Skip to main content
notes.jays.net

Learn to Live in the Tragic Gap

Wisdom / reading recommendations from my father:

Me: What was your book about ~Living in the Gap? Engaging in the pains of the world even though it's uncomfortable to do so?

Dad: In "A Hidden Wholeness," Quaker author Parker Palmer writes about "living in the tragic gap--a gap between the way things are and the way we know they might be. It is a gap that never has been and never will be closed. If we want to live nonviolent lives, we must learn to stand in the tragic gap, faithfully holding the tension between reality and possibility in hopes of being opened to a third way."

... In The Promise of Paradox he writes, "If we are willing actively to hang in there-holding the unresolved tension between reality and possibility and inviting something new into being- we have the chance to participate in the evolution of a better reality." He writes about a "third way" between corrosive cynicism and irrelevant idealism-a way that goes deeper than the intellect, embracing the promise of paradox. I find his thoughts increasingly helpful as I try to embrace both idealism and realism-an ongoing tension that moves me beyond optimism, yet allows for hope. 🤩😳🥴

#Quaker #author #ParkerPalmer