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Quote by Shane Claiborne

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The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

This book is a philosophical exploration of the idea that one can be a radical agent of change in the world without needing to engage in extreme or unconventional behavior. It probably includes anecdotes and personal narratives from individuals who have made meaningful impacts through their ordinary lives, emphasizing the power of small, consistent actions. The book may also discuss societal structures and individual responsibilities, encouraging readers to consider their own roles in creating positive change. more

Author

Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne

Shane Claiborne is an author, social activist, and Christian pacifist, known for his advocacy of simple living and opposition to war. Born on July 11, 1975, Claiborne's work and activities aim to promote social justice and global peace. more

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“Birth, while transcendent, otherworldly, spiritual, and profound, is actually intense hard work that tests our ideas of what “spiritual” looks like and means. Birth exposes the sacred through the muck, mud, and hardship of something so profoundly animalistic that it makes us into something entirely new. This otherworldly place where great transformation happens is the sacred space of birth.”

“No, madam,' I said to the woman in my ESL English. "That's my mom. I came out her asshole and I love her very much. I am seven. Next year I will be eight. I'm doing fine."... You believed, like many Vietnamese mothers, that to speak of female genitalia, especially between mothers adn sons, is considered taboo- so when talking about birth, you always mentioned that I had come out of your anus. You would playfully slap my head and say,'This huge noggin nearly tore up my asshole!”

“I think we're all just doing our best to survive the inevitable pain and suffering that walks alongside us through life. Long ago, it was wild animals and deadly poxes and harsh terrain. I learned about it playing The Oregon Trail on an old IBM in my computer class in the fourth grade. The nature of the trail has changed, but we keep trekking along. We trek through the death of a sibling, a child, a parent, a partner, a spouse; the failed marriage, the crippling debt, the necessary abortion, the paralyzing infertility, the permanent disability, the job you can't seem to land; the assault, the robbery, the break-in, the accident, the flood, the fire; the sickness, the anxiety, the depression, the loneliness, the betrayal, the disappointment, and the heartbreak. There are these moments in life where you change instantly. In one moment, you're the way you were, and in the next, you're someone else. Like becoming a parent: you're adding, of course, instead of subtracting, as it is when someone dies, and the tone of the occasion is obviously different, but the principal is the same. Birth is an inciting incident, a point of no return, that changes one's circumstances forever. The second that beautiful baby onto whom you have projected all your hopes and dreams comes out of your body, you will never again do anything for yourself. It changes you suddenly and entirely. Birth and death are the same in that way.”