Symeon the New Theologian

First of all, why does he get to be the “New Theologian”? Anyway, this was such a short, simple and sweet reading. All of it spoke to me on one level or another and really made me think. I love it when that happens!

The first passage was such a great metaphor for how people live in general. “When he dives into the water, he can no longer see anything outside, and he knows only that his whole body is in the water.” When we dive into the scenarios of our life or the routine even, we tend to close ourselves off from the things outside of what we know and can only see what we want. It is as if we walk through life with blinders on and can’t fathom a world beyond what we see. It is when we consciously take those blinders off and approach the world with wonder that we find the most fulfillment and are able to learn something new.

“The more a man enters the light of understanding, the more aware he is of his own ignorance.” I had to read that sentence twice before it hit me like a ton of bricks. It is so true that the more we learn the more we are able to acknowledge how little we know. It can be hard to swallow the fact that you don’t know everything you thought you knew, but it is rewarding to be able to take it in and embrace it. It keeps you humble and constantly searching and truly gives life meaning.

The third passage was so short and simple, but may be the truest of all. “When it [our mind] is emptied of thought … [it] finds nothing but the light.” Once I got into the hang of meditating this statement became true. I wasn’t even necessarily trying to meditate to be a holy being or to reach some sort of nirvana, but just to see if I could do it. When I finally was able to truly free my mind of thought and checked back in to reality I was left with a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction and tranquility like I had never experienced before. I didn’t consider myself religious, but when that happened it was hard to deny that something had to have happened that was beyond me.