1 10 2 https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/files/original/15d46a17f6013c44888ae61b9ebcd3b1.pdf fefc7be6f61020228df1640f6ecbf95e PDF Text Text Pitts Theology Library The Howard Thurman Digital Archive Transcription thurman.pitts.emory.edu 394-175_A.mp3 Pitts Theology Library Emory University As we sit together in the quietness this morning, let our minds think and feel their way into our own lives and many of the searching aspects of our own experiences. As we look at our lives, we are again and again impressed with the fact that there seems to be great stretches of barrenness, of fruitlessness in the things that we dream about achieving, the things that we want, and often that we will to do. There is a fallow time for the spirit of man when the soil is barren, because of sheer exhaustion. The fallow time may come unannounced, like an overnight visitor passing through. It may be sudden, as a sharp turn on an unfamiliar road. It may come at the end of a long, long period of strenuous effort in handling some slippery, in-and-out temptation that fails to follow a particular pattern. It may result from the plateau of tragedy that quietly wore away the growing edge of alertness, until nothing was left but the exhausted roots of aliveness. The general climate of social unrest of national and international turmoil, the falling of kingdoms, the constant, muted suffering of hungry men, and starving women, and children on the other sides of the ocean-- all these things may so paralyze normal responses to life that a blight settles over the spirit, leaving all the fields of interest withered and parched. It is quite possible that spreading oneself so thin with too much going to and fro has yielded a fever of activity that saps all energy, even from one's surplus store, and we must stop for the quiet replenishing of an empty cupboard. Perhaps too much anxiety, a too-hard trying, a searching strain to do by one's self what can never be done that way has made one's spirit seem like a water tap whose washer is worn out from too much constant pressure. But with all, there may be the simplest possible explanation for our barrenness. The rhythmic ebb and flow of one's powers-- simply this, and nothing more. The waxing and waning, the ebbing and flowing, the rhythmic pulse-beat of life. Whatever may be the reason, one has to deal with the fact of one's barrenness, face it, and then resolutely dig out the dead roots. Clear the ground, but don't forget to make a humus pit against the time when some young or feeble plants will need stimulation from past flowerings in your garden. Work out new designs by dreaming daring dreams and great and creative planning. This one may do during the fallow time. The time is not wasted. The time must not be wasted. The time of fallowness is a time of rest and restoration, of filling up and replenishing. It is the moment when the meaning of all things can be searched out, tracked down, and made to yield the secret of living. Thank God for the fallow time, the time of weaning, the time of ebbing, as preparation for the time of waxing, for the time of flowing. The contradictions of experience are very baffling, after all-- moments of transcending beauty, covered over by spattering ugliness, another dimension of this rhythmic principle of alternation. Goodness, radiant and triumphant, surrounded by the persistent menace of evil, rugged and refined. Love, full and calculating, struggling ever with violence, fierce and logical. 1 �Pitts Theology Library The Howard Thurman Digital Archive Transcription thurman.pitts.emory.edu Often, in your life, in my life, there is so much that casts down. Often, in your life and in my life, there is so little that uplifts and inspires. The contradictions of experience, the manifestation of the principle of alternation, the expression of the rhythmic pattern of life ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning. The contradictions of experience, how baffling indeed they are! Pitts Theology Library Emory University The final vote of man's spirit, for what is that cast? Does the spirit of man accept the contradictions of life as being final and ultimate contradictions? Do you accept the contradictions in your life as being final and ultimate contradictions? Or do you find in those contradictions some eternal drama, endless in interval, complete in meaning? Is the apparent tension of which you are aware but a projection of what takes place deep within yourself, and all that you see is but a reflection of that? Or is there something more here? For what is the final vote of your spirit cast? The growing edge of hope in times of deepest despair-- the contradictions now-- hope, despair. Do you vote for the growing edge of hope in times of deepest despair, the bold trust, the bold affirmation that the contradictions of life are not final contradictions? All this a man may hold against every possible odd, not merely by willing it and by resolving it, but by a process that is vaster than the operations of the mind and surer than logic, profounder than private plan and personal desire, or even personal pride. Finally, if we accept the contradictions of life as being limited contradictions, then all endurance finally glows in radiance. All hope remains forever hopeful, and a man can gaze without panic upon the withering disillusionment and contradiction of his life with quiet eyes and a peaceful heart. The contradictions of life are not final contradictions. When we look again at our own lives, we see that we have made errors deliberately and blindly. There have been open doors of truth, and guidance, and high resolve into which we have not gone and against which we have turned our backs, little ways in which we have been mean, and bitter, and harsh, and unrelenting in our antagonism. But if we look more deeply, we discover that there are ways in which our kindnesses influence a part of the normal operation of our lives that we have not been aware that we have been kind-the longings of our spirit for understanding and the sharing of the deep mystery of our lives with many others who've crossed our paths, the little word of cheer and comfort that we have passed on to someone in whose eyes and face we saw the stark anguish of their desolation. We put that over against the error-- the false things that we have done. Therefore, we rejoice in the quietness that the contradictions of life are not final contradictions, either in our private lives or on the wide-world scale. And we thank God that it is so. 2 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NBC Broadcasts (1952-1954) Description An account of the resource KNBC was the call sign for NBC's radio broadcast station in San Franscisco from 1947 to 1962.<br /><br />"Dr. Thurman, the pastor of San Francisco's intercultural and interracial Fellowship Church, recently inaugurated a weekly program of spiritual "Meditations" on KNBC (Sundays, 10:00 -10:15 a.m., PST)"<br /><br />[Description from <em>NBC Chimes</em> (January 1953) archived in <a href="https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Station-Albums/Networks/NBC-Chime-1953-1954.pdf">American Radio History</a>] AudioWithTranscription Audio that is shown through the 3Play Media embedded interactive transcript Audio with Transcription <iframe width="100%" height="820" frameborder="0" src="/files/players/394-175_A.html" ></iframe> Time Period The decade in which the recording was produced. 1950s Original Title Title as transcribed from tape cassette Contradictions of Life (53-6; San Francisco), 1953 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 394-175_A Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Thurman, Howard Title A name given to the resource Contradictions of Life, 1953 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available <a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019. Description An account of the resource Thurman addresses the manifestations of the principle of alternation in life, ranging from the experiences of the individual to changes that affect the world. This alternation requires a “fallow period” from man, as life wanes, and a period of quiet restoration before it prepares to wax again. Thurman explains that this anxiety-inducing ebb is part of a natural, contradictory cycle, and that when man understands that the flow will come again, they can be at peace knowing that the contradictions in life are not final. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Description by Anthony Fiddes https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/files/original/2e353d2ef39bd89e55d9d5f1d84e9b3b.pdf 5fa44c8c5fbcddd151ae7631c96b6b64 PDF Text Text Pitts Theology Library The Howard Thurman Digital Archive Transcription thurman.pitts.emory.edu 394-175_B.mp3 Pitts Theology Library Emory University In the Book of Hebrews, at the end of the celebrated and well-known chapter on faith, there is a line which says that, apart from us, they may not become perfect. It is a roll call, this chapter, of men and women of great faith, who did various things, who lived full lives without the fulfillment which, under ordinary circumstances, would or should have been theirs. Their fulfillment was reserved for those who came after. It is another way of saying that the present and the past are related to each other, that the present is a fulfillment of the past, that the past has no thoroughgoing and complete meaning apart from the present. [INAUDIBLE] attaches a significant footnote to her discussion on parasitism in her volume called Woman and Labor. It is the story of an old mother duck who brought her latest brood of ducklings down beside what had been a pond. Since her previous ducklings were born, the pond had become baked mud. The duck urged her little brood to go in and swim around, to eat worms and chickweed, where no water, no worms, and no chickweed were. Well, they with their fresh, young instincts smelled the chickweed and heard the water way up the dam. They left their mother beside her old pond to go in quest of water and of food. Perhaps to get lost on the way, or perhaps to find it. To their old mother, they said, can't you see that the world has changed? You can't bring the water back into this dried-up pond. It may have been better and pleasanter when it was there, but now it is gone forever. Would you and yours swim again, it must be in other waters. There is, of course, an element of grave risk in all adventure. On the cover of a magazine published in England before the last war, there appeared this striking sentence. It is madness to sail a sea that has never been charted before, to look for a land the existence of which is in question. If Columbus had reflected thus, he would never have weighed anchor. But with this madness, he discovered a new world. The reassurance of a secure income, the quiet glow of working with a safe and respected institution in conventional ways, the sense of well-being that comes from being accepted by everyone because one's thinking is sensible and safe, all of this makes for a certain kind of deep and of profound tranquility. But there is apt to be no growing edge, and very little of the tang and the zest of aliveness that only the adventurous spirit knows. It is not an accident that the messengers of the gods were symbolized as human beings with wings ages before man thought of the possibility of flying through the air. The god of life is an adventurer, and those who are to find their fraternity must follow in his train. This is the meaning that the writer of the Book of Hebrews has in mind when he suggests that, apart from the past, the present has no meaning and no significance, really. And apart from the present, the past cannot find fulfillment. It was a simple story told to his graduating class by a quiet, soft-spoken college president who, for many years, had poured his life into the deepest needs of generations of young college 1 �Pitts Theology Library The Howard Thurman Digital Archive Transcription thurman.pitts.emory.edu women. He had inherited from his father the farm upon which the days of his childhood had been spent. Pitts Theology Library Emory University On the farm was a certain apple tree, older than a half century. He had noticed that the clue to the perennial fruit of the tree was the fact that each year's fruit grew only on that year's wood. The apple crop grew on new wood each year. This law of its life faced the tree with a very searching option. It must grow new wood every year if it expected to bear fruit that year. If it did not bear fruit, it could not fulfill its destiny. Of course, it could continue to live. There would be life in the old wood, and that life would bring forth leaves. But that is all. If there would be fruit on the tree, there must be new wood. This year's apples could not grow on last year's wood. Apart from the present, the past cannot find fulfillment. How often in our own experience do we make demands upon old wood that can only be made on new wood? This year's fruit can only grow on this year's wood. If, for any reason, fruit does not grow on this year's wood, then its day was yesterday, its year was yesteryear. There is a function of last year's wood. There is a function of the past. That function is to produce this year's wood. But the fruit can only grow on this year's wood. Age has its uses. There is a wisdom of experience, and a vast strength that belong to that which has borne its fruit in its time. Often, we forget this. We expect the time of fruit bearing to wait for our convenience, our mood, our permissions. We cling to the old way, the old pattern, because they were good in their time. Again and again, we utter the complaint of the old wood. Last year, or 10 years ago, we did it this way. The favorite phrase is, I remember when. The golden age, you see, is regarded as being in the past. Even in very intimate and personal ways, we're often bound by the lament of the old wood. This is the way my father did it. This is the way we did it as children. This is the way that my mother did it. This is how I grew up. We forget that each year's fruit must grow on that year's wood. Our responsibility is not to bear fruit, it would seem. Our responsibility is to grow new wood. The laws of life will bring the fruit. Such is also the common failure of many organizations. The old-timers who had one time been in power, and who bore rich fruit in their time, find it difficult, often, to grow new wood for this year's fruit. There is a necessitous function for old wood, without which there can be no new growth. Wisdom is in knowing what that function is. The function of the old is to grow the new wood upon which this year's fruit can move from blossom to ripeness. To refuse to grow new wood is to put one's self against life. It is to retreat from life. It is to turn one's face to the wall. And to do this is to die. This year's fruit grows only on this year's wood, that apart from the present, the past cannot find fulfillment. 2 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NBC Broadcasts (1952-1954) Description An account of the resource KNBC was the call sign for NBC's radio broadcast station in San Franscisco from 1947 to 1962.<br /><br />"Dr. Thurman, the pastor of San Francisco's intercultural and interracial Fellowship Church, recently inaugurated a weekly program of spiritual "Meditations" on KNBC (Sundays, 10:00 -10:15 a.m., PST)"<br /><br />[Description from <em>NBC Chimes</em> (January 1953) archived in <a href="https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Station-Albums/Networks/NBC-Chime-1953-1954.pdf">American Radio History</a>] AudioWithTranscription Audio that is shown through the 3Play Media embedded interactive transcript Audio with Transcription <iframe width="100%" height="820" frameborder="0" src="/files/players/394-175_B.html" ></iframe> Time Period The decade in which the recording was produced. 1950s Original Title Title as transcribed from tape cassette Contradictions of Life (53-6; San Francisco), 1953 [Side B] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 394-175_B Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Thurman, Howard Title A name given to the resource [Past and Present], 1953 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available <a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019. Description An account of the resource Thurman references colorful allegories and metaphors in this recording to remind us that focusing on the past can prevent one’s self from achieving fulfillment and helping those yet-to-come. His most powerful reference is to the “new and old wood” of an apple tree. He states clearly that fruit is only born on the new wood, and that the function of old wood is to bear that new wood. He connects this metaphor to the book of Hebrew to explain that without the past, the present has no meaning, and without the present, the past remains unfulfilled. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Description by Anthony Fiddes