Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to enable the deeper voice of our own self to be heard at least occasionally.
Interpretation
We all require moments of quiet and solitude to connect with our inner selves.
This quote emphasizes the importance of silence and solitude in our lives, suggesting that while not everyone is meant to live in isolation like a hermit, everyone benefits from taking the time to listen to their inner voice. Finding moments of quiet allows for reflection and self-discovery, enabling personal growth and a deeper understanding of oneself.
In practice
During a meditation session, one might reflect on Merton's words to encourage a deeper connection with one's thoughts.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.
We're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive. It's pretty dense kids who haven't figured that out by the time they're ten.... Most kids can't afford to go to Harvard and be misinformed.
You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.
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