--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that the mind can be…" description: "\"I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviali..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/henry-david-thoreau-20_attending_i-believe-that-the-mind-can-be-permanent_995916.jpg" --- # I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the… ![“I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/henry-david-thoreau-20_attending_i-believe-that-the-mind-can-be-permanent_995916.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/henry-david-thoreau-20_attending_i-believe-that-the-mind-can-be-permanent_995916.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/henry-david-thoreau-20_attending_i-believe-that-the-mind-can-be-permanent_995916.jpg) > “I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on trivialities corrupts the mind, making all thoughts shallow and insignificant. **In simple terms:** Trivial focus dulls thinking. Key Takeaway Avoid petty distractions. Themes focus mindfulness depth Mood contemplative serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - daily work - social media - news consumption - meeting agendas Key Concepts philosophy psychology habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What trivial habit drains your mental energy? - How can you cultivate attention to the profound? A Different Perspective Trivial matters can dominate even when trying to stay purposeful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attending/) [Attending Trivial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attending-trivial-2070009/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Permanently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-permanently-2070008/) [Our thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-thoughts/) [Permanently Profaned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanently-profaned-2070010/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thoughts Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-shall-719879/) [Trivial things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivial-things/) [Triviality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triviality/) ## Related quotes > [“I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thoreau/i-believe-that-the-mind-can-be-permanently-profaned-by-the-habit-of-2/) [Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thoreau/) > [I do not know but thoughts written down thus in a journal might be printed in the same form with greater advantage than if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-do-not-know-but-thoughts-written-down-thus-in-a-journal-might-be/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I hope the string and clapper arrangement he calls a mind has been permanently put out of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/i-hope-the-string-and-clapper-arrangement-he-calls-a-mind-has-been/) [Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/) > [“You should treat the trivial things in life seriously and the serious things in life with a sincere and studied triviality”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-should-treat-the-trivial-things-in-life-seriously-and-the-serious/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/we-should-treat-all-the-trivial-things-of-life-seriously-and-all-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-we-blather-about-trivial-things-we-ourselves-become-trivial-for/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [A noble person confers no such gift as his whole confidence: none so exalts the giver and the receiver; it produces the truest gratitude.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-noble-person-confers-no-such-gift-as-his-whole-confidence-none-so/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [He who would be useful, strong, and happy must cease to be a passive receptacle for the negative, beggarly, and impure streams of thought;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/he-who-would-be-useful-strong-and-happy-must-cease-to-be-a-passive/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [If we examine our thoughts, we shall find them always occupied with the past or the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/if-we-examine-our-thoughts-we-shall-find-them-always-occupied-with-2/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [ “The fact to be remembered in considering... contact with \[the\] thought currents of others, is that we may decide the character of the thoughts… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-fact-to-be-remembered-in-considering-contact-with-the-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we examine our thoughts, we shall find them always occupied with the past and the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/if-we-examine-our-thoughts-we-shall-find-them-always-occupied-with/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Think truly, and thy thoughts shall the world's famine feed. Speak truly, and each word of thine Shall be a fruitful seed. Live truly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-truly-and-thy-thoughts-shall-the-world-s-famine-feed-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The tongue am I of those who lived before me, as those that are to come will be the voice of my unspoken thoughts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-antin/the-tongue-am-i-of-those-who-lived-before-me-as-those-that-are-to/) [Mary Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-antin/) > [Think truly, and thy thoughts shall the world's famine feed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/think-truly-and-thy-thoughts-shall-the-world-s-famine-feed/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [It may be glorious to write Thoughts that shall glad the two or three High souls, like those far stars that come in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-may-be-glorious-to-write-thoughts-that-shall-glad-the-two-or-three/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Attending quotes > [While I was pregnant, I had dozens of checkups. 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Obama saw Putin and said, 'After those midterms, it's nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/president-obama-and-vladimir-putin-are-both-in-china-attending-the/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I still get excited just attending a final four, because the process is so long, so arduous, so challenging, that when it finally arrives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/i-still-get-excited-just-attending-a-final-four-because-the-process/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [When thou art offended at any man's fault, forthwith turn to thyself and reflect in what manner thou doest error thyself... 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