Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times, new and revised by Paul Rogat Loeb (St. Martin's Griffin, $16.99 trade paper, 9780312595371/0312595379, March 30, 2010)
Opening lines of a book we'd like to read:
Souls are like athletes that need opponents worthy of them if they are to be tried and extended and pushed to the full use of their powers.--Thomas Merton
We're often taught to view our lives as a zero-sum game. With all the pressures we face, we barely have time for family and friends. How could we possibly take on some demanding cause?
Yet for all the frustration we expect, when we do get involved, we get a lot back: new relationships, fresh skills, a sense of empowerment, pride in accomplishment....
Again and again, I've heard active citizens say that what motivates them the most is the desire to respect what they see in the mirror. [It's] about values, about taking stock of ourselves and comparing the convictions we say we hold with the lives we actually lead. It's about seeing ourselves from the viewpoint of our communities, the earth, maybe even God. If eyes are windows to the soul, and faces reflections of character, looking in the mirror lets us step back from the flux of our lives and hold ourselves accountable.
Sound a bit daunting? It can be. As the saying goes, not one among us is without fault. But such self-examination also can be enormously rewarding. For it's equally true that not one among us lacks a heart, which is the wellspring of courage.... At the core of our being lie resources many of us never dream we possess, much less imagine we can draw on.--Selected by Marilyn Dahl