Everything That Is, Is Holy
Detachment, as a spiritual practice, is often misunderstood as a rejection of the world or God’s creation. But in truth, detachment is about freeing ourselves from the grip of the false self—the ego that distances us from God and reality.
"We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God." —Thomas Merton
This shift in perspective is transformative. It is not about abandoning the world, but about recognizing that our attachments to external things are often driven by the false self, which sees itself as separate from God and others. When we turn inward and encounter the true self, we realize that we are not to use things as a means of feeding our illusions of control or ownership. Detachment, therefore, is not about rejecting creation, but rather seeing creation for what it truly is—a reflection of the divine, something to be appreciated in its own right, not something to feed our ego.
One of the fundamental teachings here is that created things are not evil. Often, in spiritual practice, there is a tendency to see the world as something to be renounced, as if evil lurks in every created thing. But this is not the truth.
"There is no evil in anything created by God, nor can anything of His become an obstacle to our union with Him." —Thomas Merton
When we view the world through the lens of detachment, we recognize that the goodness of creation is a direct reflection of God’s intention. The things we encounter in life are not inherently bad; the problem arises when we allow our attachments to them to control us. In seeing creation as good, as part of God's divine plan, we open ourselves to the possibility of relating to it in a holy way, seeing it as a tool for spiritual growth rather than an obstacle.
But there is also a danger in misunderstanding detachment. When we mistake piety for rejection of the world, we end up perpetuating our own illusion of control.
"Those who try to escape from this situation by treating the good things of God as if they were evils are only confirming themselves in a terrible illusion."
—Thomas Merton
This self-deception prevents us from truly encountering the divine in all things. It’s a common trap to believe that detachment requires us to reject the beauty and goodness of God’s creation. However, the real challenge is to live in the world without letting it master us. It is not the world that is evil, but our disordered attachment to it. The more we seek to separate ourselves from creation, the more we fall into the trap of false piety, where the very thing we seek to escape becomes the object of our obsession.
This brings us to the second point—loving God enables us to truly appreciate creation. The saints, in their deep love for God, were able to see the world around them with eyes of profound reverence. Their love for God did not diminish their connection to the world; rather, it deepened it.
"It was because the saints were absorbed in God that they were truly capable of seeing and appreciating created things and it was because they loved Him alone that they alone loved everybody." —Thomas Merton
The saints' ability to see and love the world was not rooted in attachment to the world itself, but in their profound union with God. Their love extended to everything because they saw the divine presence in all things. It was a love that transcended the human divisions of good and bad, seeing beyond surface appearances to the deep, unifying presence of God in creation.
True holiness, then, is not a rejection of creation, but a transformation of how we interact with it. Saints didn’t feel the need to disconnect from the world in order to be holy.
"The eyes of the saint make all beauty holy and the hands of the saint consecrate everything they touch to the glory of God, and the saint is never offended by anything and judges no man’s sin because he does not know sin."
—Thomas Merton
The holiness of the saints was not found in retreating from the world but in embracing it with love. Their joy was not diminished by their interaction with the world; instead, they consecrated everything they touched, seeing it as an opportunity to glorify God. The saints show us that the path of holiness does not lie in separating ourselves from the world but in entering into it with a heart transformed by divine love.
And yet, it is not only the saints who show us this path; every person who loves God is invited to love the world in this way. Holiness is not about creating a rigid separation between the sacred and the secular, but rather seeing the sacred in everything.
"A saint is capable of loving created things and enjoying the use of them and dealing with them in a perfectly simple, natural manner, making no formal references to God, drawing no attention to his own piety, and acting without any artificial rigidity at all." —Thomas Merton
This teaching invites us to embrace the world with a simple, natural love. Holiness does not require grand gestures or artificial displays of piety. It requires a heart that is open to seeing the divine in the everyday. In this way, we can enjoy creation without becoming attached to it, appreciating it without idolizing it.
When we move to the topic of joy and suffering in creation, we begin to see the deeper connection between union with God and the experience of true joy. True joy is not found in external things, in fleeting pleasures or material possessions.
"The only true joy on earth is to escape from the prison of our own false self, and enter by love into union with the Life Who dwells and sings within the essence of every creature and in the core of our own souls." —Thomas Merton
This union with God brings a joy that transcends the material world. When we let go of the false self—our ego and its attachments—we enter into the pure, unshakable joy of God’s presence, which is not dependent on circumstances. It is a joy that flows from knowing that God is in all things, and in that knowledge, we experience an unbroken connection to the divine.
Suffering, on the other hand, arises from misplaced attachment. When we place our hope in things that are not of God, when we look to creation to fulfill what only God can, we inevitably experience suffering.
"For until we love God perfectly His world is full of contradiction. The things He has created attract us to Him and yet keep us away from Him." —Thomas Merton
The created world, in its beauty and goodness, points us to God, but if our attachments are disordered, it becomes a source of frustration. We long for the joy that creation promises, but because we are not aligned with God, we are left feeling empty. This contradiction arises because we are still bound to our false self, seeking fulfillment where it cannot be found.
"We find something of the joy of blessedness and something of the pain of loss, which is damnation." —Thomas Merton
Creation, then, reflects both heaven and hell, depending on how we relate to it. The world mirrors our spiritual state: when we are aligned with God, we see His glory in all things, and creation becomes a reflection of heaven. But when we are detached from God, the world becomes a source of sorrow, reminding us of our disconnection. This tension between joy and suffering is a reflection of the human heart’s struggle between ego and the divine. Our suffering in creation is not a punishment, but a result of our failure to see creation as God sees it—through the lens of love and holiness.
"The 'false self' must not be identified with the body. The body is neither evil nor unreal." —Thomas Merton
Finally, the false self and the body are deeply interconnected, but they are not synonymous. This teaching challenges the dualistic idea that the body is inherently sinful or separate from the soul. The body, like the soul, is part of God’s sacred design, and its role in our spiritual journey is to be embraced, not rejected. The false self may try to use the body to further its illusions of separation, but the body itself is not the problem. It is how we relate to it that makes all the difference. The body is a sacred vessel, a temple through which we experience the world and express our spiritual reality.
"The 'marriage' of body and soul in one person is one of the things that makes man the image of God; and what God has joined no man can separate without danger to his sanity." —Thomas Merton
The body and soul are united in the image of God, and this unity is essential to our identity. This unity between body and soul is what makes us human, and it is through this union that we reflect God’s image. To separate the two is to deny the fullness of who we are. When we live in harmony with our body and soul, we live in alignment with our true nature as bearers of God’s image.
"There are many respectable and even conventionally moral people for whom there is no other reality in life than their body and its relationship with 'things.'" —Thomas Merton
Yet, there is a danger when we reduce ourselves to nothing more than sensory experience. This reduction of the self to purely physical reality leads to a distorted view of our identity and purpose. When we focus only on the body and its desires, we miss the deeper spiritual call that transcends the material world. We are not just bodies; we are beings with a soul, created for union with God. To reduce ourselves to mere sensory experience is to deny the fullness of our human potential. In embracing both body and soul, we can move beyond the limitations of the material world and engage with the deeper spiritual truths that God has woven into the very fabric of our being.
