Palace of Nowhere

When Thomas Merton spoke of there not being "much of you" in heaven, he was alluding to the profound truth that even now, we are already living in God's kingdom. We can begin to realize this reality if we let go of our self-centered desires and wholeheartedly seek to align our will with God's.

God is not some distant, elusive being, but is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God is the very heart of our heart, the hope that sustains our hopes, the love that animates our love, and the ground upon which our entire being rests.

There is nowhere we need to go to find God, for God is already present, permeating every aspect of our lives. Nor is there anything we can do to "have" God, for God already dwells within us. All we must do is abandon our ceaseless striving and simply be who we are in God, opening ourselves to the divine life that flows through us.

In the stillness of silent prayer, we unveil the possibility of infinite growth in union with the divine. Through this unveiling, we can be so transformed that we come to realize, in the depths of our being, that "for me to live is Christ." Our simple, everyday actions can become imbued with a divine quality, as they are elevated to become God's own acts.

There is nowhere to go and nothing to do, for God is already here, upon us and within us. In the midst of our humble duties and our simple, imperfect selves, we can echo Jacob's words with profound gratitude: "Truly this is the house of God and the gate of heaven, and I knew it not."

(adopted from: Thomas Merton, What Are These Wounds?; James Finley, Merton’s Palace of Nowhere)