In Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, James Finley poses a most illuminating metaphor for explaining our search for a path along a spiritual journey. Although he is specifically describing the search for the true self, it aptly applies for the spiritual journey in general.
Imagine yourself standing in front of a large, freshly snow-covered field where no one has walked on. Now ask yourself, “Where is the path?”
![[snow-covered field]](http://cowpi.com/journal/media/2006/snow-covered_field.jpg "A fresh snow-covered field")
The answer is to walk across it and there will be a path. One cannot find out first how to realize the true self [or spiritual journey] and then set out to reach the clearly visualized goal. Rather, one must walk on in faith and as one goes on, the goal appears—not before, nor within, nor beyond us, but it does appear…and it appears to no-one. It appears no-where. It appears not in revelation of a fact but a transformation of our hearts, in which, without knowing how, God transforms us into himself and we begin to realize obscurely yet deeply that our lives are hidden with Christ in God.
Of all the pitfalls in our paths and the tremendous delays and wanderings off the track I want to say that they are not what they seem to be. I want to say that all that seems like fantastic mistakes are not mistakes, all that seems like error is not error; and it all has to be done. That which seems like a false step is the next step.
The prodigal son must leave home in order to truly find home.
The Lord looks on his servants with pity and not with blame. In God’s sight we do not fall; in our sight, we do not stand. Both of these are true, but the deeper insight belongs to God.
I love this image with its allusions to a wintery night.
![[CD cover]](http://cowpi.com/journal/media/2006/somethimes_from_here.jpg "CD cover of 'Somewhere from Here' by Peter Janson")
The image is from the cover of guitarist Peter Janson’s CD Somewhere from Here. (By the way, a CD that I most highly recommend.) It is most likely painted by his wife Bernadette Levasseur.
Life is like a pearl: it needs a grain of sand at its center—death—as the irritant, the enemy, to stimulate the production of the mother-of-pearl of life around it. But death remains at its center. At the heart of life there is death. Death is our being. Man is mortal.
— Peter Kreeft, Love is Stronger than Death
Either life has meaning, or it does not. If life has meaning, then death must also have meaning. How you view death is essentially how you view life.
A syllogism:
“Death is our being.”
Death appears as nothing.
Therefore, nothingness is our being.
Hmmm…is the syllogism true? Is it a paradox—a mystery to explore, not solve, not conquer, not resolve, only to make aspects of it more clear.
I ask, “What is being?” What is nothingness?”
It all seems pointless. Maybe that is the point.
“Death is no accident if love is no accident.”
Just heard a beautiful but somewhat sad Christmas song by Gloria Estefan . The refrain is the best line of the song. I want this for next Christmas.
I wanna see Christmas through Your eyes.