Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Questions

I have been so physically tired these past 5 days. There is something discouraging about waking up after 8 hours of sleep and feeling like it should be bedtime. Time for letting someone else sing while I take a breath. The cyclical nature of this chronic disease sucks, it never fails to take me by surprise.

Here is my current favourite quote. It is by Thomas Merton from a book called The Courage For Truth:

"There is something wrong with the questions that are supposed to be disposed of by answers. That is the trouble with the squares. They think that when you have answers you no longer have questions. And they want the greatest possible number of answers, the smallest number of questions. The ideal is to have no more questions. Then when you have no questions you have "peace." On the other hand, the more you stand with the questions all sticking in your throat at once, the more you unsettle the "peace" of those who think they have swallowed all the answers. The questions cause one to be nauseated by answers. This is a healthy state, but it is not acceptable. Hence I am nauseated by answers and nauseated by optimism. There is an optimism which cheapens Christianity and makes it absurd, empties it. It is a silly, petty optimism which consists in being secure because one knows the right answers."

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