INTIMACY WITH YOURSELF THROUGH INTIMACY WITH OTHERS

'Personhood develops in relationships. In turning to face each other, we see ourselves through new eyes, learning about our assumptions, fears, dreams and desires. As the other person draws out what is unique to me, I learn to become myself. Others experience me and tell me what they experience, freeing me to explore the external world in a new light. The encounter will be as rich as the honesty and generosity of hearts that accompany it. Other people confirm our existence and validate our worth by accepting and enjoying our presence.'

Marsh Moyle, Rumours of a Better Country, p.178.

WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT

'As important as beautifully formulated theological propositions are to the Christian faith, they are no substitute for learning to live in the presence of God, who is present in all times and places.'

Marsh Moyle, Rumours of a Better Country, p.129.

HOW TO SPOT AN IDOL

'An object is free of idolatry when we associate with it only those attributes it actually has, no more and no less.'

Marsh Moyle, Rumours of a Better Country, p.69.

THE TRINITY & INTIMACY

'God is simultaneously three and one. We reflect God's image in being in communion with each other while simultaneously being unique. The invitation to intimacy is to a communion of unique persons; to each other and to all. Both the communion and the unique persons are important.'

Marsh Moyle, Rumours of a Better Country, p.64.

TRUE FREEDOM

'...Christian freedom...is the essential freedom of human beings to develop themselves as human creatures.'

Hans Rookmaaker in Marsh Moyle, Rumours of a Better Country: Searching for trust and community in a time of moral outrage, p.53.

PATHS TO GOD

'...any authentic longing, any longing that, even implicitly, points towards eternity, is a possible path towards God.'

Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness, p.145.

TO BE HUMAN

'To be created in God's image - to be human - is to carry in the depth of one's being a longing to transcend the boundaries of human nature so as to have a share in divine life.'

Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness, p.139.

WHAT WE'RE MADE OF

'...I'm made of longing...'
Rainer Maria Rilke in Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness, p.134.

THE FRAGILITY OF HAPPINES

'Happiness involves finding oneself the recipient of a spectacle, a moment, an atmosphere, and taking, accepting, and grasping the blessing of the moment. For that there be no recipe, no preparation; one has to be there when the moment comes. Otherwise, it's something else: satisfaction in having achieved something, joy in doing what you know how to do. Happiness is fragile precisely because it is not repeatable; opportunities for it are rare and random, like old threads in the world's fabric. They ought to be seized.'

Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking, p.121.

BEWARE!

'...the chief intoxicant of spiritual life: self-righteous ingratitude.'
Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness, p.42.