Kimo Thorpe

“My God, it is to You alone that I can talk because nobody else will understand. I cannot bring anyone on this earth into the cloud where I dwell in Your light—that is, in Your darkness where I am lost and abashed. I cannot explain to anyone the anguish which is Your joy, nor the loss which is the possession of You, nor the distance from all things which is the arrival in You, nor the death which is the birth in You, because I do not know anything about it myself. All I know is that I wish it were over—I wish it were begun. You have contradicted everything. You have left me in no-man’s land. You have got me walking up and down all day under those trees, saying to me over and over again: “Solitude, solitude.” And You have turned around and thrown the whole world in my lap. You have told me, “Leave all things and follow me,” and then You have tied half of New York to my foot like a ball and chain. You have got me kneeling behind that pillar with my mind making a noise like a bank. Is that contemplation?”
― Thomas Merton, Dialogues with Silence: Prayers and Drawings

“Here is what would happen if Dan, the guy with the $3,000 owed to two credit cards, signed up for Tally: After doing a soft credit check, Tally would automatically pay off all $3,000 of Dan’s credit card debt and take responsibility for managing his accounts. Tally would then monitor all activity on those cards and Dan’s checking account, and make sure that all bills were paid on time. Most important, every month Tally would nudge Dan to pay off his debt faster by recommending a higher default payment based on his available cash and upcoming expenses. For using the service, Tally would charge Dan interest on the money it lends him, but at a lower rate than charged by the credit card.”
― Richard H. Thaler, Nudge: The Final Edition

“The director should begin by asking two questions: “What do you want the outcome of the meeting to be from the perspective of the attendees?” and “What do you want them to say when their teams ask, ‘What happened at the big meeting?”
― Harvard Business Review, HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter

“Distractions In Prayer Ah dearest Lord! I cannot pray, My fancy is not free; Unmannerly distractions come, And force my thoughts from Thee. The world that looks so dull all day Glows bright on me at prayer, And plans that ask no thought but then Wake up and meet me there. All nature one full fountain seems Of dreamy sight and sound, Which, when I kneel, breaks up its deeps, And makes a deluge round. Old voices murmur in my ear, New hopes start to life, And past and future gaily blend In one bewitching strife. My very flesh has restless fits; My changeful limbs conspire With all these phantoms of the mind My inner self to tire. I cannot pray; yet, Lord! Thou knowst The pain it is to me To have my vainly struggling thoughts Thus torn away from Thee. Sweet Jesus! teach me how to prize These tedious hours when I, Foolish and mute before Thy Face, In helpless worship lie. Prayer was not meant for luxury, Or selfish pastime sweet; It is the prostrate creature’s place At his Creator’s Feet. Had I, dear Lord! no pleasure found But in the thought of Thee, Prayer would have come unsought, and been A truer liberty. Yet Thou art oft most present, Lord! In weak distracted prayer: A sinner out of heart with self Most often finds Thee there. For prayer that humbles sets the soul From all illusions free, And teaches it how utterly, Dear Lord! it hangs on Thee. The heart, that on self-sacrifice Is covetously bent, Will bless Thy chastening hand that makes Its prayer its punishment. Holy Saviour! why should I complain And why fear aught but sin? Distractions are but outward things; Thy peace dwells far within. These surface-troubles come and go, Like rufflings of the sea; The deeper depth is out of reach To all, my God, but Thee. FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, 1814-1863”
― A.W. Tozer, The Christian Book of Mystical Verse: A Collection of Poems, Hymns, and Prayers for Devotional Reading