I don’t remember where I read it, but this one line has been stuck in my mind for the last few weeks. It was something along the lines of “gorging on emotions.” The idea of feeding upon my emotions is bothersome. It sounds self-cannibalistic. It sounds down right stupid (a word I use sparingly). I […]
I’m on page 148 of Paul Tillich’s The Courage to Be. He has painstakingly described three types of anxiety that are part of being human (ontologically speaking). There is the anxiety of fate and death, of which the western ancients were most troubled. There is the anxiety of guilt and condemnation, of which the Medieval […]
I’ve been working on a new website. I can’t seem to let go of my habit of collecting quotes. My little egoic self feels the need to collect them, as if they are something for it to hold on, to make itself feel more real or tangible. My true self knows that they are just […]
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves—goes itself; myself it […]
I’m bad about shopping for books. I cannot stop in a bookstore without rummaging through the religion/faith section. If a book looks good, I’ll purchase it in hopes of reading it some day. Sometimes, I’ll start the new book the same evening, pushing other books back in the queue, and finish the book. Sometimes, I’ll […]
You tried so hard to be someone that you forgot who you are You tried to fill some emptiness ‘til all you had spilled over Now everything’s so far away that you don’t know where you are When all that you wanted And all that you have don’t seem so much For you to hold […]
Listening to the song “Epiphany” by Staind on the iPod. The music is loud enough to drown out the background noise. At this line, I drift off… But I know I’ll do the right thing If the right thing is revealed The right thing—what is that? Has it been revealed? Yes, of course, in Jesus! […]
“We are constantly invited to be what we are.” — Henry David Thoreau
At the end of the movie, American Beauty, the main character Lester Burnham reflects on his life: …there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, […]
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 […]