Perhaps we have a deep and legitimate need to know in our entire being what the day is like, to see it and feel it, to know how the sky is grey, paler in the south, with patches of blue in the southwest, with snow on the ground, the thermometer at 18, and a cold wind making your ears ache. I have a real need to know these things because I am myself part of the weather and part of the climate and part of the place, and a day in which I have not shared truly in all this is no day at all.
~ Thomas Merton, Journal, 27.2.1963
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Thomas Merton, 1915-1968, was a trappist monk and a prolific writer. His artistic legacy — comprising poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, and numerous writings on peace, justice, and ecumenical issues — is housed at the Thomas Merton Center at Bellamine University. Among Merton's more than 70 books are The Seven Storey Mountain, No Man Is an Island, New Seeds of Contemplation, and Zen and the Birds of Appetite.
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7 comments:
A beautiful thought - and a gentle reminder of Thomas Merton and his writing.
Beautiful ... it prompts me to go outside and touch the sunshine and taste cold, dry air. Thanks.
good bits of info
how greatly the weather can affect us ...
You post the coolest quotes!
When I was young I heard No Man is an Island as No Mayonaise in Ireland from a RD excerpt. Laughed myself sick.
He is someone I haven't personally read, but feel like he's a familiar friend because he is quoted so extensively.
I haven't read Merton in a long time. This quote will stick with me as I leave for work for the day.
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