Thomas Merton writes about this way of living in New Seeds of Contemplation, a wondrous book filled with wisdom from cover to cover: "The spiritual life is then the perfectly balanced life in which the body with its passions and instincts, the mind with its reasoning and its obedience to principle and the spirit with its passive illumination by the Light and Love of God from one complete man who is in God and with God and from God and for God. One man in whom God is all in all. One man in whom God carries out His own will without obstacle."

Merton was writing in the gender exclusionary language of his time, but he means this for all people who seek to understand what living spiritually is all about. What he writes is a mouthful, but during his life a main goal was to be with "God alone." Based on what I have learned while researching a new biography about him, I am not certain he ever achieved this goal until shortly before his death, but this did not keep him from attempting to be with "God alone" his whole life.

Living a "perfectly balanced life" is not easy to do, but it is possible if we let the Holy Spirit be our guiding light. When this occurs, we may feel the light shining on us, notice things we did not notice before that our occurring in our lives, etc. As Merton writes, we are in God and God is in us, and being one with God and the Holy Spirit triggers a peaceful, loving feeling like none we have ever experienced before.

Hearing this statement for the first time really impacted me when I was struggling a few years ago. I was confused, hurt, disappointed, frustrated, you name it, I was experiencing it. But listening to Reverend Stanley made a difference and when I surrendered everything over to the Good Lord, and let him guide me, I was blessed with grace that led me out of the wilderness.

In essence, Reverend Stanley is saying, "Hey, have some faith" and Thomas Merton writes about this in his mystical book, New Seeds of Contemplation: "Faith then is not just the grim determination to cling to a certain form of words, no matter what may happen - thought we must certainly be prepared to defend our creed with our life. But above all faith is the openness of the inward eye, the eye of the heart, to be filled with the presence of the Divine light."

How true this is, for there is always light somewhere if we stretch ourselves, open ourselves to find it. Faith is simply deciding that hope exists and then letting the Good Lord guide us, teach us, lead us, whatever it may be toward a new path, one that may change everything in the blink of an eye. Faith is our friend in times of need, and when you pray tonight, pray that those in need, those depressed, those oppressed, those who have lost their homes or their jobs or both, those who are experiencing natural disasters, those with illnesses, those who are abused, those heavily in debt, all those who need a guiding light, may have faith and never give up. Wish them love, and comfort them with the Holy Spirit.

जिसका कल से था इंतज़ार
वह नयी सुबह अब आई है
नये साल के साथ है आई
नया आगाज़ संग लाई है |

नयी सुबह से मैं भी
नयी साँसे आज ले रही हूँ
मनका पुराना मलिन चोला
फिर नयासा में धो रही हूँ |

नयी सुबह में फिर मैं
नया जनम आज ले रही हूँ
मन में अंकुरित होने वाले
नये सच्चे बीज बो रही हूँ |

नयी सुबह से आज मैं
पहली किरण ले रही हूँ
मन में प्यार का उजाला करे जो
नये दीप रौशन कर रही हूँ |

नयी सुबह को मैं भी
नया वचन आज दे रही हूँ
हर दिन कुछ अच्छा काम करूँ
नया वादा मैं एसा कर रही हूँ |

नयी सुबह के साथ मैं
नये सपने आज बुन रही हूँ
पुराने उलझे धागे खोलकर
नये सफ़र पर मैं निकल रही हूँ |

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