There are times in centering prayer when I sense, whether in reality or only in the eye of my imagination, that the distinct separateness of all things is breached, and I am one with all things, radiating out from where I physically sit. This feeling does not destroy the uniqueness of anything, even myself; rather, I’m touched profoundly that we are all connected…mystically connected…somehow…
And, now, some Thomas Merton:
“A tree gives glory to God by being a tree…No two created beings are exactly alike. And their individuality is no imperfection. On the contrary, the perfection of each created thing is not merely in its conformity to an abstract type but its own individual identity with itself. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do.” — from New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 29