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.
No comments:
Post a Comment