Actions are the doors and windows of being. Unless we act, we have no way of knowing what we are.
THOMAS MERTONHow can I be sincere if I am constantly changing my mind to conform with the shadow of what I think others expect of me?
More Thomas Merton Quotes
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For although God is right with us and in us and out of us and all through us, we have to go on journeys to find him.
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A faith that is afraid of other people is no faith at all.
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Others can give you a name or a number, but they can never tell you who you really are. That is something you yourself can only discover from within.
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The purpose of our lives is to find the purpose of our lives.
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When you see God in everyone, then they see God in you.
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We cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great.
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We are not converted only once in our lives but many times and this endless series of conversions and inner revolutions leads to our transformation.
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The man who sweats under his mask, whose role makes him itch with discomfort, who hates the division in himself, is already beginning to be free.
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Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false Self. We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves.
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The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
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May God prevent us from becoming “right-thinking men”-that is to say men who agree perfectly with their own police.
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Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
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Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.
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The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived.
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A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found: for a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy.
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Learn how to meditate on paper. Drawing and writing are forms of meditation. Learn how to contemplate works of art. Learn how to pray in the streets or in the country. Know how to meditate not only when you have a book in your hand but when you are waiting for a bus or riding in a train.
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But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
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The man who sweats under his mask, whose role makes him itch with discomfort, who hates the division in himself, is already beginning to be free.
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If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.
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Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves.
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To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name.
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In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be places of silence, inner discipline and peace. In such places love can blossom.
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Our real journey in life is interior.
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Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things.
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The artist should preach nothing-not even his own autonomy. His art should speak its own truth, and in so doing it will be in harmony with every other kind of truth- moral, metaphysical, mystical.
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Self-conquest is really self-surrender. Yet before we can surrender ourselves we must become ourselves. For no one can give up what he does not possess.
THOMAS MERTON