The Active Life: Wisdom of Work, Creativity and Caring [Paperback]

Parker J. Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991

Vital, down-to-earth wisdom for active people who serve others or work for social change. Drawing from the teachings of Chuang Tzu, Martin Buber, Jesus, and Julia Esquivel, Palmer presents a detailed framework for a spiritual life in the active world--for the uncelibate, unsolitary, and unsilent lives that most of us lead.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Palmer outlines a spirituality for those who lead active lives, successfully integrating contemplation with action.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060664584
• ISBN-13: 978-0060664589
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,328,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PARKER J. PALMER is a writer, teacher and activist whose work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. He is founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal. His books include "A Hidden Wholeness," "Let Your Life Speak," "The Courage to Teach," "The Active Life," "To Know as We Are Known," "The Company of Strangers," "The Promise of Paradox," "The Heart of Higher Education," and "Healing the Heart of Democracy." He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as ten honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. In 1998, the Leadership Project, a national survey of 10,000 educators, named him one of the thirty most influential senior leaders in higher education and one of the ten key agenda-setters of the past decade. In 2010, he was given the William Rainey Harper Award (previously won by Margaret Mead, Marshall McLuhan, Paulo Freire, and Elie Wiesel). "Living the Questions: Essays Inspired by the Work and Life of Parker J. Palmer," was published in 2005. In 2011, the Utne Reader named him as one of "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World"--people who "don't just think out loud but who walk their talk on a daily basis." (See the Oct-Nov 2011 print or online edition.) He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemplation and action are not fundamentally at odds., October 31, 1997

By 

"khenne3" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Active Life: Wisdom of Work, Creativity and Caring (Paperback)

In his book The Active Life, Parker Palmer asserted that contemplation and action are not at odds with each other but rather different aspects of a common approach to truth. An approach which seeks to unmask illusions and live out true reality in everyday life. By exploring new ways of relating to action and contemplation Palmer illustrated how these areas are united and how we can incorporate both into our own unique journey. The author asked us to see how our picture of what our lives are embedded in shapes what we do. He argued that all of our actions ultimately have some underlining context of belief. That if we permit the view of competing individuals in a sparse world to fix in our thinking, we will ultimately create a lonely environment which is impoverished and hostile to true community. Actions based on false beliefs have the energy to bring falsehoods into real life.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired thinking on Creativity, Community, and Courage., March 5, 2000

By 

KEVIN M. OCONNOR "Podcaster, Would-be Farmer,... (Centerton, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Active Life: Wisdom of Work, Creativity and Caring (Paperback)

Ostensibly, this book is about finding an authentic spirituality without withdrawing from the community. The active life of the title is offered as a contrast to a solitary contemplative life as exemplified by the late, and now famous Christian monk, Thomas Merton. I don't know if, in the writing of it, the book developed beyond Palmer's initial intentions, but it is as much about our relationship with our own demons and the creative mastery that is ours when we have the courage to face them as it is an exploration of the title theme. This book gets my absolute highest recommendation.