A second read of one of TM's later books. Also a read after reading more Jesuits philosophy. Became infatuated with TM 35 years ago. His mental and spiritual wanderings are internal and on this re-read sounded like spiritual naval gazing with the Catholic verbial trimmings (a lot of capital letters). But when one sits and prays and thinks without reflecting on actions never taken that is where a well meaning literary monk would end up,
But Catholicism is a large tent. Both TMs and Father James Martin's "God is where You Are" and the Jesuits "God in All things" can abide. ( )

This is another book I read years ago, and now cannot recall what it was like. ( )

Thoughtful and eloquent, as timely (or timeless) now as when it was originally published in 1956, Thoughts in Solitude addresses the pleasure of a solitary life, as well as the necessity for quiet reflection in an age when so little is private. Thomas Merton writes: "When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude it can no longer be held together by love: and consequently it is held together by a violent and abusive authority. But when men are violently deprived of the solitude and freedom which are their due, the society in which they live becomes putrid, it festers with servility, resentment and hate."

I've read this short book countless times and find great comfort in it. I believe solitude is a need all humans have, to varying degrees, and yet most of us don't take or make time for quiet contemplation.

NR-8