Wednesday,
March 28, 2012
What to read for
today.
Chapter 30:Distraction
Questions for your
personal reflection.
What experience do you have of the composure and state of
attention that Merton describes?
Sharing with others:
What caught your attention or provoked your thinking today?
My sense is that I have more daily distractions than Merton
did inside the monastery, especially after he got permission to live as a hermit. His attitude seems to be that it is up
to me to do something about that. For
example, he ends the chapter by saying that if our job pressures distract us
when we try to be still, then maybe we are over-invested in our jobs and should
start to change that. I think he is saying that you
can’t have your cake and eat it too: if you expose yourself to lots of external
pressures, you can’t just expect to tune them out when you decide you’d like
some solitude. More tough
medicine.
Posted by Second Thoughts
ReplyDeleteMerton tends to make a lot out of human helplessness but really. If "God" is present in everyone and everything, then what's helpless and hopeless about that? Why not say that's glorious?
I do agree that we should bring our minds back to the centre and try to keep that awareness alive at all times but in my opinion he makes things
more of a struggle than they need to be. An unfailing presence is an unfailing presence. Why do I need to place myself lower or higher in relation to it? Is a daffodil hopeless and helpless because a life force makes it open?
Distractions are everywhere. I think it is important to have a routine to help you get to those sacred spaces, and I also agree with Merton when he says essentially , that we can not become slaves to those aids.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can buy into his ever present divinity idea though, why that should or would make things any easier than focussing on any object is splitting hairs
in the theological sense
post by william