You say tomato, I say T. Mert, oh

I realize I have not written much as of late. I dislike very much trying to force some type of inspiration or thought that I have not had. Sometime things come to me daily and I like to share them, but if not, you'll rarely find me typing anyway.

Currently I am reading The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. For those of you who do not know, Thomas Merton was a monk at Gethsemane in Kentucky. He is world reknown and has written multiple books. This near 500 page book which I am attempting to tackle is his autobiography. Reading this has been a personal goal for a while, and I finally have some free time that affords such a goal to be tackled. I have learned quite a bit from Merton thus far (about 175 pages in) and only expect to learn more.

So here is what all that pre-talk was leading up to... For the next several blogs, I will be leaving you with some words of Merton (referenced in the title as 'T. Mert' if you missed my play on words). I have been marking some quotes of his that were worth thinking about and rereading, so I've go plenty to spread out over multiple days. I hope you enjoy and get something out of them like I have. If it makes you think, or if you'd like to discuss, please comment.

In the following excerpt, Merton reflects on a discussion between his father and a French woman about forgiving her enemies. "He asked her why she thought Christ told people to love their enemies. Did she suppose God commanded this for His benefit? Did He get anything out of it that He really needed from us? Or was it not rather for our own good that He had given us this commandment? He told her that if she had any sense, she would love other people if only for the sake of the good and health and peace of her own soul, instead of tearing herself to pieces with her own envy and spitefulness. It was St. Augustine's argument, that envy and hatred try to pierce our neighbor with a sword, when the blade cannot reach him unless it first passes through our own body." (p.60, Harcourt, Inc. Publishers)