Be not afraid
"The core message of all the great spiritual traditions is 'Be not afraid.' Rather, be confident that life is good and trustworthy. In this light, the great failure... Read more.
Parker Palmer on the mind vs. the heart
"My vocation (to use the poet’s term) is the spiritual life, the quest for God, which relies on the eye of the heart. My avocation is education, the quest for... Read more.
Stop talking about “passing the baton”
"Every spring, commencement speakers take the stage across the country to tell the graduates, 'Our hopes for the future are in your hands.' I have an urgent message... Read more.
Parker Palmer: Don’t follow someone else’s truth
"Creating and holding space for discernment is profoundly counter-cultural work. We live in a culture that too often regards us as empty vessels to be filled with... Read more.
Just Plain Living Is the Finest Thing of All
"How easily we get trapped in that which is not essential – in looking good, winning at competition, gathering power and wealth – when simply being alive is... Read more.
Whatever’s Been Uprooted, Let it Be Seedbed
The plow has savaged this sweet field / Misshapen clods of earth kicked up / Rocks and twisted roots exposed to view / Last year’s growth demolished by the blade.... Read more.
Suspend the Normal Rules of Social Discourse
"I want to put this in such a way that you get a little scared about your responsibility. Because you should be. Not so scared you're paralyzed and not able to do... Read more.
Less Like a Utopia and More Like a Crucible
Community comes as a byproduct of commitment and struggle. It comes when we step forward to right some wrong, to heal some hurt, to give some service. It always... Read more.