I appreciated the sound and intentional slow vocal delivery of Howard Thurman. The sound of his delivery helped the message to resonate with me more deeply. Thank you for including his perspective on the "Sound of the Genuine". This message left me wondering about the intersectionality of sounds. How will I listen for the sound of the genuine and the sound of the divine? Are they one in the same? Do they interpret each other? How are those sounds being developed in me and what practices should I reengage or learn to hear at a deeper level?
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Lucia
Sep 29
I appreciate hearing this speech from Howard Thurman, it was my first time listening to it. I was challenged by his notion of “finding the genuine” in ourselves because sometimes we aren’t in a place to “slow down” long enough to listen to the stillness within us. Sometimes we are rushed from task to task, event to event, that it almost feels like this is my genuine. Just surviving onto the next thing that comes my way. There are moments in each year that I am able to slow down enough to hear the genuine voice in myself, but those moments are rare as I continue existing in our current systems of order and governance. As I navigate my own journey, I hope to be able to find more moments of quiet reflection in this rat race called life in the U.S.A.
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Rochelle Zecher
Sep 22
I have ADHD, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 40. That diagnosis helped put SO MANY pieces of my life into perspective. The biggest piece being my genuine self. I still talk a lot, but I learned that most people don't care about the novels I've read, or Start Trek, or the craft of the week.... I had learned to bury all the things that make me "me" and become a socially acceptable chameleon. THANK GOD for the friends he placed in my life several years ago who have done a great job helping me find my genuine voice again. What a gift to be truly seen and loved BECAUSE I'm giant dork and not despite it.
I was thinking about this when Thurman was speaking about listening to my enemies. I wonder if they are "enemies" simply because I haven't gotten to actually know them. How much of their behavior is out of the same fear that I share. Are they afraid that if people got close enough to know them, they would not be loved? Am I putting in the effort it takes to see beyond all of that fear and call forth the true reflection of our creator that others carry within them?
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Xavier Robles
Sep 22
As I reflect on Thurman's, 'Sound of the genuine', I can't help but reflect on by closest relationship. I think about my partner, Yami, and I recognize how her upbringing and mine are so distinct that sometimes we can be quick to look over each other's genuine voice. We can put our shields up immediately out of fear that the other will judge us if we allow our true selves (or the sound of the genuine) to be exposed.
I recognize that the sound of the genuine for me has baggage and wounds and at the same time, this sound reminds me that I am accepted nonetheless. It's a radical acceptance towards oneself. In some way I believe that is what it means to embody and listen to the sound of the genuine: listening to that inner voice deep within us without coming to judge it. Simply admiring this sound is enough to bring about peace in a world that calls us to switch between various sounds and cover one over the other.
I am challenged through this video to recognize the sound of the genuine in those I consider enemies and would rather 'wipe them out' (9:38). This can be challenging as I can be quick to label people under certain categories once 'enough' information has been gathered. Yet I am sensing now that no amount of external information can be enough to see the inner genuine sound that resides within us all regardless of political/religious identities.
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Keven
Sep 19
After listening to Howard Thurman's graduation speech, it made me think about the genuine in me and what idiom resonates with who I am. However, I'm not sure I have really given it much thought. What would that idiom be? Helping someone and genuinely caring about them, I would give them the shirt off my back. Would it be calling a spade a spade and appreciating directness? Or perhaps the part of me that recognizes that actions speak louder than words. I can't help but believe and understand that the idiom that resides in me would be one of genuine care and love for others. Knowing this detail of my character pushes me to sit still and listen to the genuine in me to understand God's path for me and my ministry.
Howard Thurman mentions that so much traffic in our minds causes us to miss the genuine sound of the voice within. The illustration of walking down the street and hearing water running under the street because there were no other noises to distract him made it so clear. Be still. Listen intently for the sound of your genuine voice and the voice of God. I want people to know that they are seen, welcomed, loved, and worth showing up for. Others may see me as a pastor, chaplain, or supervisor and expect me to perform the role they expect from those positions. However, I enjoy doing the things I feel most deeply about, and they return to me as a genuine part of who I am; my soul and brain feel rewarded after I show up as that version of myself.
I appreciated the sound and intentional slow vocal delivery of Howard Thurman. The sound of his delivery helped the message to resonate with me more deeply. Thank you for including his perspective on the "Sound of the Genuine". This message left me wondering about the intersectionality of sounds. How will I listen for the sound of the genuine and the sound of the divine? Are they one in the same? Do they interpret each other? How are those sounds being developed in me and what practices should I reengage or learn to hear at a deeper level?
I appreciate hearing this speech from Howard Thurman, it was my first time listening to it. I was challenged by his notion of “finding the genuine” in ourselves because sometimes we aren’t in a place to “slow down” long enough to listen to the stillness within us. Sometimes we are rushed from task to task, event to event, that it almost feels like this is my genuine. Just surviving onto the next thing that comes my way. There are moments in each year that I am able to slow down enough to hear the genuine voice in myself, but those moments are rare as I continue existing in our current systems of order and governance. As I navigate my own journey, I hope to be able to find more moments of quiet reflection in this rat race called life in the U.S.A.
I have ADHD, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 40. That diagnosis helped put SO MANY pieces of my life into perspective. The biggest piece being my genuine self. I still talk a lot, but I learned that most people don't care about the novels I've read, or Start Trek, or the craft of the week.... I had learned to bury all the things that make me "me" and become a socially acceptable chameleon. THANK GOD for the friends he placed in my life several years ago who have done a great job helping me find my genuine voice again. What a gift to be truly seen and loved BECAUSE I'm giant dork and not despite it.
I was thinking about this when Thurman was speaking about listening to my enemies. I wonder if they are "enemies" simply because I haven't gotten to actually know them. How much of their behavior is out of the same fear that I share. Are they afraid that if people got close enough to know them, they would not be loved? Am I putting in the effort it takes to see beyond all of that fear and call forth the true reflection of our creator that others carry within them?
As I reflect on Thurman's, 'Sound of the genuine', I can't help but reflect on by closest relationship. I think about my partner, Yami, and I recognize how her upbringing and mine are so distinct that sometimes we can be quick to look over each other's genuine voice. We can put our shields up immediately out of fear that the other will judge us if we allow our true selves (or the sound of the genuine) to be exposed.
I recognize that the sound of the genuine for me has baggage and wounds and at the same time, this sound reminds me that I am accepted nonetheless. It's a radical acceptance towards oneself. In some way I believe that is what it means to embody and listen to the sound of the genuine: listening to that inner voice deep within us without coming to judge it. Simply admiring this sound is enough to bring about peace in a world that calls us to switch between various sounds and cover one over the other.
I am challenged through this video to recognize the sound of the genuine in those I consider enemies and would rather 'wipe them out' (9:38). This can be challenging as I can be quick to label people under certain categories once 'enough' information has been gathered. Yet I am sensing now that no amount of external information can be enough to see the inner genuine sound that resides within us all regardless of political/religious identities.
After listening to Howard Thurman's graduation speech, it made me think about the genuine in me and what idiom resonates with who I am. However, I'm not sure I have really given it much thought. What would that idiom be? Helping someone and genuinely caring about them, I would give them the shirt off my back. Would it be calling a spade a spade and appreciating directness? Or perhaps the part of me that recognizes that actions speak louder than words. I can't help but believe and understand that the idiom that resides in me would be one of genuine care and love for others. Knowing this detail of my character pushes me to sit still and listen to the genuine in me to understand God's path for me and my ministry.
Howard Thurman mentions that so much traffic in our minds causes us to miss the genuine sound of the voice within. The illustration of walking down the street and hearing water running under the street because there were no other noises to distract him made it so clear. Be still. Listen intently for the sound of your genuine voice and the voice of God. I want people to know that they are seen, welcomed, loved, and worth showing up for. Others may see me as a pastor, chaplain, or supervisor and expect me to perform the role they expect from those positions. However, I enjoy doing the things I feel most deeply about, and they return to me as a genuine part of who I am; my soul and brain feel rewarded after I show up as that version of myself.