The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring
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About this ebook
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.
Parker J. Palmer
Parker J. Palmer, a popular speaker and educator, is also the author of The Active Life. He received the 1993 award for "Outstanding Service to Higher Education" from the Council of Independent Colleges.
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- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 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
Book preview
The Active Life - Parker J. Palmer
The Active Life
Parker J. Palmer
Leader’s Guide
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Introduction
Starting an Adult Study Group and Using This Leader’s Guide
Preparing for Session 1
Session 1: The Paradox in Becoming Fully Alive
Session 2: The Shadow Side of Action
Session 3: The Nature of Right Action
Session 4: The Lessons of Failure
Session 5: Acting on the Truth
Session 6: The Horizon of the Active Life
Materials for Group Distribution
Session 1: The Paradox in Becoming Fully Alive
Session 2: The Shadow Side of Action
Session 3: The Nature of Right Action
Session 4: The Lessons of Failure
Session 5: Acting on the Truth
Session 6: The Horizon of the Active Life
Additional Resources for Leaders
Other Titles in Harper’s Leader’s Guide Series
Copyright
About the Publisher
Introduction
My aim in this book,
writes Parker J. Palmer in The Active Life,is to celebrate and criticize the active life, to explore its joys and pains, its problems and potentials, to understand the forces that both drive and deform our activity—but to do all this with reverence for the mystery of self-discovery and creation which is at the heart of human action
(p. 11). Through a creative exploration of the truths embodied in the imaginative patterns of stories and poems, Palmer mines the riches of diverse traditions—Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, the contemporary struggle for social justice—while probing the depths of his own experience. With penetrating insight, he guides us into a searching examination of the truth inside us and the truth around us. In the harmony between these two realities, we discover the exhilarating freedom for the active life.
Palmer paints a vision for becoming fully alive
—a way of living that unites contemplation-and-action. This paradoxical tension brings the strength of self-knowledge to bear upon our relationships with other human beings, nature, and God. Learning right action teaches us to become more honest with ourselves while unveiling the truth of our interconnectedness in the entire community of creation.
Palmer’s culminating vision is the horizon of new life, a resurrection into the great community of justice, truth, and love.
The Active Life challenges us to creative reflection and authentic action as we discover the deep points of connection between self, world, and spirit. In the context of group discussion, it provides opportunities for discovering the gift of community
as we learn with each other how to become more aware, more active, more caring human beings.
Starting an Adult Study Group and Using This Leader’s Guide
Harper’s series of Leader’s Guides provides resources for small adult study groups. Each Guide is based on a widely read book by a well-known and knowledgeable author. Each provides suggestions for forming small groups and for leading the discussions. The Guides also provide discussion questions and other material that can be photocopied for participants.
Harper’s Leader’s Guides are designed for use in Christian churches of all denominations. However, they may also be used in other settings: neighborhood study groups, camps, retreat centers, colleges and seminaries, or continuing education classes.
Format
Harper’s Leader’s Guides have been planned as a basis for six one-hour sessions. Six weeks of discussion allows for depth and personal sharing, yet it is a limited commitment, one that busy adults find easier to make.
The Leader’s Guides can be adapted for use in other time frames. By combining sessions, you can discuss a book in four meetings. Or, by being very selective with questions, you can plan a single two-hour session. The Guides can also serve as the foundation for a weekend retreat: the six hour-long sessions are alternated with recreation, rest, meals, and other activities.
Forming a Group
Choose a book that you think will be of interest to people in your congregation or other setting. Use your parish newsletter, announcements in services, visits to existing groups, and word of mouth to inform potential participants of the upcoming opportunity. It may be helpful to plan a brief orientation meeting for interested people.
An effective discussion group can be formed with as few as three or four adults joined together by a common interest. If more than twelve people respond, they should probably be divided into smaller groups.
Participants should have access to the books at least a week before the first session.