Sometimes as I work my way back through A Year with Thomas Merton for the umpteenth time a passage strikes me as new, as fresh. A prime example follows. “No matter how simple discourse may be, it is never simple enough. No matter how simple thought may be, it is never simple enough. No matter how simple love may be, it is never simple enough. The only thing left is the simplicity of the soul in God or, better, the simplicity of God”.
I try and write every day. Part of the function of my writing is to focus my mind for the tasks the day ahead will require. The other part of the function is work through my hopes, my petty frustrations, my memories and my loves, putting some part of them into a verbal box. To write well is for me a struggle. There are plenty of people out there who have advice. Some people demand you pay for their advice and some are willing to tell you their opinion gratis. I tend to gravitate toward the free stuff.
All that I read about the craft of writing that has meaning comes down to several short declarative sentences. The first among these the urging that you chose words wisely. That adage is buttressed by these two; use simple words and use words that fit. I think Merton’s sentences are the ultimate distillation of those maxims. What I and what everyone who writes is trying to do is to capture God, or some part of the eternal on paper. It is only in simplicity we come close. Well, we come as close as we ever will. However when I think on Merton I wonder if maybe, I should remain silent and just experience the presence of the divine.
1 comment:
You?? Remain silent?
Let's hope not. You have too much to say.
And I enjoy listening/reading.
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