Religion and Personal Growth
Religion is at the forefront of many debates in subjects such as parental duties, moral aberrations, the rights of church-affiliated schools, and the loss of personal identity. Similarly, religion has a profound effect on the personal growth of an individual. For a majority of the people, religion is the only practicable way of attaining their spirituality and also the only approach towards their personal growth. Parker Palmer, in his book, Let Your Life Speak Listening for the Voice of Vocation, gives an account of his life, and believes that readers can use to reflect on their lives. Similarly, The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott offers insights regarding several critical issues that may affect the spirituality of an individual. This paper seeks to evaluate the two readings and offer a personal reflection of the two based on my life experiences.
Imitating Others vs. Listening to One's Heart
Palmer asserts that he had found a noble way to live, one that was not his own but rather a life of imitating heroes and not listening to his heart (Palmer 3). Before one learns how to listen to their heart to discover their vocation, they often try to imitate the life of another person whom they consider to be a role model. Notably, the actions of such individuals may motivate an individual to live his or her life in the same manner. Nonetheless, this limits one's ability to live their life as God wants or as their heart desires. For instance, I have witnessed a close relative become a Catholic sister for a couple of years after which she got married. In this situation, she had chosen this road simply because her close aunt was a nun. This is a perfect illustration of Parker's assertions that people may often drift from their vocation by trying to live like others rather than listen to their hearts.
Betraying True Self to Please Others
Human beings are driven by fear and may betray their true self in order to gain the approval of others (Parker 12). This assertion by Parker is applicable in the lives of many people in the contemporary society. For example, an employee in an organization may be forced to collaborate with other colleagues who might be attempting to commit fraud in the company. The leading cause of this is the fear of rejection by the colleagues. Evidently, people may betray their true self to gain support from others. Nonetheless, it is advisable that one listens to their heart before making any decision to remain true to oneself.
Embracing Limits and Potentials
Parker goes on to assert that Americans resist the idea of limits. Notably, people regard limits as impermanent and regrettable impositions in their lives and, therefore, refuse to take no for an answer (Parker 42). When individuals consistently refuse to accept their confines, they miss out on the vital clues regarding their identities and may harm others in this process of exceeding their limits. For instance, I had always thought that I was destined to become an engineer. Nonetheless, I realized that I was not performing so well in engineering related subjects. Therefore, I decided to look for an alternative by first accepting that I could not become an engineer. Before admitting this to myself, I did not realize that I had a passion for psychology, which is evident that one might miss out on clues to their identity by failing to accept their limits.
The Importance of Honoring Limitations and Seeking Help
If human beings are to live their lives well and to the fullest, they need to learn how to embrace their limits and potentials (Parker 55). Honoring our limitations in ways that do not mislead our nature helps us to fulfill the God-given abilities that we have. Further, acknowledging the potholes in our souls, rather than trying to fill them, helps us come up with ways to avoid falling into those faults. For instance, by asking for help regarding issues such as drug abuse, one puts themselves at a position of preventing the habit rather than the failure to recognize the weakness which might put the individual in a messy situation.
Scott's Perspective: Hell and Abortion
Scott's perception of hell is that the gates of hell are wide open and that people can choose to walk out of hell if they want (Scott 186). Further, he asserts that it is impossible for God to punish people in such a way without the hope of redemption because He would not create souls with the ultimate intention of burning them. Nonetheless, this is a misleading argument because God has given the Ten Commandments that people should follow. Therefore, if one does not want to go to hell, they should obey the commandments. Scott goes on to give some significant insights about abortion. Notably, he suggests that the lives of many women would be damaged if they had carried a child to term even if they were going to give the child up for adoption (Scott 198). I disagree with this argument because becoming pregnant is the first step in accepting the responsibility of motherhood. Therefore, a woman who gets pregnant should carry the baby till birth irrespective of their capability to raise the child. This will help reduce the abortion rates.
Works Cited
Palmer, Parker J. Let your life speak: Listening for the voice of vocation. John Wiley " Sons, 1999. 9-55.
Scott, Morgan. The road less traveled: A new psychology of love, traditional values and spiritual growth. Simon " Schuster, 2003. 185-208.
