On Refusing To Be Ourselves

A tree gives glory to God by being a tree.

- Thomas Merton

The more that we, as humans, are like ourselves, the more we are like God. Conversely, the more we add layers to our true selves, the less we allow God to live in us. God living in us is the good news; our usupation of God is the bad news. North American culture as a whole today is fixated on convincing people that a better life is found in the later and not the former. The greatest tragedy of this lies in the fact that church apes this wholeheartedly.

Like every other created thing on earth it is enough for us to be what God intends. Holiness is humanness in its most basic form. Sanctity is easily found in emptying ourselves of our self.

We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with out own true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. [Actions] have effects, and if we lie to ourselves and others, then we cannot expect to find truth and reality whenever we happen to want them. If we have shose the way of falsity we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to need it...

- Thomas Merton