Being as it is,
In the ordinary way of things,
You might not come across it,
Though it is as ordinary as anything
You see. It is visible in the chair you sit in,
In the oak table you sit at, in the oak tree.
It is as necessary as water,
As solid as the ground we walk on,

And yet, in the ordinary way of things
You probably would not notice,
The way we don’t notice the mailman
Unless we are waiting for a check
Or a love letter,
Or the way we don’t notice ice
until we are falling,
Being, as it is.

Jo Morris

My sense is that we are all called to the contemplative life, but we are not all called to experience it the same way. God is the author of our spiritual experiences, whether “mystical” or “mundane,” and we are invited to trust our experience, and trust in God’s wisdom in giving us what we need, which may or may not be what we want. I also think that there is no point in seeing the efforts of the contemplative life as part of a “reward” paradigm, since the “gift” (eternal life) has already been freely and lavishly given to us. We work not in order to earn grace, but in response to grace. Likewise, we do the “work” of contemplation not in order to earn experience of God, but rather to respond to God’s gracious call to intimacy with Him. Those experiences that may or may not ensue are, again, custom-designed by God for each of us, according to our needs and calling. The part of us that wants to be in control may not like this, but as best as I can tell, this is reality so we may as well get used to it.

Cheers,
Carl

Thanks