Interesting......
From Alan Creech's blog.
May 27, 2004 >> 9:01 AM
devoured by activities
This is a somewhat disturbing quote from Thomas Merton where he talks about those of us who can't "sit still" spiritually. His context may be a bit different than many of ours but when I read these words, I think a chill went up my back at how familiar it seemed. I think what he's talking about here is rampant today - it has become epidemic. I want whatever of this that I see in myself to quietly disappear.
In practice, their lives are devoured by activities and strangled with attachments. Interior solitude is impossible for them. They fear it. They do everything they can to escape it. What is worse, they try to draw everyone else into activities as senseless and as devouring as their own. They are great promoters of useless work. They love to organize meetings and banquets and conferences and lectures. They print circulars, write letters, talk for hours on the telephone in order that they may gather a hundred people together in a large room where they will all fill the air with smoke and make a great deal of noise and roar at one another and clap their hands and stagger home at last patting one another on the back with the assurance that they have all done great things to spread the Kingdom of God.
Damn. How relevant is that to us right now? More than is comfortable to me. I suppose if he saw that then, in his context, and we're seeing it now, in our context - yeah, it's a problem. In this way, we should pay attention to ourselves
On a personal note...... I'm almost out of my funk. Sucky things are becoming reality. It sucks.
From Alan Creech's blog.
May 27, 2004 >> 9:01 AM
devoured by activities
This is a somewhat disturbing quote from Thomas Merton where he talks about those of us who can't "sit still" spiritually. His context may be a bit different than many of ours but when I read these words, I think a chill went up my back at how familiar it seemed. I think what he's talking about here is rampant today - it has become epidemic. I want whatever of this that I see in myself to quietly disappear.
In practice, their lives are devoured by activities and strangled with attachments. Interior solitude is impossible for them. They fear it. They do everything they can to escape it. What is worse, they try to draw everyone else into activities as senseless and as devouring as their own. They are great promoters of useless work. They love to organize meetings and banquets and conferences and lectures. They print circulars, write letters, talk for hours on the telephone in order that they may gather a hundred people together in a large room where they will all fill the air with smoke and make a great deal of noise and roar at one another and clap their hands and stagger home at last patting one another on the back with the assurance that they have all done great things to spread the Kingdom of God.
Damn. How relevant is that to us right now? More than is comfortable to me. I suppose if he saw that then, in his context, and we're seeing it now, in our context - yeah, it's a problem. In this way, we should pay attention to ourselves
On a personal note...... I'm almost out of my funk. Sucky things are becoming reality. It sucks.
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