Contemplative Connections

VII: Contemplative Connections: Being a Mirror of God

Being contemplative evokes images of sitting in silence and turning within to discover God, but Thomas Merton reminds us, actions are the doors and windows of our being. Our actions, words, and thoughts are the foundation of our contemplative life. Through our actions, words, and thoughts we are reflections in the mirror of God; we call forth our loving, compassionate spirit in our response to the world.

When being contemplative is the motivation or intent behind our actions, we mirror divine love and deep, abiding compassion. When we respond contemplatively, we are sharing our essence, our true nature with God, our selves, others, and nature. When we are consciously contemplative, we express our spiritual nature, our contemplative being.

Being a Mirror of God

You might be asking yourself, “Contemplative? Me? Mirror of God? Me?” These images can be disconcerting and overwhelming. Perhaps being contemplative or being a mirror of God seems
insurmountable. As Kilimanjaro cannot be climbed in a day, we cannot become contemplatives in a day. Nor does every one of our actions, thoughts, or words express our contemplative nature.

Being contemplative is a journey — an unfolding, moment-by-moment awareness that begins with one simple question: How are you being contemplative?

This question can be answered by reviewing the past moments, hours, or day of your life. Before engaging in that review, let’s define contemplative living.

A simple definition of contemplative living is sharing love and compassion through our thoughts, words, and actions. The Merton Institute defines contemplative living as being in relationship with our selves, God, others, and nature free of the illusion of separateness. Combine these two thoughts: living contemplatively is sharing love and compassion in each of your relationships.

Now return to the question, How are you being contemplative? Name your contemplative moments and acknowledge the moments in which you could have chosen to respond more contemplatively.

The Spring and the Stream

Thomas Merton reminds us that action is the stream, and contemplation is the spring. Contemplation is the spring that bubbles up inside of us but whose ultimate source is God. It is through our actions, the stream of our life, that we live contemplatively. Becoming more contemplative in your life does not require that you turn your back on the world and become a recluse. Rather, living contemplatively requires conscious awareness of how your thoughts, actions, and words are drawing you deeper into relationships or how they create boundaries that prevent you from fully engaging in healthy relationships with your self, God, others, and all of creation.

Knowing Who We Are

Merton reminds us that unless we act we have no way of knowing what we are. Unless we lovingly reflect upon our actions, we have no way of knowing the many ways that we respond contemplatively throughout our day. It is through this awareness of our own contemplative nature that we gain a greater understanding of who we are and become more comfortable in responding in loving, compassionate ways.

The great spiritual masters, including Merton, are models for us. They eloquently present a way of living that invites us to draw closer to God while at the same time showing us that it is okay to be human. We make mistakes — we fall down, get up, dust off ourselves — but we never stop acknowledging the many ways that we live contemplatively. In the moments that we succeed in being a contemplative presence in the world, we shape our contemplative spirits and gather the resources we need to respond contemplatively in our most difficult moments.

Within our actions we find our contemplative nature, our own deep spiritual being. Within our being, we find God and become the mirror of God. Through this growing awareness of our selves, we are contemplative.

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