The CAFO2016 talk “Growing Down” explores why it is that, if we hope to persevere in long journeys of justice and mercy, we must grow down before we grow upward.
Of course, most of us would say we do desire to grow down – to nurture a rich inner life, to be a person of depth.
If we hope to persevere in long journeys of justice and mercy, we must grow down before we grow upward.
But the big question is this: which do we want most? Is downward growth our greatest desire? Or – when push comes to shove – do we yearn most of all to grow upward in external achievement, recognition and stature?
To be clear, wanting to grow upward certainly isn’t bad. Upward growth and good fruit are the natural (inevitable!) result of deep, healthy roots. But which stands as our first concern and focus — upward or downward — makes all the difference….and lead to very different lives.
The truth is, it is often hard to tell, even for ourselves. Our hearts can be a tangle of motives, both noble and base. Still, there are things that can at least give us clues as to which is our fist priority, to what is really driving us.
To ponder what might be first for you, open or download the one page comparison, “Upward or Downward First?“