The Deep Darkness

When you enter into more of a prayer of oneness instead of the usual twoness, you can get disoriented.  Our separate self is our ballast.  But with this depth of prayer can come a sense of meaninglessness.  We cannot fully answer the question of why we would pursue a more contemplative life, even to ourselves much less others.  It is therefore not easy to explain to anyone, the curious, why we do what we do.  I am not even sure of the why, but I do know that it is a winding road to oneness with The Other who becomes not an Other, but more or less, depending on your experience.  Most of us prefer straight roads and surety in the straight and wide road.  That is what I call "Interstate Highway Prayer."  Contemplative prayer is more about the backwoods.  Maybe that is why I like East Tennessee and the backroads to Dollywood.   After Covid, ya gotta do Dollywood, and take the backroads.  No less than the Superior General of The Paulist Fathers loves this way to Dollywood, and he drives it like a New Yorker.  Yikes!