THE SINGING OF ANGELS There must be always remaining in every man's life some place for the singing of angels -- some place for that which in itself is breathlessly beautiful and by an inherent prerogative, throwing all the rest of life into a new and creative relatedness -- something that gathers up in itself all the freshets of experience from drab and commonplace areas of living and glows in one bright light of penetrating beauty and meaning -- then passes. The commonplace is shot through with new glory -- old burdens become lighter, deep and ancient wounds lose much of their old, old hurting. A crown is placed over our heads that for the rest of our lives we are trying to grow tall enough to wear. Despite all the crassness of life, despite all the hardness of life, despite all of the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the singing of angels. Howard Thurman
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Howard Thurman lived from 1900 - 1981 and was cofounder of the
Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, CA.
After Amy learned about Martin Luther King and his work, one of her proudest possessions was our piano bench. It was old and beat up but had come from Dr. Thurman's church during the time that Amy's dad worked there. Dad told Amy that Dr. Thurman had known Dr. King and the link was forged in Amy's mind between the great civil rights leader and the bench she sat on to play "Chopsticks". The following piece is from his book The Inward Journey published in 1961. It is a piece that reminds us that violence begets violence and that revenge is not an option when evil befalls us. For information on Howard Thurman and a listing of some of his books , see the following: |