Reaching Out-The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life Tammy T. Smith Liberty University PACO 506 SUMMARY Henri J. M. Nouwen’s book, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, examines three aspects of spiritual movement in which he unveils how humanity relates to self, others, and God to achieve true spirituality. The first movement revealed is the movement from loneliness to solitude, second is the movement from hostility to hospitality, and finally, is the movement from illusion to prayer. Nouwen (1975) describes loneliness as a universal experience that affects even the most intimate relationships. He identifies loneliness as one of the universal sources of human suffering. Some of the mental suffering in the …show more content…
I find that after spending time in solitude, I am able to serve others better. The inner solidarity borne out of a heart of solitude lessens my frustrations and enables me to accept others where they are. Secondly, this book made me appreciate the broader definition of hospitality applied to relationships, specifically that of parent and children. For the past six months, I have struggled to maintain genuine hospitality with my youngest child who is 24 years old. Nouwen states “the difficult task of parenthood is to help children grow to the freedom that permits them to stand on their own feet, physically, mentally, and spiritually and to allow them to move away in their own direction” (Nouwen, 1975, p. 83). Although my son is an intelligent, independent, Ivy League graduate, it is very difficult for me to “watch” him live in willful contradiction to his Christian life. My challenge is to view my son as a guest and let him go in peace. Lastly, this book convicted me because I realized that my prayers have not been prayers of the heart, especially concerning my son. Although I have been relentlessly offering prayers of intercession for him to fully return to God and allow Jesus to be Lord of his life, my heart has not been empty of worry. REFLECTION In my opinion, Nouwen’s work is a spiritual classic. He has done an amazing job of applying the importance of relational connectivity between self, others, and God. He
Why is solitude looked down on society? It should be advised by people to start engaging in the concept of solitude. Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless were both transcendentalism that believes in the key fundamental idea that the human body should partake in such as solitude. Henry Thoreau was a transcendentalist that practiced the form of solitude throughout his life. He left society and moved into the woods to be removed from the confines of society. Along with Thoreau, a more modern-day transcendentalist was known as Chris McCandless. McCandless journeyed to the wilderness in Alaska to be able to experience a minimal amount of human interaction along with the solitude that comes with it. The concept of solitude should be
The book is divided into seven parts. The book focuses spiritual growth and it is a manual for building a Spirit-filled life in a world where perfection can only be found in God’s loving vision. Ortberg helps us gauge your spiritual health and measure the gap between where you are now and where God intends you to be. As the author emphasizes on
I believe the overall message of Henry David Thoreau´s “Solitude” is to differentiate solitude and loneliness which are totally different. It is more of a state of mind than something real. People around by other people would feel more loneliness than people who are physically alone. For Thoreau being in solitude is the best way to discover your mind and spirituality and is the best way to know yourself.
This essay implies to the reader that loneliness isn’t always a vile thing. The author compares somebody who has absolutely nothing in life but enjoys the solitude, to people who roam through life alone, seeking for company—but never find it. The author compares the chosen lifestyle of the box man, to the undesired for loneliness of the victims. The author explains that although one may be poor and alone, it does not mean that one is unhappy. For example, in paragraph 12 it is explained that the mayor has offered him help, but the box man pushes it away. In paragraph 18 it is described how the box man enjoys his dark life. It is portrayed that life is a solo journey and that one may be much more miserable by going through
“The Virtues of Isolation”, written by Brent Crane, states that under the right circumstances being alone can provide significant psychological help. The article stated that scientists often associate isolation with negative outcomes due to it having adverse effects on the minds of children. However, when it is voluntarily pursued, it can be shown to have significant befits—some would even say its therapeutic. That temporarily isolating yourself gives you a chance to take a step back and take a good look at yourself. It alleviates the stress on our everyday lives and lets us relax. That the difference between solitude as therapy and solitude as misery depends on the quality of self-reflection that a person experiences, and the ability to reintegrate into social groups when their ready.
Oftentimes, people confuse loneliness with the state of being alone. When looking at the overall big picture, it is easy to forget that loneliness is temporary. People are not alone because even back in primitive times, they bore a natural instinct to strive for companionship in order to survive. Human imagination creates companions in cases of extreme loneliness which contradicts the state of being alone. Due to societal and family standards, others in society make it practically impossible to be alone. Mankind often goes through life without realizing the overwhelming amount of human contact and support. People are never alone, they are just simply
“Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for” (Dag Hammarskjold). Loneliness is a scary thing. As a child, I was very shy and timid and I suffered from it. My life was sheltered by my parents and I desperately wanted a sibling. Along with my parents, the private school I had gone to all my life never gave me the experience of stranger interaction. The thought of starting a conversation with someone I have never met made me drench in sweat. I dreaded the day of going to a public high school. Never in my dreams would I have imagined how it would affect my life and mold me into the person I am today.
In “Solitude”, a chapter from “Walden”, Henry David Thoreau states “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” Thoreau is stating that a life alone or in solitude is preferable to a life among others. I challenge this statement, because for Thoreau, this might have been a perfect lifestyle, but for most people, social interaction is both a necessity and skill that the average person will use daily.
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being isolated or abandoned. Being lonely is almost always directly connected to relations between people, or the lack there of. Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” In John Steinbecks classic novel, Of Mice And Men, the three characters, Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy struggle with loneliness in different forms because of characteristics that they can’t control. All three characters deal with their loneliness by searching for companionship with others on the ranch and this works out differently for each of them.
Theme: The theme of loneliness
The conclusion of the book mentions the importance of spiritual guidance, and the importance of prayer. Prayer is not only to be done is solitude, but
People are quick to turn on their televisions or surf the web when the silence becomes unbearable. Solitude has a lot to offer despite the negative connotations it get. It gives us time to understand who we are. Solitude turn us into independent thinkers. People tend to forget that introverts are good listeners and can become better leaders than extroverts. Their passiveness can help avoid mistakes compared to extroverts aggressively pushing their ideas towards the group. Working in groups comes at a cost because of the need to fit in with the rest. We live in a world where solitude becomes less valuable as we crave things such as having a social life and lack the courage to express ourselves due to the constant thought of failure. Our world fails to realize that failure is what has led to such great success. Growing up with common phrases such as “work as a team” or “two heads are better than one” has led to generations of people believing that the best results come from working together. Proving that even from the start, we are taught that solitude is bad when in reality it allows us to think more clearly and come up with our own unique thoughts. We lose what makes us different and copy what others are doing. Therefore, we need to take a breather once in a while because solitude is always with us. We need to give solitude a chance in our lives or else we cannot be able to listen to the thoughts
Through solitude, we have the opportunity to retreat and be alone with God. We are away from the hustle and bustle of our chaotic days. We are not concerned with work, school, or family, which allows us to rid ourselves of the noise pollution that effects “the sacred within.” During times of solitude we can readjust our focus and thoughts on love for ourselves and our love for God. We can center ourselves and as Narsinha Mehta writes, “They are pure in thought, word, and deed. Free from greed, anger, and fear, These are the real lovers of God.” (Easwaren, 1982. P. 148). This time in solitude allows us the ability to confess our faults and motivates us to seek God.
Nouwen, H. J. M. (1975). Reaching out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life. New York,
Loneliness seems to have become a common characteristics that individuals share around the world. Although this is a subject that has been a part of discussions and a focus of research for many years in philosophy , theology, psychology and literature, the scientific study has had a relatively short record. In this day and age there have