1915-1968, American Trappist Monk, Writer
Art Art is not an end in itself. It introduces the soul into a higher spiritual order, which it expresses and in some sense explains. No Man Is an Island , 1955, 1983
Autonomy / Control We must first recover possession of our own being before we can act wisely or taste any experience in its human reality. As long as we are not in our own possession, all our activity is futile. If we let all our wine run out of the barrel and down the street, how will our thirst be quenched? Ibid.
Avoidance / Denial / Refusal You must know when, how, and to whom you must say "no." This involves considerable difficulty at times. You must not hurt people, or want to hurt them, yet you must not placate them at the price of infidelity to higher and more essential values. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander , 1966
Wisdom for The Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing , © 2004