Seven Storey Mountain, Session Two

 

A great discussion in our second meeting.  A few observations. 

1. What was most interesting to me was the powerful emotion that Merton evoked from several participants in the most recent reading.  And not all of it complimentary.  Indeed, Merton's somewhat youthful religious heavy handedness in places can be foreign and off-putting.  But it has been, and remains, my belief that when something evokes strong emotion - there may be good cause to pause and pay attention. Our interiority is usually trying to tell us something if we'll settle down enough to try to discern what it might be. 

2. Merton reminds us how powerful our instinct is to avoid embarrassment. "The effort it takes to overcome all the strange imaginary fears that everyone is looking at you, and that they all think you are crazy or ridiculous, is something that costs a tremendous effort."  The application of this concept is nearly universal in anything we touch. I heard someone put it this way once, "I may not be much, but I'm all I think about."  

3. One of the seminal moments of Merton's interior awakening undeniably involved his father.  He describes a moment of awareness that his deceased father was there with him in a lonely room.  He is clear to qualify that he is not describing some supernatural communication with his dead father.  But even this cautious disclaimer misses the point.  Small moments, often inexplicable, can set us upon courses unknown. 

It remains a wonderful gift to share, discuss, and digest Merton's writing with friends.