The inner life of any great thing will be incomprehensible to me until I develop and deepen an inner life of my own.  – Parker J. Palmer

Get A Life

I have always loved and hated the phrase, “Get A Life.” (It can be said in a celebratory way. I can be said in a way that feels like condemnation, too.) I love the phrase because I believe we are all called to live amazing, wonderful, compassionate, big, loving lives, and we must each reach for that life with all we have inside. Life is in our grasp. I hate the phrase because it feels a bit preachy and blamey. By preachy and blamey, I mean that getting a life means I should have been developing and deepening a life in the midst of 3.6 billion thoughts and 1.7 million tasks. Getting a life presupposes living in a space of safety and abundance where security and center are the reality. That is not the truth for all people. Getting a life feels like a luxury and a gift of privilege through that lens. I believe everyone has an inward life. It is not something we must “get.” I believe an inward life is sacred. It must be cherished and tended. Being gentle with one another together as we figure it all out is how we get a life.

What am I to learn?

I have learned this question is central to opening my deepest eyes and living my inner life.  In moments of profound disappointment, I ask what am I to learn. In moments of white hot anger, I ask what am I to learn. In moments of deep connection, I ask what am I to learn. In moments of heart bursting joy, I ask what am I to learn. Remembering to take a deep breath and reflect is not easy. Often, remembering to ask the question happens least when I need to do it the most. What I know for sure is that this question frames my experience in gratitude and humility, two qualities that I don’t often embody in the heat of outer life living.

Be Still and Know

I have written a lot about stillness over the years. This particular thought from scripture connects me with my inner life. For me, stillness and knowing connects me with Love. Love is my inner life. For others, knowing can simply be a river of ethics and compassion and understanding that flows through a life. For others knowing can be rocket science, vaccines, and artificial intelligence, that in their very existence provide evidence of our capacity to dream, solve, and know.