Guarding the Spirit

Though culture and church still tend to view spirituality as withdrawal from the world of activity, Parker Palmer offers a refreshing perspective on the integration of action and contemplation in the spiritual life. Readers who have felt guilty or incomplete over their inability or disinclination to live more of a contemplative life will find a kindred spirit in Palmer, who shows how action and contemplation are two movements of the same symphony. His method is reflection on stories and poems that explore the nature of, motives for, and direction of human action.

Palmer writes about acting out of one's own truth, gifts, and insights. This kind of action arises out of being in possession of one's own heart, identity, and integrity. It is not reaction nor is it motivated by desire for success, relevancy, or control. He illustrates these points with a poem about a woodcarver who has been commanded by a prince to build a bell stand, which turned out to be a masterpiece. When asked about the secret of his success, the woodcarver replied:

I guarded my spirit, did not expend it
On trifles, that were not to the point.

Fasting enabled him to forget wanting approval; his spiritual discipline allowed him to collect himself and focus on the bell stand. The story invites reflection on motives for action.

Particularly helpful is Palmer's use of the roots of the word "disillusionment" as "unmasking illusion." To act rightly, as opposed to reacting or remaining passive, is to act out of one's own truth, which is often hidden by layers of illusion. In some sense, the spiritual journey is one by which illusions fall away and reality becomes clear. Some illusions that are shattered in spiritual growth are those of self-sufficiency and control, of scarcity of the resources needed to act, and of independence and individualism. Illusions are unmasked through risk taking, placing ourselves or having ourselves placed in situations that force new perspectives, and being willing to die to that which is comforting.

One of the main illusions in our culture, even among Christians who profess to live a resurrection faith, is that death is the horizon toward which we move. Palmer challenges us to see that our actions are shaped by their direction, whether toward the horizon of death or the horizon of resurrection. Living toward a horizon that "holds the hope of life" offers freedom to act without fear.

Although Christian spirituality is based on hope of resurrection, the culture in which we live encourages a living toward death. Palmer challenges us to look at ways in which we fear new life more than death, ways in which resurrection threatens us because of our comfort with the status quo. He notes that it takes courage to accept resurrection, to let go of life as we want it to be and allow the larger reality to live in and through us.

Jeanne T. Finley was United Methodist campus pastor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and Richard B. Faris was pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, and media consultant for the General Commission on Communication of the United Methodist Church when this review appeared.

The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring. By Parker Palmer. Harper & Row, 1990. $15.95 (cloth).