Summer 2015 Book Discussion
Parker Palmer—Let Your Life Speak
In Chapter 4, All the Way Down, Palmer shares very candidly
his experience with depression. I was struck by his honesty in discussing such
a scary and dark part of his life but I appreciate his sharing the journey. The
section of the chapter that I connected with most begins on page 69. While it
is often hard to see how a dark part of our lives can be rewarding, Palmer
reminds us that the journey downward can bring us closer to ourselves and to
God, we simply must embrace it. In understanding our call in life it is vital that
we look at all aspects, the good and the bad, the favorite memories and those
we wish never happened; we will never be complete if we overlook parts of our
lives. Each of us has things we wish we could erase from our memory however we
can’t, instead we can embrace it and ask God for strength to rise from it.
“The
underground is a dangerous but potentially life giving place to which
depression takes us; a place where we come to understand that the self is not
set apart or special or superior but a common mix of good and evil, darkness
and light; a place where we can finally
embrace the humanity we share with others.” (Page 69)
To be honest it took a lot of praying and strength before I
was able to embrace some of my life experiences, and even harder to share them
with others. The underground is dangerous, it would be much easier to crawl
under my bed covers then to share parts of my life. A strange thing happened
though when I read this chapter for the first time several years ago….as a
class requirement we had to share some of our journal entries with a friend and I quickly
realized that I was not alone, she too had similar experiences and as we cried
our way through our darkest days we found a way to grow, to strengthen our
faith and to understand that we are never alone on this journey called life.
I have learned so much over a cup of coffee and an honest conversation. Sometimes
a simple journal entry does the trick but more often than not sharing with
others, reflecting on my prayer life, and noting how my body reacts in some
events are the best medicine.
- Tillich refers to God as the “ground of being” Have you ever had an experience of reaching bottom ground before understanding where you were being called?
