Tuesday 22 April 2008

A week of contemplation and the self - Thomas Merton.



Contemplation is not and cannot be a function of the external self. There is an irreducible opposition between the deep transcendent self that awakens only in contemplation and the superficial, external self which we commonly identify with the first person singular. We must remember that this superficial "I" is not our real self. It is our "individuality" and our "empirical self" but it is not truly the hidden and mysterious person in whom we subsist before the eyes of God. The "I" that works in the world, thinks about itself, observes its own reaction and talks about itself is not the true "I" that has been united to God in Christ. It is at best the vesture, the mask, the disguise of that mysterious and unknown "self" whom most of us never discover until we are dead.*

(* The footnote after "dead" reads: "Hell" can be described as a perpetual alienation from our true being, our true self, which is in God.)



I imagine that there is an understanding that as we are involved in contemplation, we will be surprised. We will be...out of control and what we learn or see or hear may be contrary to everything we attempt to make of ourselves or how we intend to create the world around us. The surprise may be nothing more than becoming aware of life that is a bit out of sync with how we try to make life be "in sync" with the way we would dress up our lives. Because we become aware of more...it is a surprise. Because we become more aware of life and who we are...we are surprised by joy. Joy is simply that place of rest that take place as we find ourselves again in the loving presence of God and others without performing or "making the grade"...but rather by simply seeing the life and the beauty of life that is ours.



Connection: too often we don't leave ourselves open to see the beauty of life that is ours. At times it is simply because the other "stuff" wins the day...let's not let that "stuff" have its way with us.



In, with, and under, this day, O God, you let your Spirit reach out and brush by us so that our heads may turn and we begin to see what we so often leave unseen - the preciousness of life you have given to each of us. Open our eyes and ears and hearts to the blessing of this day. Amen.