Parker Palmer is a writer, teacher, and activist whose work speaks deeply to many people in many different walks of life. He’s the founder and senior partner in The Center for Courage and Renewal. He’s the author of many books, including his newest one which we talk about on this episode: On The Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old. Parker is one of our favorite guests of the show and after you listen to this episode, you’ll know why he’s back for a second conversation.
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In This Interview, Parker Palmer and I Discuss…
- His book, On The Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old
- His reflections looking back on his life
- The resilient fabric of his life
- How perfection is an illusion
- The role mistakes can play in one’s life
- The gift of age: Looking back on one’s life and saying “It all belongs”
- Another gift of age: Deep appreciation and gratitude for the present moment
- Feeling like you’re one of the lucky ones that you’re “old”
- Asking “What’s there for me to learn?” when facing problematic moments in life (like feeling down, or feeling self-pity)
- Moments of life that are burdened with ego
- The correlation between ego concerns and anxiety
- The importance and role of perspective
- The what and why of the things we’re doing
- The question (and trap!): Does my life have meaning?
- My legacy vs Our legacy
- How we’re all embedded in community
- “I planted some seeds and found some people I wanted to garden with…”
- How life and work are profoundly communal
- Reflecting on the question, “Have I been sufficiently open to and aware of the significant contributions others have made in my life – and in such a way to do a deep bow to them in the work that I do?”
- Turning attention outward vs inward
- Being one among many vs trying to be something or someone special
- The healing impact of getting out into the natural world
- His poem “Harrowing”
- To know when to say, “enough” because the rest of the world and the rest of my life is waiting
Parker Palmer Links
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