Here is a bit of wisdom attributed to Thomas Merton by Deacon David Backes in Deacon Digest, July-August 2010
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….. destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.
This form of violence is a most subtle threat. It destroys the person, and it destroys the fabric of society.
I think if we would just slow down enough to reflect on our lives we would cease to destroy our environment, cease killing our unborn, stop hurting and abusing our family members.
We would be a more just society. A holier people.
