Iron Mountain ski jump

Iron Mountain ski jump

Friday, October 14, 2016

WORD WITHOUT WORDS

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith for the Years of Winter

Yesterday I mentioned that one spiritual growth thing I am trying to do is to grow closer to God, experience God, without writing about it.

There is nothing wrong with writing about encounters with God. I myself have profited much by reading the musings of others on this topic. I remember especially how important it was to me to read Rudolph Otto’s The Idea of the Holy in philosophy class in college, how it opened up my mind as well as my spirit to possibilities of the divine, of “the other,” that I would not have otherwise considered.

For some folks, writing itself is the process of opening to God.

I find, though, that when I am meditating, trying to be open to God, experience the numinous, if I am thinking about how I might write about it, how to express it so others might understand, I forget about God and concentrate on the writing.

Of course, it’s possible to write only for one’s own understanding, but I have been writing for others for so long that it just seems impossible for me to write without wanting to do it in a way that communicates to others.

One of the tasks of old age is finally to understand ourselves. That’s a point of self-understanding for me, that I need to learn to experience God without writing about it.

So, I’m sorry to say it, but, too bad. Don’t expect any help from me. When it comes to experiencing God, you’re on your own. Except, of course, for God.

JRMcF

I tweet as yooper1721.


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