From Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey:
Creating Space to Dance Together
When we feel lonely we keep looking for a person or persons who can take our loneliness away. Our lonely hearts cry out, "Please hold me, touch me, speak to me, pay attention to me." But soon we discover that the person we expect to take our loneliness away cannot give us what we ask for. Often that person feels oppressed by our demands and runs away, leaving us in despair. As long as we approach another person from our loneliness, no mature human relationship can develop. Clinging to one another in loneliness is suffocating and eventually becomes destructive. For love to be possible we need the courage to create space between us and to trust that this space allows us to dance together.
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2 comments:
My husband has quoted Nowen to me for years. I like what I hear and the themes you have brought up. Any suggestions on what I should read first?
Hi Heather :) I recommend, Making all Things New. It is short and to the point. If you haven't read him, or much about the inner spiritual life as it pertains to the Christian tradition, it will open a new door to a way to do faith unlike what we were taught in our childhood church life. Nouwen (and there are many, many others like him) is a big reason why I have not left Christianity...
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