[FROM THE ARCHIVE: September 22, 2019]
Adam Bucko and I published a book together called Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation. We passed out questionnaires to many young adults around the country about their spiritual journeys which included such topics as how they underwent their own “callings” and how that related to compassion and justice; what spiritual practices they engage in; what part elders play in their life; the role of new economics, communities and lay monasticism in their spirituality and more. We incorporated their answers in our book and we were so taken by the following story from Howard Thurman that we included it on the very first page of the Introduction to our book. I especially like how this story underscores the leadership of young people in the arena of spirituality.
Continuing our reflection on the Climate Strike led by young people, we turn once more to Dr. Howard Thurman, the African American mystic and prophet who was in many ways the spiritual genius behind the civil rights movement. Present at the march on Washington DC in 1963 that included Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he offers this very original observation:
“The thing that made the deepest impression on me at the ceremonies at the base of the Lincoln Monument…was not the vast throng, as thrilling at it was to be a part of such a tremendous movement of peoples on the march; it was not the inspired oratory of all the participating speakers, including the dazzling magic of the music and utter vitality springing from the throat of Martin Luther King; it was not the repeated refrain of Eugene Blake, saying on behalf of the church, we are late but we are here—no, it was none of these things.
What impressed me most was a small group of young people representing student nonviolent groups, fresh from the jails and violences of the South, who time and time again caught the spiritual overtones of the speakers and led the critical applause which moved like a tidal wave over the vast audience. I do not know but this observation may be an embarrassment to them, but this is how it seemed to me. These young people were tuned to the spiritual dimension of what they were about even as what they were about was the exercising of their civil rights inherent in their citizenship.
This profound and holy man, Dr. Howard Thurman, who with his wife traveled to India in 1935 and met Gandhi, brought back his non-violent techniques for social change to the black community in America. His book Jesus and the Disinherited was such a gospel to Dr. King, that he took it with him each of the thirty-nine times he went to jail while protesting social segregation in America. Thurman does not remember King’s great oratory or even the hundreds of thousands who marched for freedom and justice so much as he remembers the young.
Those who had the courage to themselves go to jail and take on an evil system replete with numerous “violences” and who, “exercised their civil rights inherent in their citizenship.” And why did they make so profound an impact on Thurman’s awareness? Because they were leaders in catching “the spiritual overtones” of the historic moment. And because of their courage.
Are we today, whatever our age, catching the spiritual overtones behind the climate change movements? And the anti-war movement in Gaza? And the upcoming presidential election?
Adapted from Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation, pp. xixf.
See Matthew Fox, “Honoring the Child Within—Youth and the Cosmic Christ,” in Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, pp. 180-198.
See also: Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jen Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Banner Image: “BLM Protest Norwich.” Photo by Roo Pitt – Concrete. Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Are we becoming “attuned to the spiritual dimensions of what we are about today” in our efforts at rebelling against our and other species’ extinction? At addressing Climate Change? At realizing that the peril of the planet is also a perspective that allows all generations but also all religions and all nationalities and all peoples and all tribes to work together to combat a common enemy—the death of the planet as we know it? Might this Via Negativa we all face be turned into a burst of Creativity and Justice we all yearn for?
Recommended Reading
Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
Authors Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox encourage us to use our talents in service of compassion and justice and to move beyond our broken systems–economic, political, educational, and religious–discovering a spirituality that not only helps us to get along, but also encourages us to reevaluate our traditions, transforming them and in the process building a more sacred and just world. Incorporating the words of young activist leaders culled from interviews and surveys, the book provides a framework that is deliberately interfaith and speaks to our profound yearning for a life with spiritual purpose and for a better world.
“Occupy Spirituality is a powerful, inspiring, and vital call to embodied awareness and enlightened actions.”
~~ Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist and author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope.
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4 thoughts on “Another Striking Observation from Howard Thurman about Youth & Spiritual Leadership”
The planet is most likely not in peril. We and other species living on the planet are in peril and our quality of life is rapidly changing. The earth has survived many catastrophic events in the past.
* The Ice Age, occurring during the Pleistocene Epoch from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, was a period marked by repeated glacial cycles where vast ice sheets covered significant portions of the Earth’s surface.
* Permian-Triassic Extinction Event: Around 252 million years ago, Earth experienced its most severe extinction event, wiping out approximately 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species.
* Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event: Approximately 66 million years ago, an asteroid impact and other factors led to the extinction of about 75% of Earth’s species, including the dinosaurs.
* Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM): Around 55.8 million years ago, a rapid global temperature rise occurred, likely due to massive releases of methane, causing major shifts in ecosystems and extinctions.
* Younger Dryas Event: Approximately 12,900 to 11,700 years ago, a sudden return to glacial conditions occurred after the last Ice Age, impacting early human societies.
My comment in yesterday’s DM also applies to today’s DM spiritual concerns about Climate Change and the survival of our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth.
I love today’s meditation! And I loved watching that video about the brave children in Oklahoma <3
Thank you for this. I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Thurman for his insight, and to you, for helping to spread the word, and the work to get people to see the roots of their spirituality in action. It is with great hope that we face the next 100 days, hoping to register voters, to keep getting the young people engaged and participating in the attempt to change the system, expand the opportunities, and do more to protect and support the planet. I always remember my grandfather saying “all it takes for the world to go to hell is enough good people to do nothing.” We have to put the energy and the footwork in. Nonviolent communication is SO important. Marshall Rosenberg’s videos on You Tube are a help. We can learn to change the way we function, try to be more peaceful in HOW we interact. The medium is also the message… THANK YOU!