Middle- and upper-class North Americans have many choices
about how to live their lives. That
would seem to be a great blessing—or is it? Sometimes too many choices can
result in anxiety and paralysis. What if we make a choice and something more
suitable or appealing comes along, resulting in a missed opportunity? Maybe it
would be better to wait a while longer before making a decision….
One reason I waited so long to enter the monastery is that I
honestly didn’t know which would lead me closer to God: community life or
marriage. I’m not sure I’ll ever know the answer to that question, because
trying both paths isn’t an option. However, I finally made an educated guess, because
the single life wasn’t giving me the support or challenge I needed.
Although making a commitment reduces one’s options, ironically,
it also opens us up to the life that dwells in all things. As Richard Rohr has
commented, “Go deep in any one place and we will meet all places where the
divine image is present.” That thought is very reassuring. At some point, discerning
which way of life is best becomes a distraction from making a choice and living
deeply there. Ultimately, encountering the divine image is more important than
the method used to achieve the encounter, and making a wholehearted commitment
is the pathway to inner peace.
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