Living in the Tension

Art by Dennis McNally, S.J.












One persistent theme of my recent experience in Australia is that of paradoxes... that life is seldom a black and white matter, but rather, a matter of living with paradoxical tensions. What am I talking about? Following on the theme from yesterday-- that of living in the world but not being bound by its conventions, of appreciating beauty and excellence without trying to grasp or possess them, of having one foot in the world of ephemera- the passing things, and the other foot in the eternal... this is what I am talking about. When we try to look at and understand our experience in those dualistic, polarizing terms, it is very hard to hold any of these things together, let alone to appreciate that we are called to be both human and divine, sinners and saints.

Despite our tendency to see things in the either/or terms (e.g. I am either a sinner and condemned or beloved and "saved"), this dualistic way of seeing is largely driven by our ego. The reality of things as understood by those who see the world from the heart is undivided and whole... and all things are connected. I am, for instance, both a sinner and precious to God-- at this very moment. The capacity to experience and make sense of life in these non-dual terms takes lots of grace and regular practice. In terms of Ignatian spirituality, it require that we become more and more contemplative in action...