--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe contemplation shows us that…" description: "\"“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it only complicates our prob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg" --- # I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is… ![“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it only complicates our problems. All of life is grist for the mill. Paula D’Arcy puts it, “God comes to us disguised as our life.” Everything belongs; God uses everything…” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg) > ““I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it only complicates our problems. All of life is grist for the mill. Paula D’Arcy puts it, “God comes to us disguised as our life.” Everything belongs; God uses everything. There are no dead-ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything”” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑judgment blinds us; recognizing and integrating our darker aspects lets us use every experience as material for growth. **In simple terms:** Accepting all parts of ourselves turns obstacles into learning. Key Takeaway All life is usable material for spiritual development. Themes self‑acceptance spiritual growth integrating shadow purpose resilience Mood reflective hopeful serene Type spiritual philosophical motivational When to use this quote - grieving a loss - facing a personal failure - dealing with a difficult relationship Key Concepts shadow work non‑dualism theology of everyday life Practical Applications - journaling about negative emotions - reframing setbacks as practice opportunities Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself do you label as 'bad' and why? - How could you turn a current difficulty into a learning tool? A Different Perspective Mayful acceptance can become complacency if not paired with active transformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a remarkable picture called 'Contemplation.' It shows a forest in winter and on a roadway through the forest, in absolute solitude, stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/there-is-a-remarkable-picture-called-contemplation-it-shows-a-forest/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I want to yell about it most days and stop strangers in the street to share my outrage. But my mind is too serpentine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-beth-schaer/i-want-to-yell-about-it-most-days-and-stop-strangers-in-the-street-to/) [Robin Beth Schaer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-beth-schaer/) > [Denial is bad for the lovers soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-vanpelt/denial-is-bad-for-the-lovers-soul/) [Austin Vanpelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-vanpelt/) > [“It is very important that you understand the true innocence of all feelings, for each of them, if left alone and followed, will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/it-is-very-important-that-you-understand-the-true-innocence-of-all/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [You can't be sure there's not a God, so why live your life in hatred or the denial of that. It's better to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/you-can-t-be-sure-there-s-not-a-god-so-why-live-your-life-in-hatred/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [Denial is not always a bad thing. Without it, you couldn't function. For instance, if you were hyperaware and hypervigilant regarding all the dangers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goulston/denial-is-not-always-a-bad-thing-without-it-you-couldn-t-function-for/) [Mark Goulston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goulston/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/the-ordinary-activities-i-find-most-compatible-with-contemplation-are/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [ My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place \[cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison\] taught me that he who cannot change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/my-contemplation-of-life-and-human-nature-in-that-secluded-place-cell/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [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 problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-problem-with-the-contemplative-life-was-that-there-was-no-end-to/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“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/) > [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [We don't have much wisdom about the second half when things really open up and end up looking a lot more progressive. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-don-t-have-much-wisdom-about-the-second-half-when-things-really/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-you-do-not-transform-your-wounds-you-will-transmit-them/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The real spiritual journey is work. You can make a naïve assertion that you trust in Jesus, but until it is tested a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-real-spiritual-journey-is-work-you-can-make-a-na-ve-assertion/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The soul needs meaning as much as the body needs food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-soul-needs-meaning-as-much-as-the-body-needs-food/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The Risen Christ is the standing icon of humanity in its final and full destiny. He is the pledge and guarantee of what God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-risen-christ-is-the-standing-icon-of-humanity-in-its-final-and/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) [Explore all 443 Richard Rohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## More Contemplation quotes > [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“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/) > [“The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-problem-with-the-contemplative-life-was-that-there-was-no-end-to/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Catholicity seized on man... and the mystics, transcending all, taught him to ascend on high with the wings of contemplation the Ladder of Jacob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-donoso-cortes/catholicity-seized-on-man-and-the-mystics-transcending-all-taught-him/) Juan Donoso Cortes > [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 whole of life is a journey toward youthful old age, toward self-contemplation, love, gaiety, and, in a fundamental sense, the most gratifying time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-whole-of-life-is-a-journey-toward-youthful-old-age-toward-self/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [“Yet that grief and this joy were alike outside all the ordinary conditions of life; they were loop-holes, as it were, in that ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/yet-that-grief-and-this-joy-were-alike-outside-all-the-ordinary/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/we-must-not-imitate-the-externals-of-nature-with-so-much-fidelity/) [John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I think the church should strive to give parishioners good music. Music is as necessary for worship as a building with a beautiful altar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-think-the-church-should-strive-to-give-parishioners-good-music/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [ My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place \[cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison\] taught me that he who cannot change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/my-contemplation-of-life-and-human-nature-in-that-secluded-place-cell/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) [Browse all 960 Contemplation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it only complicates our problems. All of life is grist for the mill. Paula D’Arcy puts it, “God comes to us disguised as our life.” Everything belongs; God uses everything. There are no dead-ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Rohr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contemplation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cc/richard-rohr-618_contemplation_i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-no_110213.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad…” — Richard Rohr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Richard Rohr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I believe contemplation shows us that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```