“Merton Monday”

“Merton Monday”

“Silence has many dimensions.  It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness, unification, self-discovery.  Negative silence blurs and confuses our identity, and we lapse into daydreams or diffuse anxieties.  Positive silence pulls us together and makes us realise who we are, who we might be, and the distance between the two.  Hence, positive silence implies a disciplined choice…  In the long run, the discipline of creative silence demands a certain kind of faith.  For when we come face to face with ourselves in the lonely ground of our own being, we confront many questions about the value of our existence, the reality of our commitments, the authenticity of our everyday lives.”

Thomas Merton: Essential Writings edited by Christine M. Bochen