THURMAN’S CORNER – 7/11/21

A Sense of Self

Age is a matter of perspective, attitude and digestion. There are many people who are young in years but are old in reactions, who have lost their resiliency and are already exhausted. There are others who are full of years, chronologically, but who continue to be alert, sensitive and elastic. For most people, it is difficult to accept the fact of increasing years … all of us must accommodate ourselves to the simple fact that we are not so young as we once were, and thus take life in the stride belonging to the years we have lived.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 7/04/21

A Sense of Self

It is easy enough to be gracious and sympathetic with other people when they are in dire need of facing some great tragedy. Most people rise to meet a crisis in themselves or others. It is a far greater test of character to be kind and gracious, when there is no special need, when the situation is not heightened by any unusual demand.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 6/28/21

A Sense of Self

Again and again, we are impressed with the fact that little things can make big differences. A little act of kindness at a moment of great need makes all the difference between sunshine and shadows. A smile at the right moment may make an intolerable burden lighter. Just a note bearing a message of simple interest or concern of affection may give to another the radically needed assurance. A simple “Thank you” has softened many a hard situation or punctured the crust of many a “hardboiled” person. There is always a place for the graceful gesture, the thoughtful remark, the sensitive response. It is what may be called “living flexibly.”

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 6/21/21

A Sense of Self

There is magic all round us. It may be that the person with whom you live every day or with whom you work has, locked deep within, the answer to your own greatest need if you know how to “strike the rock aright.”

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 6/14/21

A Sense of Self

The central emphasis of the teaching of Jesus centers upon the relationship of individual to individual, and of all individuals to God … If we accept the basic proposition that all life is one, arising out of a common center – God, all expressions of love are acts of God. Hate, then, becomes a form of annihilation of self and others; in short – suicide.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 6/06/21

A Sense of Self

In solitariness, a person is often most profoundly aware of the underlying unity of life for it carries with it, often, a dimension of sensitiveness to life, and awareness of others well nigh unique. But the matter of loneliness is a different story. Loneliness means that the individual feels he is in isolation from his fellows, cut off, stranded! The experience usually takes the form of not being understood. When the Book says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” it is an insistence that, if the individual has the profound consciousness that God understands him, then this is the ultimate sense of unity beside which all the understanding of others, however reassuring, may seem of little consequence. The possible peril is that of self-deception. There cannot be any substitute for simple sincerity and searching honesty.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/31/21

A Sense of Self

God, I need Thee.

When morning crowds the night away

And tasks of waking seize my mind;

I need Thy poise.

God, I need Thee.

When love is hard to see

Amid the ugliness and slime,

I need Thy eyes.

God, I need Thee.

When clashes come with those

Who walk the way with me,

I need thy smile.

God, I need Thee.

When the path to take before me lies,

I see it . . . courage flees-

I need Thy faith.

God, I need Thee.

When the day’s work is done,

Tired, discouraged, wasted,

I need Thy rest.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/24/21

A Sense of Self

Pride causes one to exaggerate his significance or insignificance, either by claiming for himself more than he knows to be true or by claiming for himself less than he knows to be true. It makes for fundamental dishonesty because it is just as false, to underestimate oneself quite consciously as it is to overestimate oneself. Again, pride makes it difficult to see one’s faults. Tor the badge of pride is self-righteousness.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/17/21

A Sense of Self

A man becomes proud and arrogant in his achievement only when he compares his achievement with other men’s achievements, but when a man compares his achievements with his dreams, he feels ashamed that he has been able to catch so little of what he saw. Humility is the only mood that becomes him, and the only attitude. Approval in the last analysis can come from God and God only, because He alone understands the height and depth of an absolute demand.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”

THURMAN’S CORNER – 5/10/21

A Sense of Self

In the presence of human need, we may detach ourselves, on the ground that it is no concern of ours or that we do not wish to become involved or that we are too sensitive to expose ourselves to much that is distasteful… It must never be forgotten that we cannot escape a certain basic attachment in terms of responsibility for our world and the things that are done in it. This is an intimate part of the price we pay for being alive. Social responsibility does not provide for complete detachment, despite the fact that the point of direct participation in social sin may be several steps removed from my point of operation.

From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”