The Whole Self

When we are quiet, not just for a few minutes but for an hour or several hours, we may become uneasily aware of the presence within us, of a disturbing stranger, the Self that is both "I" and someone else. The Self that is not entirely welcome in his own house because he is so different from the every day character that we have constructed.
~Thomas Merton

I came across this quote by Thomas Merton last night and thought it was apt. In the unquiet of the modern world, we rarely see our whole selves. We have a public self that we put forth to the world, especially the cyber world, and many times, we believe that image is the whole of our self.

But in the quiet moments, we realize there is more. We are not all we portray ourselves to be. Or, rather, we are more than what we portray ourselves to be. We are complex human beings, born of complex lives--not only our own, but our forebearers' as well.

In the quiet moments, we realize that, as St. Paul said, that, what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:14)

The older we get, I think, the more we begin to see this "self that is both 'I' and someone else." Couple that with the realization that life in this world is finite, and you have the core issue of humanity.

The Whole Self

When we are quiet, not just for a few minutes but for an hour or several hours, we may become uneasily aware of the presence within us, of a disturbing stranger, the Self that is both "I" and someone else. The Self that is not entirely welcome in his own house because he is so different from the every day character that we have constructed.
~Thomas Merton

I came across this quote by Thomas Merton last night and thought it was apt. In the unquiet of the modern world, we rarely see our whole selves. We have a public self that we put forth to the world, especially the cyber world, and many times, we believe that image is the whole of our self.

But in the quiet moments, we realize there is more. We are not all we portray ourselves to be. Or, rather, we are more than what we portray ourselves to be. We are complex human beings, born of complex lives--not only our own, but our forebearers' as well.

In the quiet moments, we realize that, as St. Paul said, that, what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:14)

The older we get, I think, the more we begin to see this "self that is both 'I' and someone else." Couple that with the realization that life in this world is finite, and you have the core issue of humanity.

Patience with myself

As I age, I am no longer able to get many things done seemingly instantaneously. For example, I can't clean my house in one go as I used to be able to. Many of the things I am dealing with these days are so multi-layered that it is not possible to do more than make a small dent in the ever-present to do list that faces me daily.

Perhaps that is the lesson I am to learn: to forgive myself for not being strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, thorough enough; to have patience with myself and to become aware of my own spiritual poverty and powerlessness in the face of the inevitable passage of time.

Patience with myself

As I age, I am no longer able to get many things done seemingly instantaneously. For example, I can't clean my house in one go as I used to be able to. Many of the things I am dealing with these days are so multi-layered that it is not possible to do more than make a small dent in the ever-present to do list that faces me daily.

Perhaps that is the lesson I am to learn: to forgive myself for not being strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, thorough enough; to have patience with myself and to become aware of my own spiritual poverty and powerlessness in the face of the inevitable passage of time.

Does Evil Exist?

An increasingly popular notion today is that there is no such thing as evil--and certainly not Evil personified. I think the idea that there is no such thing as evil, or the Evil One, can only be credibly entertained in this western society, at this time. We have virtually everything we could ever want at our fingertips. Most of us have roofs over our heads, food in our kitchens, cars in our driveways, hundreds of television channels in our living rooms, and an entire world at the click of a mouse. It is easy for us to come to the conclusion that evil does not exist, because most of us have not had to come face to face with it.

But evil does exist.

When the government that you elected, turns against you systematically, and finally decides that everyone of your religion and ethnic group must die, that is no mere "policy" or "choice". That is evil. When vast numbers of your countrymen go along with it, turn you in to the authorities, put you in concentration camps, treat you less than animals, kill your people by the tens of thousands, and then go home to their families at night and play with their children as if nothing happened, that is evil. There is evil in the world. There was evil in the 1930's and there is evil today. Just because this type of thing is not happening throughout Western culture right now, doesn't mean it is not happening.

The good news is that if Evil exists, then Good must exist. If Evil can be personified, then so can Good. All does not lie within humanity alone. We are created as God's children by a loving Father. We are given the graces by God to overcome our challenges and survive in this world.

Perfect Love exists and God is Perfect Love.

Does Evil Exist?

An increasingly popular notion today is that there is no such thing as evil--and certainly not Evil personified. I think the idea that there is no such thing as evil, or the Evil One, can only be credibly entertained in this western society, at this time. We have virtually everything we could ever want at our fingertips. Most of us have roofs over our heads, food in our kitchens, cars in our driveways, hundreds of television channels in our living rooms, and an entire world at the click of a mouse. It is easy for us to come to the conclusion that evil does not exist, because most of us have not had to come face to face with it.

But evil does exist.

When the government that you elected, turns against you systematically, and finally decides that everyone of your religion and ethnic group must die, that is no mere "policy" or "choice". That is evil. When vast numbers of your countrymen go along with it, turn you in to the authorities, put you in concentration camps, treat you less than animals, kill your people by the tens of thousands, and then go home to their families at night and play with their children as if nothing happened, that is evil. There is evil in the world. There was evil in the 1930's and there is evil today. Just because this type of thing is not happening throughout Western culture right now, doesn't mean it is not happening.

The good news is that if Evil exists, then Good must exist. If Evil can be personified, then so can Good. All does not lie within humanity alone. We are created as God's children by a loving Father. We are given the graces by God to overcome our challenges and survive in this world.

Perfect Love exists and God is Perfect Love.

Random spring thoughts

It's a beautiful spring day. It is a day for fulfilling one of my long held dreams--to take a restful nap outside. Spring is the time to do these kinds of things. I wanted to blog about how beautiful it is outside, when I realized that I feel a bit...dishonest in not being able to show you actual pictures from the actual outside at this very moment.

I think I should perhaps, upgrade my cell phone, which currently is a very basic model, to include a camera and learn how to upload pictures to my blog. Being someone who shrinks from change, though, I hesitate. I've had this phone so long, that they probably owe me 2 or 3 upgrades by now. Plus, I would like a phone that would not cause me undue anxiety in learning to use it. After all, I am closer to 50 now than I am to 40.

Random spring thoughts

It's a beautiful spring day. It is a day for fulfilling one of my long held dreams--to take a restful nap outside. Spring is the time to do these kinds of things. I wanted to blog about how beautiful it is outside, when I realized that I feel a bit...dishonest in not being able to show you actual pictures from the actual outside at this very moment.

I think I should perhaps, upgrade my cell phone, which currently is a very basic model, to include a camera and learn how to upload pictures to my blog. Being someone who shrinks from change, though, I hesitate. I've had this phone so long, that they probably owe me 2 or 3 upgrades by now. Plus, I would like a phone that would not cause me undue anxiety in learning to use it. After all, I am closer to 50 now than I am to 40.