Reflections on Spirit in Action

Path of the Friend

Reflections on Spirit in Action

When interviewed shortly before his death, the sculptor Henry Moore was asked if he believed there was a secret to life. “The secret to life”, Moore answered without hesitation, “is to have something you devote your entire life to, something you bring your whole self to each day. And the most important thing is – it must be something you cannot possibly do.

This is a perfect description of our work in the world and the motivation behind it. Our deepest intention is simply to embody and serve the peace, justice, and love of beauty that we wish to see manifest in the world. This is a task without end. We cannot possibly do it, fix it, or bring it to completion. Nevertheless a current of actions naturally flows from the spirit of this intention.

The short essays linked to below are a series of reflections we have written over the past decade on this subject – the congruence of spiritual recognition and outer action. In these writings we share how we personally have experienced the surprises of pilgrimage, and what we have learned about bearing witness to cultures, individuals, and societies very different from our own. One recurring theme in these essays is the dynamics of personal and cultural identity, and how our identities – when they are grasped tightly – lead to conflict.