How does an apple ripen?
It just sits in the sun.
~ Thomas Merton, From Merton’s Palace of Nowhere by James Finley
Notes:
- Passage from James Finley: “Merton once told me to quit trying so hard in prayer. He said, ‘How does an apple ripen? I just sits in the sun.’ A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles, squinting its eyes and tightening its jaw in order to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe and juicy beside its small green counterparts. Like the birth of a baby or the opening of a rose, the birth of true self takes place in God’s time.”
- Photograph: Patty Maher with Claire in Exhibit A
- Prior “Lightly child, lightly” Posts? Connect here.
- Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.”
