I came across these wise words from Henri Nouwen while reading today: One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are and waste a lot of time and energy to prove what doesn't need to be proved...voices keep pulling us away from that soft gentle voice that speaks in …
Burnout (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 5)
We talk a lot about burnout, but in Let Your Life Speak Parker Palmer does a good job of diagnosing the root cause of burnout in our vocation. One sign that I am violating my own nature in the name of nobility is a condition called burnout. Though usually regarded as the result of trying …
Exceeding Our Limits (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 4)
Here, Parker Palmer offers poignant insight into the challenge of exceeding our limits when we have noble goals in our work. If I try to be or do something noble that has nothing to do with who I am, I may look good to others and to myself for a while. But the fact that …
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Needing Limits (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 3)
Later in Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer addresses our own need for limits and the temptation toward burn-out for those who really care about their work. If you are like me and don't readily admit your limits, embarrassment may be the only way to get your attention. I go on full alert only when …
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Negative Projections (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 2)
Here are a few words from Parker Palmer on wrong approaches to thinking about our vocation: Here, I think, is another clue to finding true self and vocation: we must withdraw the negative projections we make on people and situations - projections that serve mainly to mask our fears about ourselves - and acknowledge and …
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Matthew Erickson 