TRYSTAN OWAIN HUGHES opens chapter 3 of his The Compassion Quest with this exquisite quote from Rilke
Only one space extends
Through all beings: innerworldspace.
Silently, the birds fly within us.
and I, who wants to grow, I look outside,
But find within me grows the tree.Rainer Maria Rilke
Nearly everything calls us to connect
What a joy and a relief to me, and a challenge too, that Trystan Owain Hughes has offered the world what Tony Campolo calls “a book that was waiting to be written”. Some books baptise us with both tears and smiles. And make us stop, look, listen. And make us turn around.
Pope Francis, thank God, calls humanity to “go out into the world”. Yes! Absolutely. But with what?
Rilke, Francis and Trystan Owain Hughes bring something OUT into the world that has grown, and is forever growing, WITHIN them and us.
Interconnectedness. Thank God. There’s God. There’s the future.
