Saturday, April 26, 2008

tulip in solitude


tulip in solitude, originally uploaded by thomas.merton.

"In solitude, we can slowly unmask the illusion of our possessiveness and discover in the center of our own self that we are not what we can conquer, but what is given to us. In solitude we can listen to the voice of him who spoke to us before we could speak a word, who healed us before we could make any gesture to help, who set us free long before we could free others, and who loved us long before we could give love to anyone. It is in this solitude that we discover that being is more important than having, and that we are worth more than the result of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared. It's there we recognize that the healing words we speak ar not just our own, but are given to us; that the love we can expres is part of a greater love; and that the new life we bring forth is not a property to cling to, but a gift to be received."

"In solitude we become aware that our worth is not the same as our usefulness"

-- Henri J.M. Nouwen



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explaining the universe


Mr. Flower, originally uploaded by thomas.merton.

"To the majority of those who have reflected deeply and written about the origin and nature of the universe, it has seemed that it points beyond itself to a source which is non-physical and of great intelligence and power. Almost all of the great classical philosophers--certainly Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Locke, Berkeley--saw the origin of the universe as lying in a transcendent reality. They had different specific ideas of this reality, and different ways of approaching it; but that the universe is not self-explanitory, and that it requires some explanation beyond itself, was something they accepted as fairly obvious"
-- Keith Ward


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