I'm reading Consolations
by Sally Wolfe, a novel about a woman who converts to Catholicism and
becomes a nun. It was Thomas Merton who inspired the protagonist, and
reading this caused me to recall my own reading of Merton and how I
also felt drawn to Catholicism because of him, although, unlike the
protagonist in Consolations, I
never followed through.
It's
probably a good thing. There were other times when, inspired by
someone following a certain path, I did do so. When we are young, we
are looking for someone who knows
because, God knows, we
don't. And there's a lot of danger in that – because we all have
our own individual path in life, and the trick is to find that path,
not to follow someone else's.
How do we find the
confidence when we are young to look inside and “follow our bliss”
as Joseph Campbell counseled?
