For the “old man,” everything is old: he has seen everything or thinks he has.
He has lost hope in anything new.
What pleases him is the “old” he clings to, fearing to lose it, but he is certainly not happy with it.
And so he keeps himself “old” and cannot change: he is not open to any newness.
His life is stagnant and futile.
And yet there may be much movement – but change that leads to no change…
The old man lives without life.
He lives in death, and clings to what has died precisely because he clings to it.
And yet he is crazy for change, as if struggling with the bonds of death.
His struggle is miserable, and cannot be a substitute for life…
..I suddenly realized that I had, and for how long, deeply lost hope of “anything new.”
How foolish, when in fact the newness is there all the time.
(Merton, Journals, March 18, 1959, III269)
Comments
5 responses to “Merton Mondays #7 – The Old Man”
“I suddenly realized that I had, and for how long, deeply lost hope of “anything new.” —That’s how i felt for about two years, i’m finally breaking free from that old way of thinking! :)
It reminds me of what some of the zen folks say
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi
Seeing the world fresh with cleansed lenses leads to the discovery of the new.
Thank you very very much Anne. You provided an answer to the answer to our forty-two years of marriage and my hubby will be sixty-five in September and with Merton’s Monday #7 this is the answer. He considers himself an old man, which he’s not, but then he has “lost hope in anything new.” All I can say is your today’s blog posting this is the answer. Can’t wait to tell our kids. They are asking “what’s with Dad now?” You’re so loved for thinking of the older ones!!!!!!
Made me realize how much I have to be thankful for! For quite a few years now, my family’s big challenge is how in the world to keep up with everything NEW God keeps throwing at us. It certainly makes us grow!
What a thought-provoking selection. I love the reminder that it is so easy to be satisfied with the status-quo–with the “old.” It’s so easy to just do the routine, to just move through days, without living in the bigger Story, without risking, without Spirit-touch. I love the reminder not to cling to the old, but to embrace the new that is just. right. here.
Thanks for the prompt.