speak its truth. It also means tuning out the noisy preconceived ideas about what a vocation should and shouldn't be so that we can better hear the call of our wild souls. There are no how-to formulas in this extremely unpretentious and well-written book, just fireside wisdom from an elder who is willing to share his mistakes and stories as he learned to live a life worth speaking about. --Gail Hudson
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Let Your Life Speak
Customer Rating:
Palmer reminds us that the word vocation is rooted in the Latin for "voice." He has come to understand vocation as a gift to be received, rather than a goal to be achieved. Watching his granddaughter during the early days of her life, he could see that she had inclinations, preferences, and her own personality from birth. He says, "We are disabused of original giftedness in the first half of our lives. Then-if we are awake, aware, and able to admit our loss-we spend the second half trying to recover and reclaim the gift we once possessed."
And he says: As May Sarton reminds us, the pilgrimage toward true self will take `time, many years and places.' The world needs people with the patience and the passion to make that pilgrimage not only for their own sake but also as a social and political act. The world still waits for the truth that will set us free-my truth, your truth, our truth-the truth that was seeded in the earth when each of us arrived here formed in the image of God. Cultivating that truth, I believe, is the authentic vocation of every human being.
And: Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks-we will also find our path of authentic service in the world. True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as `the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need.'
This small volume of essays from Palmer leads us through his choices about vocation, his depression and dark periods, and his ultimate realization that he is a teacher. He believes our shared vocation, leadership in the world of action, is an outgrowth of our inner journeys. We should support one another's inner work by creating "communities of solitudes," not abandoning or trying to fix each other.
Wisdom teacher worth your time.
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Vocation is a discernment issue that is unique to each of us; and our personal vocation unfolds through our hard work, inner reflection, and listening heart.
This book is part auto biography; part wisdom teaching, seeking to enhance our engagement with this most important question. Palmer covers a lot of ground about the process of one's vocation and how to discover it. Moreover, the author demonstrates that vocation is a life long quest. We don't stay the same people, do the same work our entire lives.
The book takes a close look at personal issues, leadership roles and leading from within, personal empowerment, and anecdotal stories from historic persons.
Palmer is a wise elder worthy of your time. I don't think you will be disappointed by this gem of a book.
A bit too much introspection
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While Parker Palmer has embarked on a spiritual journey, there is a bit too much of the omphaloskepsis here, too much studying of one's navel. Not as good as The Courage to Teach. Still recommended.
A Gift for Career Searchers
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`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 you embody, what values you represent.' The theme of listening to yourself to find your vocation resonates throughout Parker Palmer's book. Although rooted in Quaker beliefs, Palmer weaves his way through many religions and philosophies to illustrate support for listening to your calling - your vocation - your voice. He shares his own journey through childhood, high school, college and careers, and intertwines the wonder, depression, enlightenment and discovery he was enveloped in along the way.
Too many hungry job searchers ignore their natural strengths and value system for a paycheck. Recognizing your innate strengths and applying them in ways that feed your mind and balance your life and work is the true calling of vocation. This short 109-page book is a gift for all career searchers who are struggling with which way to turn and which priority to address first. Spiritual as well as secular readers will find comfort within the pages as they learn that the passions for money, happiness, life and work can all converge in one lasting vocation if you listen to your voice within.
Let your life speak
Customer Rating:
This book falls in the category of my top ten favorite books. For such a small book it is packed with wisdom. I have read it twice and continue to refer back to. It is an essential book for anyone struggling with finding their vocational path or giving themselves permission to follow their dream. Reading this book unleased my power to pursue my calling. Highly recommended!
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