Thomas Merton from New Seeds of Contemplation

“The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him. If it tried to be like something else, which it was never intended to be, it would be less like God and therefore it would give Him less glory. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air in the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do. For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self. Trees have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear one mask and then another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own face. If we have chosen the way of falsity we must not be surprised that true eludes us when we finally come to need it! The secret of my full identity is hidden in Him. He alone can make me who I am, or rather who I will be when at last I fully begin to be. But unless I desire this identity and work to find it with Him and in Him, the work will never be done. The way of doing it is in secret I can learn from no one else but Him. There is no way of attaining to the secret without faith. Therefore there is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace and happiness depends; to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find Him.”