Description
The term “mediocre mystics” seems a fitting way to refer to those who
yearn for the nameless but do not qualify as full blown mystics. I
realize that because there is nothing middling about mystics, “mediocre
mystics” may appear to be an oxymoron, but the root meaning of
“mediocre” is not second-rate. From the Latin mediocris, the word
means moderate or ordinary and has been used figuratively to refer to
one who is halfway up a mountain. Unlike ordinary folks, sainted mystics
have reached the mountaintop; they are on a first-name basis with the
nameless! But just because we haven’t arrived at the heights, just
because our lives unfold in the valley of ordinary, everyday life
doesn’t mean that we cannot or do not experience the desire that has
fueled the mystic’s climb. “All my life my heart has yearned for a thing
I cannot name.” –Andre´ Breton All my life I have experienced the
yearning to which French writer and poet André Breton refers. For me
that yearning is composed in part of a subtle discontent, a quiet
feeling that something is missing despite the fact that nothing is
missing. Significant relationships, meaningful work, as well as material
and monetary security have never been enough to satisfy the desire for
that which I cannot name. I know I’m not alone in my discontent or my
longing for the nameless, for mystics of every spiritual and religious
tradition have spoken of their desire for and experience of union with a
spiritual entity that is as real as it is surreal. I am not claiming
that just because I share their yearning I consider myself a mystic, but
neither do I believe that the term “mystic” is entirely inappropriate
for those of us who might glimpse briefly what certified or canonized
mystics have been blinded by.
Tom Stella has been sharing his spiritual wisdom with the world for
years. His previous books include The God Instinct (Sorin Books), A
Faith Worth Believing (HarperSanFransico), and Finding God Beyond
Religions (SkylightPaths). Before resigning from the Congregation of
Holy Cross in 2009, he ministered to thousands of people in parishes and
on campuses for 30 years. He is the co-founder and director of Soul
Link Inc., a spiritual director, retreat facilitator, hospice chaplain,
and corporate chaplain for Centura Health, a Catholic and Adventist
health system headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Stella holds an MDiv
degree from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in counselling from the
University of Michigan, and an STM in spirituality from the Jesuit
School of Theology in Berkeley.