pastor || writer || speaker
Continuing my reflections on Parker Palmer's five 'shadow-casting monsters' in the life of a leader from his book Let Your Life Speak, I turn now to numbers three, which is: "'Functional atheism', the belief that the ultimate responsibility for everything rests with us" (88). Here's a bit more from Palmer on this one: This is the unconscious, …
Continue reading "Shadow-Casting Monsters: Parker Palmer on dealing with our souls, part 2"
Awhile back, I read through Parker Palmer's brief book Let Your Life Speak. This is an outstanding book on life and leadership. Palmer has worked quite a bit with educators and as an advocate for peace in our world today. He comes from a Quaker background. To set the tone of what he is trying …
Continue reading "Shadow-Casting Monsters: Parker Palmer on dealing with our souls, part 1"
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 …
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 …
Continue reading "Exceeding Our Limits (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 4)"
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 …
Continue reading "Needing Limits (Palmer, Let Your Life Speak 3)"
Matthew Erickson 