Judith Valente's Blog: Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter - Posts Tagged "hope"
Thomas Merton and Seeking the ‘True Self’
My mind continues to swirl with insights from “Disappear from View: Thomas Merton Fifty Years Later and Beyond,” the superb conference on the legacy of the great Trappist monk and writer, which was held last weekend at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union.
One of the best parts was hearing again so many passages from Merton’s voluminous writings. Merton wrote on a range of subjects from contemplative prayer and the role of poets to eradicating racism and the roots of war and fear. Another of Merton’s major preoccupations – and one that spoke to me most powerfully this past week – was his emphasis on seeking the “true self.”
For Merton, the true self connects to that spark of the divine that dwells in each of us. It was something he referred to as “the pure point of being.” For me, this search recalls a passage I love in the Book of Revelation 2:17: “To the one that overcomes I will … give a white stone, and on that stone a new name written, which no one knows save the one who receives it.”
It is intriguing to think we possess an identity known only to God, and that it is our truest identity. The mission of our lifetime is to uncover that identity.
Merton perceived the masks that so many of us wear in our largely conformist, success-and-outcomes-oriented culture. We wear the mask of the person we think we should be. We wear the mask of the person others say we are. I have been thinking about the many masks I continue to don. Something that drove it home for me was looking at the biographical notes in the conference program submitted by the various presenters – myself included.
The bios included long lists of professional achievements, and all the other markers by which we measure our personal worth. The shortest, most succinct bio of all belonged to Brother Paul Quenon of Merton’s abbey. Merton had been Brother Paul’s novice master and spiritual director. Brother Quenon is the kind of person who may not exist in the future. He has spent 60-plus years as a Trappist, waking every morning at 2:30 to begin praying for our world. In that time, he has written seven collections of poetry and been a mentor to countless spiritual seekers inspired by Merton’s writings, who show up daily at his abbey’s door. He is someone who has spent a lifetime seeking his true name.
I once stupidly asked Brother Paul what he thinks is the purpose of the Trappist life in the modern world. His answer: “The purpose of the Trappist life in the modern world is to show you don’t have to have a purpose. The purpose of life,” he said, “is life.”
Brother Paul sounds a lot like Merton, who said a person knows “he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.” Not surprisingly, Brother Paul titled the memoir of his six decades in the monastery, In Praise of the Useless Life.
As a new year nears – perhaps like you -- I have decisions to make on both a personal and professional level. Exciting new projects beckon. The question I most need to ask is, who am I really? What is my true name? What kind of work nourishes my soul? Which pursuits help lead me to the true self?
No one could have imagined that on Dec. 10, 1968, Merton would die so suddenly and in such a bizarre way. He was electrocuted accidentally when he touched a fan coming out of a shower in Bangkok, while on a tour of Asia. His death short-circuited for us whatever further insights he might have held within him. His passing, however, didn’t silence his voice.
I was particularly struck by a passage from Merton’s No Man Is An Island, that my colleague on the International Thomas Merton Society board, David Golemboski, read during a discussion of “Merton: Prophet of Hope for a Time of Fear.”
Merton wisely perceived that the root of all conflict is fear. The antidote to fear, he said, is hope. Hope is not optimism, which depends on wagering a positive outcome. Hope is a state of being. Hope is a gift we give ourselves. Merton wrote, “For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair, when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on air.”
May we all move into the new year walking on air.
One of the best parts was hearing again so many passages from Merton’s voluminous writings. Merton wrote on a range of subjects from contemplative prayer and the role of poets to eradicating racism and the roots of war and fear. Another of Merton’s major preoccupations – and one that spoke to me most powerfully this past week – was his emphasis on seeking the “true self.”
For Merton, the true self connects to that spark of the divine that dwells in each of us. It was something he referred to as “the pure point of being.” For me, this search recalls a passage I love in the Book of Revelation 2:17: “To the one that overcomes I will … give a white stone, and on that stone a new name written, which no one knows save the one who receives it.”
It is intriguing to think we possess an identity known only to God, and that it is our truest identity. The mission of our lifetime is to uncover that identity.
Merton perceived the masks that so many of us wear in our largely conformist, success-and-outcomes-oriented culture. We wear the mask of the person we think we should be. We wear the mask of the person others say we are. I have been thinking about the many masks I continue to don. Something that drove it home for me was looking at the biographical notes in the conference program submitted by the various presenters – myself included.
The bios included long lists of professional achievements, and all the other markers by which we measure our personal worth. The shortest, most succinct bio of all belonged to Brother Paul Quenon of Merton’s abbey. Merton had been Brother Paul’s novice master and spiritual director. Brother Quenon is the kind of person who may not exist in the future. He has spent 60-plus years as a Trappist, waking every morning at 2:30 to begin praying for our world. In that time, he has written seven collections of poetry and been a mentor to countless spiritual seekers inspired by Merton’s writings, who show up daily at his abbey’s door. He is someone who has spent a lifetime seeking his true name.
I once stupidly asked Brother Paul what he thinks is the purpose of the Trappist life in the modern world. His answer: “The purpose of the Trappist life in the modern world is to show you don’t have to have a purpose. The purpose of life,” he said, “is life.”
Brother Paul sounds a lot like Merton, who said a person knows “he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.” Not surprisingly, Brother Paul titled the memoir of his six decades in the monastery, In Praise of the Useless Life.
As a new year nears – perhaps like you -- I have decisions to make on both a personal and professional level. Exciting new projects beckon. The question I most need to ask is, who am I really? What is my true name? What kind of work nourishes my soul? Which pursuits help lead me to the true self?
No one could have imagined that on Dec. 10, 1968, Merton would die so suddenly and in such a bizarre way. He was electrocuted accidentally when he touched a fan coming out of a shower in Bangkok, while on a tour of Asia. His death short-circuited for us whatever further insights he might have held within him. His passing, however, didn’t silence his voice.
I was particularly struck by a passage from Merton’s No Man Is An Island, that my colleague on the International Thomas Merton Society board, David Golemboski, read during a discussion of “Merton: Prophet of Hope for a Time of Fear.”
Merton wisely perceived that the root of all conflict is fear. The antidote to fear, he said, is hope. Hope is not optimism, which depends on wagering a positive outcome. Hope is a state of being. Hope is a gift we give ourselves. Merton wrote, “For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair, when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on air.”
May we all move into the new year walking on air.
Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter
In my blog, I focus on thoughts based on my new book (published from Hampton Roads) How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning & Community as well as from my previ
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