Is it possible to really know the real me? Do you know the real you?
Thomas Merton says, "...if you want to know me, don't ask where I live, what I like to eat, how I part my hair; rather, ask me what I live for, in every detail, and ask me what in my view prevents me from living fully for the thing I really want to live for."
What a thought. What a response it demands.
What do I live for?
I live for deep peace, deep connection with others, and a deep love for God. I live to see the spiritual world manifested in the physical.
What do you live for?
What prevents me from living fully for the thing I really want to live for?
I used to think it was modernity. Really. Phones, television, even computers. Used to think that if we got rid of all of modern technology, then we would really see, really live, really know our true selves. I also thought that if I fled society and people, then maybe I would have even a better chance of knowing who I really am. Okay, maybe consumerism, the getting and spending, and now multi-tasking. But really, these are all excuses I come up with. Excuses that become a place to shift the responsibility away from myself. Perhaps I am my own block, I create my own preventions.
What prevents you from living fully for the thing you really want to live for?
I am not settled tonight with my responses to Thomas Merton's call. I wonder if you are?
I am moved by this question. What do I live for? I am really pondering this.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Seems like an easy enough question, right? But I find it still so hard to answer. Know I am pondering away as well.....
ReplyDelete