When I am liberated by silence, when I am no longer involved in the measurement of life, but in the living of it, I can discover a form of prayer in which there is effectively no distraction. My whole life becomes a prayer. My whole silence is full of prayer. The world of silence in which I am immersed contributes to my prayer.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of silence and presence in experiencing life deeply.
Thomas Merton speaks about the transformative power of silence in discerning the essence of existence. In his view, moving away from the metrics and distractions of everyday life allows one to engage in a more profound and prayerful relationship with the world, where silence itself becomes a form of sacred communication. This reflects the idea that true fulfillment comes not from worldly achievements but from being present and mindful in the moment.
In practice
In a meditation workshop, this quote can encourage participants to appreciate silence.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
The adult is the enemy of the child because of the awful process of civilizing this thing that, when it is born, is an animal with no manners, no moral sense at all.
The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is being attacked, and every man will be glad of these conscience-soothing falsities
It is a strange desire, to seek power, and to lose liberty; or to seek power over others, and to lose power over a man's self.
I feel that my environment reflects my belief in the grace and art and elegance of living simply.
Justice limps along, but gets there all the same.
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
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