“The deepest vocational question is not ‘What ought I to do with my life?’”

Rather, Parker Palmer writes, the more important questions are: “What am I? What is my nature?” These questions are more important because they require more self-knowledge. This knowledge must include, Palmer writes, acknowledgement of our limits and our potentials.  Of course, it’s much more difficult to develop self-awareness than it is to simply base our vocational decisions on what we “ought to” or “should” do.  The type of soul-searching Parker describes is hard work.  I read this book in 2013, and I’ve returned to it many times. I continue to find new, challenging ideas in this provocative book.

Palmer, Parker J. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. Jossey-Bass, 2000, p. 15.

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