Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

by Richard Rohr

Life does not care what I like or don’t like. It doesn’t matter a bit. If we stay in the world of preference and choice, we keep ourselves as the reference point. As if it matters what color I like. Who cares what I look good in? Or what movie is pleasing to me? It changes from moment to moment. No wonder people have identity crises. No wonder people have a fragile self-image; they have nothing solid to build on beyond changing opinions and feelings. If formerly we said, “I think, therefore I am,” now it might be “I choose, therefore I am.” That’s not a solid foundation to build on. The real question is “What does this have to say to me?” Those who are totally converted come to every experience and ask not whether or not they liked it, but what does it have to teach them. “What’s the message in this for me? What’s the gift in this for me? How is God in this event? Where is God in this suffering?”