Shadow and Light: Parker Palmer Callings

Well before vocation and calling developed their current popularity, Parker Palmer was recognized as one of the foremost scholars, authors, and speakers on the topic. In this conversation, he shares profound and honest answers about paying attention to our mistakes—along with our achievements—when describing our callings. Parker’s commitment to the value of listening, to reflection in community, and to resisting easy answers emerges with humor and grace. His insights about what it means to be human offer listeners ways to think about life deeply and holistically. This conversation with the writer of Let Your Life Speak (and many other books on vocation and calling) emphasizes the importance of acknowledging both the shadow and light as we affirm our connectedness to each other. In his words, “we are all walking each other home.”