A hand extended to all lost souls
We are all beautiful microcosms

Named one of Baylor University's 12 Most Effective Preachers in 1995, and one of America's 10 Greatest Preachers in 2010 by American Pastors! These are all words that describe Barbara Brown Taylor.
Expectations are naturally high, as this book is written by someone who is considered the best preacher.
And she doesn't let down these expectations.
Her writing stimulates the imagination and satisfies the emotions of readers, and every page is filled with literary sensibility and comfort.
But the greatest strength of her writing is its consideration and understanding of the people who live on Earth.
So, this book eliminates the preconception that it was written by a religious person, and provides the same emotions to non-religious people as well.

She cautions against valuing only the invisible soul, and speaks of the importance of what is visible and what is done with the body.
It helps us encounter the sacred while doing everyday tasks, sometimes even things we find bothersome, like doing overdue laundry or cleaning dirty toilets.
This is probably why so many people are moved by Barbara's writing and reflect on their own lives when they hear her speeches.
She quietly but powerfully impresses upon our hearts the simple truth that we have long forgotten: that everything in the world is a prayer and sacredness.

Respect can be painful.
Chicken salad would be easier to make if I hadn't followed a truck full of chickens.
If you don't know anything about China, ordering a cashmere sweater will be a lot easier.
But all of this pours out like a shooting star into an open door toward God.
If we open our doors only to shooting stars and close them to chicken feathers, we are living half a life with half a heart.
--- During the practice of paying attention

I don't call this chores.
This work is a domestic art that pays attention to all ways of reviving the senses.
When I see an empty refrigerator filled with dried leeks and bowls of side dishes old enough to be recorded in history, I know my art has become jaded.
When I can't tell if there's a sleeping cat or a ball of dust under my bed, I know I've been lost in thought for too long.
It's time to get down on your knees.
(……) As long as you strive to do something important, whatever it may be, it can be a way of learning what it means to be a whole human being.
The perfect job for you to do in the world.

--- Among the practices of living with purpose