"Death is someone you see very clearly with eyes in the center of your heart: eyes that see not by reacting to light, but by reacting to a kind of a chill from within the marrow of your own life"

In this passage, Thomas Merton offers an extensive meditation on the nature of death, urging readers to "see" death not with their physical eyes however with an inner vision housed at the heart's center. This metaphorical seeing is a more instinctive and emotional understanding rather than a mere visual encounter. Merton suggests that true comprehension of death obtains not from the external and concrete, but rather from an intimate, existential confrontation. This vision views death not through the response to physical light-- representing the superficial and transient nature of physical observations-- however through a deep, intrinsic reaction.

The "chill from within the marrow of your own life" metaphorically explains this understanding as emerging from the core of one's being. Marrow, a compound located deep within bones, symbolically represents the innermost part of oneself. The chill signifies an internal recognition, a visceral realization of mortality that resonates at the extremely essence of one's existence.

Merton's option of language raises the discussion about death from a mere biological or philosophical curiosity to an intensely personal experience. The eyes "in the center of your heart" evoke the concept that comprehending death needs emotional and spiritual insight-- an awareness that goes beyond intellectual or empirical inquiry.

This reflective method recommends that engaging with our mortality is essential to comprehending our lives. By recognizing death as part of life's continuum, we are invited to reevaluate our top priorities, function, and the method we engage with the world. This awareness can foster a much deeper value for life, stressing the limited nature of our time and motivating us to live more deliberately.

Overall, Merton's quote urges readers to face their death not with worry however with a reflective openness, utilizing this understanding to notify and enhance their lived experiences. Through this method, death ends up being not an end however a lens through which life's true worth and significance are amplified.