Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another. Thomas Merton on alone
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton on art
Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how. Thomas Merton on courage
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. Thomas Merton on death
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it. Thomas Merton on future
By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet. Thomas Merton on god
We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God. Thomas Merton on god
The first step toward finding God, Who is Truth, is to discover the truth about myself: and if I have been in error, this first step to truth is the discovery of my error. Thomas Merton on god
Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how. Thomas Merton on god
The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me. Thomas Merton on god
Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward. Thomas Merton on good
Be good, keep your feet dry, your eyes open, your heart at peace and your soul in the joy of Christ. Thomas Merton on good
Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. Thomas Merton on happiness
When ambition ends, happiness begins. Thomas Merton on happiness
If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell. Thomas Merton on history
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it. Thomas Merton on hope
We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness. Thomas Merton on imagination
Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. Thomas Merton on inspirational
The least of the work of learning is done in the classroom. Thomas Merton on learning
Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. Thomas Merton on life