In an age marked by technological marvels and unprecedented connectivity, the words of Thomas Merton strike a timeless chord:
What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery.
With this reflection, Merton challenges the notion that outward achievement—symbolized by space exploration—can substitute for inward awareness. While humanity continues to chart the outer edges of the universe, he reminds us that the deepest and most necessary discoveries lie within. This idea takes on new significance when we consider our understanding of the world through our geographical imaginations and our responsibilities as global citizens.
Geographical Imaginations: How We Know the World
The geographical imagination refers to the ways individuals and societies envision the world and its people—often shaped by culture, history, media, education, and power. It is through this imagination that we form mental maps of distant places, understand global relationships, and develop emotional responses to unfamiliar cultures. However, this process is not neutral. It can be infused with stereotypes, shaped by colonial legacies, or distorted by economic and political agendas.
In Merton’s metaphor, the “abyss” is not just the chasm within the individual but also the gap between how we imagine the world and its complex realities. If we do not reflect critically on how our worldviews are formed, we risk reinforcing systems of misunderstanding and marginalization. Without this introspection, our engagement with other cultures becomes superficial or exploitative, cloaked in curiosity but driven by control.
The Inner Journey and Global Citizenship
To be a global citizen is to recognize one’s interconnectedness with people and places far beyond national borders. It means understanding global systems—environmental, economic, cultural, and political—and acting in ways that promote justice, sustainability, and mutual respect. Yet, as Merton suggests, one cannot truly be a global citizen without first engaging in the inward journey: questioning our assumptions, recognizing our privileges, and becoming aware of the ways we have been shaped by our surroundings.
This inward reflection is not a retreat from the world but a necessary preparation for authentic global engagement. It transforms curiosity into empathy, and knowledge into wisdom. When Merton speaks of the “most important of all voyages of discovery,” he is calling for a kind of consciousness that allows us not only to see the world but to see ourselves in relation to it — as participants, not just observers.
Reframing Exploration
Merton’s critique of the moon landing is not a condemnation of progress, but a call to reframe what it means to explore. The heroic narratives of discovery and conquest—whether of new worlds or new markets—often ignore the inner void that can accompany unchecked ambition. Without a corresponding moral and spiritual evolution, such explorations can deepen divisions and alienation.
The geographical imagination, when rooted in self-awareness, becomes a powerful tool for connection. It allows us to move beyond simplistic images of “the Other” and toward more nuanced understandings of different peoples and places. It helps cultivate a form of global citizenship that is not about possessing knowledge, but about participating in a shared human story.
Bridging the Divide
Thomas Merton’s insight remains urgent today. As we chart paths across continents and into space, we must also chart the terrain of our own consciousness. We must question how we know what we know, and whose voices have been silenced in the stories we tell about the world. The “abyss that separates us from ourselves” is also the distance between surface-level engagement and true global solidarity.
To cross that abyss is to become not just travelers, but pilgrims—seeking not only knowledge of the world, but wisdom in our place within it. It is the most important of all voyages, and one that begins within.