Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to enable the deeper voice of our own self to be heard at least occasionally.
Interpretation
We all require moments of quiet and solitude to connect with our inner selves.
This quote emphasizes the importance of silence and solitude in our lives, suggesting that while not everyone is meant to live in isolation like a hermit, everyone benefits from taking the time to listen to their inner voice. Finding moments of quiet allows for reflection and self-discovery, enabling personal growth and a deeper understanding of oneself.
In practice
During a meditation session, one might reflect on Merton's words to encourage a deeper connection with one's thoughts.
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.
Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance. The cloud clears as you enter it. I have learned this, but like everyone, I learned it late.
When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.
Meditation has only one meaning, and that is going beyond the mind and becoming a witness. In your witnessing is the miracle - the whole mystery of life
You learn that existence is legible but that you have to have a critical mind if you're going to read it.
If some baboons just happen to be good at seeing water holes as half full instead of half empty... we should be able to as well.
Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed.
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