Friday,
March 2, 2012
What to read for
today.
Chapter 8: Solitude Is Not Separation
Questions for your
personal reflection.
What kind of appeal has solitude had for you until now? Were you seeking refuge, independence,
escape, isolation, or something else?
Did Merton’s perspective deliver any new insights or ideas about solitude?
Sharing with others:
What caught your attention or provoked your thinking today?
This was a light bulb chapter for me and it turned my
notions of solitude and monasticism on end; the notion that isolation for the purpose of independence or
escape is egotistical, possibly even narcissistic. “[T]he only justification for a life of deliberate
solitude is the conviction that it will help you to love not only God but also
other men.” Indeed. My upbringing placed great emphasis on individual
devotion, insufficient emphasis on others. Merton rightly directs my attention to others.
Posted by Genevieve
Posted by Second Thoughts
ReplyDeleteFunny: I found my thoughts turning to Christ Church Deer Park today, instead of turning inward.
My first thought was that communal worship can be a trap. We can be passive. We can get lost in the group. We can produce "conventional sounds", as Merton says. We can say prayers that are critical of humanity or society or politicians. All the while we can evade our personal responsibility. And that evasion is as much a form of isolation as sneaking off to be alone in the woods. Merton is right when he says that just because people live together it does not mean they are in communion or communication.
My second thought was more constructive because, as I kept reading, I saw where we could go. Merton was painting a picture of growth. He gives an image for a parish vision that maybe could be part of what Kevin talked about last Sunday.
It excites me that as a parish we could strive for a "sanctity" that gives us "clarity of compassion that can find good in the most terrible criminals", that delivers us "from the burden of judging others, condemning other men" and teaches us "to bring the good out of others by compassion, mercy and pardon." We would learn to do this within our own parish first and only then in the outer community.
I would so like to know what others are seeing in Merton's writings.
The fascinating thing for me here was "you cannot find solitude alone" The sense that you need to "find God" and then your search for yourself will be rewarded
ReplyDeleteThis chapter building on the previous one also focussed me on humility- what was it really- what are my reactions to it and how to I relate my own life in light of this
John Lennon said love is the answer. Merton says this too.
post by william