There is a contemporary form of violence to which the idealist fighting for peace by nonviolent methods most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his or her work for peace. It destroys one's own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of one's own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.
~Thomas Merton
Saw this on a fellow Guilford alum's blog. I needed to see it.
2 comments:
Yes, THANK YOU! I needed to see this, too!!
Me too, Misty!
And I hadn't ever seen this blog (not techno savvy or tuned in enough to notice it).
I love you so much! Can't bear to think of you living on the opposite coast (waah!), but as Richard Bach wrote in THERE'S NO SUCH PLACE AS FAR AWAY, "Can miles truly separate us from friends? If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?"
Wouldn't have missed a moment with you, dear, dear Mist. Hugs to you 3! Your west coast ma
Post a Comment