---
title: "Best Life Quotes by Thomas Merton"
description: "146 Life quotes by Thomas Merton. Plus more from Thomas Merton and more Life sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg"
---

> [If a man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive-body-soul-mind-heart-spirit/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg)

> [The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-in-some-ways-signs-of-god-s/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/thomas-merton-231_compassion_the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-i_2155722.jpg)

> [Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s-love-every-moment-of/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/thomas-merton-231_breaths_every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s_2001278.jpg)

> [“Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live-for-you-are-made-in-the-image/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/thomas-merton-231_life_your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live_2894461.jpg)

> [In the spiritual life there is no such thing as an indifference to love or hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-indifference-to/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/thomas-merton-231_hate_in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-t_2870004.jpg)

> [Our whole life is a meditation of our last decision - the only decision that matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-last-decision-the-only-decision/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/thomas-merton-231_decision_our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-la_1268974.jpg)

> [You are certainly one of the joys of life for all who have ever come within a mile of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-life-for-all-who-have-ever-come/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/thomas-merton-231_happiness_you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-lif_2153936.jpg)

> [“The whole of life is to spiritualize our activities by humility and faith, to silence our nature by charity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our-activities-by-humility-and/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/thomas-merton-231_faith_the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our_2441156.jpg)

> [My life is ... a mystery which I do not attempt to really understand, as though 1 were led by the hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-attempt-to-really-understand-as/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/thomas-merton-231_action_my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-atte_966502.jpg)

> [The world is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating-mystery-of-which-i-am-myself/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/thomas-merton-231_life_the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating_1889355.jpg)

> [Life is not accomplishing some special work but attaining to a degree of consciousness and inner freedom which is beyond all works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-work-but-attaining-to-a-degree/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/thomas-merton-231_attainment_life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-w_1558509.jpg)

> [If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you-must-unify-your-life-a-life/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you_1536301.jpg)

> [The only trouble is that in the spiritual life there are no tricks and no shortcuts. Those who imagine that they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritual-life-there-are-no-tricks/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/thomas-merton-231_gimmicks_the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritua_1852835.jpg)

> [The world as pure object is something that is not there. It is not a reality outside us for which we exist…It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-that-is-not-there-it-is-not-a/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/thomas-merton-231_creating_the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-th_1698652.jpg)

> [I myself am part of the weather and part of the climate and part of the place … It is certainly part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part-of-the-climate-and-part-of/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/thomas-merton-231_climate_i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part_1063017.jpg)

> [What do I mean by loving ourselves properly? I mean first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-properly-i-mean-first-of-all/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/thomas-merton-231_accepting_what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-prope_2516386.jpg)

> [There are days when I am convinced that Heaven starts already, now, in this ordinary life just as it is, in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that-heaven-starts-already-now-in/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/thomas-merton-231_fields_there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that_756396.jpg)

> [True encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not know we had, a hope, a capacity for life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-something-in-us-a-power-we-did/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/thomas-merton-231_capacity_true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-som_1603090.jpg)

> [In general, it can be said that no contemplative life is possible without ascetic self-discipline. One must learn to survive without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contemplative-life-is-possible/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/thomas-merton-231_able_in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contem_1221387.jpg)

> [a man can radically change his life and attain to a deeper meaning, a more perfect integration, a more complete fulfillment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and-attain-to-a-deeper-meaning-a/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e2/thomas-merton-231_active_a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and_1764840.jpg)

> [The danger of education, I have found, is that it so easily confuses means with ends. Worse than that, it quite easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is-that-it-so-easily-confuses/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/thomas-merton-231_artificial_the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is_788119.jpg)

> [Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation-we-are-all-called-by-god-to/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/thomas-merton-231_called-by-god_each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation_186666.jpg)

> [Are they moved by a sense of human need for silence, for reflection, for inner seeking? So they want to get away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need-for-silence-for-reflection/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/thomas-merton-231_blessed_are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need_2010356.jpg)

> [Thinking about monastic ideals is not the same as living up to them, but at any rate such thinking has an important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-the-same-as-living-up-to-them/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/thomas-merton-231_happiness_thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-th_844012.jpg)

> [When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg)

> [Everything in modern city life is calculated to keep man from entering into himself and thinking about spiritual things. Even with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calculated-to-keep-man-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/thomas-merton-231_advertising_everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calcul_1350918.jpg)

> [“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-man-s-life-on-earth-plants-2/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_2661113.jpg)

> [The modern child may early in his or her existence have natural inclinations toward spirituality. The child may have imagination, originality, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her-existence-have-natural/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/thomas-merton-231_absorption_the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her_3179590.jpg)

> [“Justify my soul, O God, but also from Your fountains fill my will with fire. Shine in my mind, although perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your-fountains-fill-my-will-with/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/thomas-merton-231_life_justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your_3220255.jpg)

> [“One who is content with what he has, and who accepts the fact that he inevitably misses very much in life, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and-who-accepts-the-fact-that-he/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-merton-231_happiness_one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and_1847296.jpg)

> [“No matter how much the original Rule of St. Francis has changed, I think his spirit and his inspiration are still the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of-st-francis-has-changed-i/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/thomas-merton-231_inspiration_no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of_87819.jpg)

> [But it certainly is a wonderful thing to wake up suddenly in the solitude of the woods and look up at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to-wake-up-suddenly-in-the/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a3/thomas-merton-231_asceticism_but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to_1532459.jpg)

> [In our creation, God asked a question and in our truly living; God answers the question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and-in-our-truly-living-god/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/thomas-merton-231_answers_in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and_863316.jpg)

> [Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find-the-meaning-of-life-by/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1c/thomas-merton-231_destiny_love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find_257516.jpg)

> [Every moment and every event of every mans life on earth plants something in his soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-mans-life-on-earth-plants/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_689994.jpg)

> [One of the strange laws of the contemplative life is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contemplative-life-is-that-in-it-you/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/thomas-merton-231_bears_one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contempla_722974.jpg)

> [Ultimately faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to the questions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the-universe-the-final-meaning-of/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/thomas-merton-231_answers_ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the_3053232.jpg)

> [The only influence that can really upset the injustice and iniquity of men is the power that breathes in the Christian tradition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset-the-injustice-and-iniquity/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/thomas-merton-231_breathe_the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset_1891307.jpg)

> [To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-god-is-to-say-that-love-is-the/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/thomas-merton-231_character_to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-go_1080511.jpg)

> [“We know by fresh discovery, the deep reality that is our concrete existence here and now and in the depths of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-reality-that-is-our-concrete/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/thomas-merton-231_life_we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-real_1893113.jpg)

## Other authors on Life

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-sunday-adelaja-87912.jpg) Sunday Adelaja 2,086 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/sunday-adelaja/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-nishan-panwar-14.jpg) Nishan Panwar 1,901 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/nishan-panwar/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-paulo-coelho-74345.jpg) Paulo Coelho 1,045 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/paulo-coelho/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-ritu-ghatourey-5.jpg) Ritu Ghatourey 893 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/ritu-ghatourey/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-frederick-lenz-36205.jpg) Frederick Lenz 659 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/frederick-lenz/)
- [Lailah Gifty Akita 630 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/lailah-gifty-akita/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-anurag-prakash-ray-38.jpg) Anurag Prakash Ray 621 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/anurag-prakash-ray/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-steve-maraboli-87325.jpg) Steve Maraboli 550 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/steve-maraboli/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-melchor-lim-61.jpg) Melchor Lim 538 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/melchor-lim/)
- [Mehmet Murat ildan 452 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/mehmet-murat-ildan/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-david-thoreau-41473.jpg) Henry David Thoreau 432 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/henry-david-thoreau/)
- [Ralph Waldo Emerson 430 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

## More by Thomas Merton

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/#itemlist",
            "name": "Best Life Quotes by Thomas Merton",
            "numberOfItems": 40,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If a man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive-body-soul-mind-heart-spirit/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“If a man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-in-some-ways-signs-of-god-s/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/thomas-merton-231_compassion_the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-i_2155722.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/thomas-merton-231_compassion_the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-i_2155722.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/thomas-merton-231_compassion_the-very-contradictions-in-my-life-are-i_2155722.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s-love-every-moment-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/thomas-merton-231_breaths_every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s_2001278.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/thomas-merton-231_breaths_every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s_2001278.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/317/thomas-merton-231_breaths_every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s_2001278.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live-for-you-are-made-in-the-image/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/thomas-merton-231_life_your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live_2894461.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/thomas-merton-231_life_your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live_2894461.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/thomas-merton-231_life_your-life-is-shaped-by-the-end-you-live_2894461.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In the spiritual life there is no such thing as an indifference to love or hate.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-indifference-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/thomas-merton-231_hate_in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-t_2870004.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/thomas-merton-231_hate_in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-t_2870004.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/thomas-merton-231_hate_in-the-spiritual-life-there-is-no-such-t_2870004.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In the spiritual life there is no such thing as an indifference to love or hate.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Our whole life is a meditation of our last decision - the only decision that matters.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-last-decision-the-only-decision/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/thomas-merton-231_decision_our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-la_1268974.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/thomas-merton-231_decision_our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-la_1268974.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/thomas-merton-231_decision_our-whole-life-is-a-meditation-of-our-la_1268974.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Our whole life is a meditation of our last decision - the only decision that matters.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 7,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "You are certainly one of the joys of life for all who have ever come within a mile of you.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-life-for-all-who-have-ever-come/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/thomas-merton-231_happiness_you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-lif_2153936.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/thomas-merton-231_happiness_you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-lif_2153936.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/thomas-merton-231_happiness_you-are-certainly-one-of-the-joys-of-lif_2153936.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“You are certainly one of the joys of life for all who have ever come within a mile of you.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 8,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The whole of life is to spiritualize our activities by humility and faith, to silence our nature by charity.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our-activities-by-humility-and/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/thomas-merton-231_faith_the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our_2441156.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/thomas-merton-231_faith_the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our_2441156.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/thomas-merton-231_faith_the-whole-of-life-is-to-spiritualize-our_2441156.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The whole of life is to spiritualize our activities by humility and faith, to silence our nature by charity.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 9,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "My life is ... a mystery which I do not attempt to really understand, as though 1 were led by the hand in a night where I see nothing, but can fully depend on the love and protection of Him who guides me.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-attempt-to-really-understand-as/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/thomas-merton-231_action_my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-atte_966502.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/thomas-merton-231_action_my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-atte_966502.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c53/thomas-merton-231_action_my-life-is-a-mystery-which-i-do-not-atte_966502.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“My life is ... a mystery which I do not attempt to really understand, as though 1 were led by the hand in a…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 10,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The world is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own unique door.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating-mystery-of-which-i-am-myself/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/thomas-merton-231_life_the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating_1889355.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/thomas-merton-231_life_the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating_1889355.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70a/thomas-merton-231_life_the-world-is-a-living-and-self-creating_1889355.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The world is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 11,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Life is not accomplishing some special work but attaining to a degree of consciousness and inner freedom which is beyond all works and attainments.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-work-but-attaining-to-a-degree/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/thomas-merton-231_attainment_life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-w_1558509.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/thomas-merton-231_attainment_life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-w_1558509.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/thomas-merton-231_attainment_life-is-not-accomplishing-some-special-w_1558509.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Life is not accomplishing some special work but attaining to a degree of consciousness and inner freedom…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 12,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you-must-unify-your-life-a-life/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you_1536301.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you_1536301.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you_1536301.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 13,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The only trouble is that in the spiritual life there are no tricks and no shortcuts. Those who imagine that they can discover spiritual gimmicks and put them to work for themselves usually ignore God's will and his grace.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritual-life-there-are-no-tricks/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/thomas-merton-231_gimmicks_the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritua_1852835.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/thomas-merton-231_gimmicks_the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritua_1852835.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/thomas-merton-231_gimmicks_the-only-trouble-is-that-in-the-spiritua_1852835.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The only trouble is that in the spiritual life there are no tricks and no shortcuts. Those who imagine that…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 14,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The world as pure object is something that is not there. It is not a reality outside us for which we exist…It is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own unique door.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-that-is-not-there-it-is-not-a/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/thomas-merton-231_creating_the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-th_1698652.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/thomas-merton-231_creating_the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-th_1698652.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/thomas-merton-231_creating_the-world-as-pure-object-is-something-th_1698652.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The world as pure object is something that is not there. It is not a reality outside us for which we…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 15,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "I myself am part of the weather and part of the climate and part of the place … It is certainly part of my life of prayer.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part-of-the-climate-and-part-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/thomas-merton-231_climate_i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part_1063017.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/thomas-merton-231_climate_i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part_1063017.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/thomas-merton-231_climate_i-myself-am-part-of-the-weather-and-part_1063017.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I myself am part of the weather and part of the climate and part of the place … It is certainly part of my…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 16,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "What do I mean by loving ourselves properly? I mean first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very great gift and a great good, not because of what it gives us, but because of what it enables us to give to others.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-properly-i-mean-first-of-all/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/thomas-merton-231_accepting_what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-prope_2516386.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/thomas-merton-231_accepting_what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-prope_2516386.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/thomas-merton-231_accepting_what-do-i-mean-by-loving-ourselves-prope_2516386.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“What do I mean by loving ourselves properly? I mean first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 17,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "There are days when I am convinced that Heaven starts already, now, in this ordinary life just as it is, in all its incompleteness, yet, this is where Heaven starts.. see within yourself, if you can find it. I walked through the field in front of the house, lots of swallows flying, everywhere! Some very near me..it was magical. \"We are already one, yet we know it not.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that-heaven-starts-already-now-in/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/thomas-merton-231_fields_there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that_756396.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/thomas-merton-231_fields_there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that_756396.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/thomas-merton-231_fields_there-are-days-when-i-am-convinced-that_756396.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“There are days when I am convinced that Heaven starts already, now, in this ordinary life just as it is, in…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 18,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "True encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not know we had, a hope, a capacity for life, a resilience, an ability to bounce back when we thought we were completely defeated, a capacity to grow and change, a power of creative transformation.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-something-in-us-a-power-we-did/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/thomas-merton-231_capacity_true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-som_1603090.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/thomas-merton-231_capacity_true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-som_1603090.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/thomas-merton-231_capacity_true-encounter-with-christ-liberates-som_1603090.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“True encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not know we had, a hope, a capacity for…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 19,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In general, it can be said that no contemplative life is possible without ascetic self-discipline. One must learn to survive without the habit-forming luxuries which get such a hold on men today. I do not say that to be a contemplative one absolutely has to go without smoking or without alcohol, but certainly one must be able to use these things without being dominated by an uncontrolled need for them.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contemplative-life-is-possible/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/thomas-merton-231_able_in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contem_1221387.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/thomas-merton-231_able_in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contem_1221387.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/thomas-merton-231_able_in-general-it-can-be-said-that-no-contem_1221387.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In general, it can be said that no contemplative life is possible without ascetic self-discipline. One must…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 20,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "a man can radically change his life and attain to a deeper meaning, a more perfect integration, a more complete fulfillment, a more total liberty of spirit than are possible in the routines of a purely active existence centered on money-making.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and-attain-to-a-deeper-meaning-a/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e2/thomas-merton-231_active_a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and_1764840.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e2/thomas-merton-231_active_a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and_1764840.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e2/thomas-merton-231_active_a-man-can-radically-change-his-life-and_1764840.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“a man can radically change his life and attain to a deeper meaning, a more perfect integration, a more…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 21,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The danger of education, I have found, is that it so easily confuses means with ends. Worse than that, it quite easily forgets both and devotes itself merely to the mass production of uneducated gradtuates - people literaly unfit for anything except to take part in an elaborate and completely artificial charade which they and their contemporaries have conspired to call \"life\".",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is-that-it-so-easily-confuses/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/thomas-merton-231_artificial_the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is_788119.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/thomas-merton-231_artificial_the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is_788119.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/thomas-merton-231_artificial_the-danger-of-education-i-have-found-is_788119.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The danger of education, I have found, is that it so easily confuses means with ends. Worse than that, it…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 22,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the Kingdom. If we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God's will, to be what God wants us to be.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation-we-are-all-called-by-god-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/thomas-merton-231_called-by-god_each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation_186666.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/thomas-merton-231_called-by-god_each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation_186666.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/thomas-merton-231_called-by-god_each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation_186666.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 23,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Are they moved by a sense of human need for silence, for reflection, for inner seeking? So they want to get away from the noise and tension of modern life, at least for a little while, in order to relax their minds and wills and seek a blessed healing sense of inner unity, reconciliation, integration?",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need-for-silence-for-reflection/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/thomas-merton-231_blessed_are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need_2010356.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/thomas-merton-231_blessed_are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need_2010356.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbb/thomas-merton-231_blessed_are-they-moved-by-a-sense-of-human-need_2010356.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Are they moved by a sense of human need for silence, for reflection, for inner seeking? So they want to get…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 24,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Thinking about monastic ideals is not the same as living up to them, but at any rate such thinking has an important place in a monk's life, because you cannot begin to do anything unless you have some idea what you are trying to do.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-the-same-as-living-up-to-them/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/thomas-merton-231_happiness_thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-th_844012.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/thomas-merton-231_happiness_thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-th_844012.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/thomas-merton-231_happiness_thinking-about-monastic-ideals-is-not-th_844012.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Thinking about monastic ideals is not the same as living up to them, but at any rate such thinking has an…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 25,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the \"newness,\" the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 26,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Everything in modern city life is calculated to keep man from entering into himself and thinking about spiritual things. Even with the best of intentions a spiritual man finds himself exhausted and deadened and debased by the constant noise of machines and loudspeakers, the dead air and the glaring lights of offices and shops, the everlasting suggestion of advertising and propaganda. The whole mechanism of modern life is geared for a flight from God and from the spirit into the wilderness of neurosis.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calculated-to-keep-man-from/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/thomas-merton-231_advertising_everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calcul_1350918.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/thomas-merton-231_advertising_everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calcul_1350918.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f30/thomas-merton-231_advertising_everything-in-modern-city-life-is-calcul_1350918.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Everything in modern city life is calculated to keep man from entering into himself and thinking about…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 27,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of freedom, spontaneity, and love.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-man-s-life-on-earth-plants-2/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_2661113.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_2661113.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_2661113.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 28,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The modern child may early in his or her existence have natural inclinations toward spirituality. The child may have imagination, originality, a simple and individual response to reality, and even a tendency to moments of thoughtful silence and absorption. All these tendencies, however, are soon destroyed by the dominant culture. The child becomes a yelling, brash, false little monster, brandishing a toy gun or dressed up like some character he has seen on television.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her-existence-have-natural/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/thomas-merton-231_absorption_the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her_3179590.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/thomas-merton-231_absorption_the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her_3179590.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/thomas-merton-231_absorption_the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her_3179590.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The modern child may early in his or her existence have natural inclinations toward spirituality. The child…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 29,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Justify my soul, O God, but also from Your fountains fill my will with fire. Shine in my mind, although perhaps this means “be darkness to my experience,” but occupy my heart with Your tremendous Life. Let my eyes see nothing in the world but Your glory, and let my hands touch nothing that is not for Your service. Let my tongue taste no bread that does not strengthen me to praise Your great mercy. I will hear Your voice and I will hear all harmonies You have created, singing Your hymns. Sheep’s wool and cotton from the field shall warm me enough that I may live in Your service; I will give the rest to Your poor. Let me use all things for one sole reason: to find my joy in giving You glory.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your-fountains-fill-my-will-with/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/thomas-merton-231_life_justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your_3220255.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/thomas-merton-231_life_justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your_3220255.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/thomas-merton-231_life_justify-my-soul-o-god-but-also-from-your_3220255.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Justify my soul, O God, but also from Your fountains fill my will with fire. Shine in my mind, although…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 30,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“One who is content with what he has, and who accepts the fact that he inevitably misses very much in life, is far better off than one who has much more but who worries about all he may be missing . . . the relative perfection which we must attain to in this life if we are to live as sons of God is not the twenty-four-hour-a-day production of perfect acts of virtue, but a life from which practically all the obstacles to God's love have been removed or overcome. One of the chief obstacles to this perfection of selfless charity is the selfish anxiety to get the most out of everything, to be a brilliant success in our own eyes and in the eyes of other men. We can only get rid of this anxiety by being content to miss something in almost everything we do. We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to let almost everything else go, we will probably be able to retain the one thing necessary for us— whatever it may be. If we are too eager to have everything, we will almost certainly miss even the one thing we need. Happiness consists in finding out precisely what the \"one thing necessary\" may be, in our lives, and in gladly relinquishing all the rest. For then, by a divine paradox, we find that everything else is given us together with the one thing we needed.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and-who-accepts-the-fact-that-he/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-merton-231_happiness_one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and_1847296.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-merton-231_happiness_one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and_1847296.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-merton-231_happiness_one-who-is-content-with-what-he-has-and_1847296.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“One who is content with what he has, and who accepts the fact that he inevitably misses very much in life…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 31,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“No matter how much the original Rule of St. Francis has changed, I think his spirit and his inspiration are still the fundamental thing in Franciscan life. And it is an inspiration rooted in joy, because it is guided by the prudence and wisdom which are revealed only to the little ones - the glad wisdom of those who have had the grace and the madness to throw away everything in one uncompromising rush, and to walk around barefooted in the simple confidence that if they get into trouble, God will come and get them out of it again.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of-st-francis-has-changed-i/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/thomas-merton-231_inspiration_no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of_87819.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/thomas-merton-231_inspiration_no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of_87819.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/thomas-merton-231_inspiration_no-matter-how-much-the-original-rule-of_87819.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“No matter how much the original Rule of St. Francis has changed, I think his spirit and his inspiration are…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 32,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "But it certainly is a wonderful thing to wake up suddenly in the solitude of the woods and look up at the sky and see the utter nonsense of everything including all the solemn stuff given out by professional asses about the spiritual life; and simply to burst out laughing, and laugh and laugh, with the sky and the trees because God is not in words, and not in systems, and not in liturgical movements, and not in \"contemplation\" with a big \"C,\" or in asceticism or in anything like that, not even in the apostolate.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to-wake-up-suddenly-in-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a3/thomas-merton-231_asceticism_but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to_1532459.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a3/thomas-merton-231_asceticism_but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to_1532459.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a3/thomas-merton-231_asceticism_but-it-certainly-is-a-wonderful-thing-to_1532459.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“But it certainly is a wonderful thing to wake up suddenly in the solitude of the woods and look up at the…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 33,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "In our creation, God asked a question and in our truly living; God answers the question.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and-in-our-truly-living-god/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/thomas-merton-231_answers_in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and_863316.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/thomas-merton-231_answers_in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and_863316.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e45/thomas-merton-231_answers_in-our-creation-god-asked-a-question-and_863316.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“In our creation, God asked a question and in our truly living; God answers the question.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 34,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find-the-meaning-of-life-by/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1c/thomas-merton-231_destiny_love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find_257516.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1c/thomas-merton-231_destiny_love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find_257516.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1c/thomas-merton-231_destiny_love-is-our-true-destiny-we-do-not-find_257516.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 35,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Every moment and every event of every mans life on earth plants something in his soul.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-mans-life-on-earth-plants/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_689994.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_689994.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-merton-231_every-man_every-moment-and-every-event-of-every-ma_689994.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Every moment and every event of every mans life on earth plants something in his soul.” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 36,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "One of the strange laws of the contemplative life is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you bear with them until they somehow solve themselves. Or until life solves them for you.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contemplative-life-is-that-in-it-you/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/thomas-merton-231_bears_one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contempla_722974.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/thomas-merton-231_bears_one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contempla_722974.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/thomas-merton-231_bears_one-of-the-strange-laws-of-the-contempla_722974.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“One of the strange laws of the contemplative life is that in it you do not sit down and solve problems: you…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 37,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Ultimately faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to the questions on which all our happiness depends cannot be found in any other way.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the-universe-the-final-meaning-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/thomas-merton-231_answers_ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the_3053232.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/thomas-merton-231_answers_ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the_3053232.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/thomas-merton-231_answers_ultimately-faith-is-the-only-key-to-the_3053232.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Ultimately faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 38,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The only influence that can really upset the injustice and iniquity of men is the power that breathes in the Christian tradition, renewing our participation in the Life that is the Light of men.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset-the-injustice-and-iniquity/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/thomas-merton-231_breathe_the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset_1891307.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/thomas-merton-231_breathe_the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset_1891307.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/thomas-merton-231_breathe_the-only-influence-that-can-really-upset_1891307.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The only influence that can really upset the injustice and iniquity of men is the power that breathes in the…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 39,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "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.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-god-is-to-say-that-love-is-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/thomas-merton-231_character_to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-go_1080511.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/thomas-merton-231_character_to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-go_1080511.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/thomas-merton-231_character_to-say-that-i-am-made-in-the-image-of-go_1080511.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“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…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 40,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“We know by fresh discovery, the deep reality that is our concrete existence here and now and in the depths of that reality we receive from the Father light, truth, wisdom and peace.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Thomas Merton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-reality-that-is-our-concrete/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/thomas-merton-231_life_we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-real_1893113.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/thomas-merton-231_life_we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-real_1893113.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0f/thomas-merton-231_life_we-know-by-fresh-discovery-the-deep-real_1893113.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We know by fresh discovery, the deep reality that is our concrete existence here and now and in the depths…” — Thomas Merton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/page/2/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/page/2/",
            "name": "Life Quotes by Thomas Merton · Page 2",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/thomas-merton-231_alive_if-a-man-is-to-live-he-must-be-all-alive_221810.jpg"
            },
            "description": "146 Life quotes by Thomas Merton. Plus more from Thomas Merton and more Life sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/page/2/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/page/2/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Life",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Thomas Merton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/thomas-merton/page/2/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```