Life is busy! How many things do we have on our “to-do” lists? What chores need doing? When do I have to pick up the kids? Will I have time to cook dinner? Did I call that person back? Did my check bounce? Will I beat the traffic? Sometimes, it seems like the more we get done, the more hectic life gets. No wonder stress is a big health concern.
Meister Eckhart (14th century German Dominican friar) calls this “multiplicity.” For him it means being lost in all the multiple things of the world – lost in such a way that we lose our minds, our hearts, and (perhaps) even our sanity. Furthermore, we lose God when we are caught in multiplicity. Therefore, he recommends intending only God. He says, “let our intention be purely and only for God.” Then, truly, God is with us. And no person, no crowds, no places can hinder us for we take delight in nothing but God. And so, he says, “just as no multiplicity can disturb God, nothing can disturb or fragment us, for we are one in that One where all multiplicity is one and is one un-multiplicity.”
catholicmystic 