Create your own “working paper.”
In a world that often leaves us feeling disoriented and unmoored, Howard Thurman developed and shared a profound spiritual practice that he called his "Working Paper." This wasn't just another goal-setting exercise or yearly vision board. For Thurman, a theologian, mystic, and civil rights leader, it was a living document that captured his deepest understanding of purpose and calling.
Here’s how Thurman described a working paper in the Epilogue of Jesus and the Disinherited:
“The life working paper of the individual is made up of a creative synthesis of what the man is in all his parts and how he reacts to the living process.”
In essence, it's a dynamic document that helps us understand who we are, what we're called to do, and how we might faithfully respond to God's movement in our lives.
Thurman's vision for the working paper emerged from a piercing observation about modern life: Without clear direction, our lives can become, in the words of Lerita Coleman Brown, author of What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman, like "unleased office space—available for rent to the highest bidder."
He understood that our motivations often spring from what Brown describes as “the economic or social marketplace rather than from deep searching," and Thurman recognized that without intentional reflection, we risk living lives directed by external pressures rather than divine purpose. In other words, if we don’t fill it, it will be filled for us.
To guide the creation of a “working paper,” Thurman posed several poignant questions:
What are you trying to do with your life?
What does it mean to truly commit your life to something?
What gives your life meaning?
Have you developed your own authentic working paper, or are you living by someone else's script?
These aren't one-and-done questions with simple answers. Rather, they become faithful companions on our spiritual journey—evolving as we grow yet remaining anchored in our fundamental relationship with the divine.
Thurman saw the working paper as more than just a tool for personal growth. In a world yearning for healing and transformation, he believed that clarity about our purpose also enables us to contribute more effectively to God's work in the world. When we understand our unique calling, we're better equipped to serve others and participate in meaningful change.
In our current age of endless distraction and competing demands, Thurman's working paper offers a vital practice for living with intention and purpose. It helps us move beyond merely reacting to all that life throws at us and instead respond from a place of deep trust, purpose, and intentionality rooted in the Divine.