--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can depend less and less on my own…" description: "\"I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards and get where you are going in a totally unex..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg" --- # I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of… ![“I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards and get where you are going in a totally unexpected way” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg) > “I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards and get where you are going in a totally unexpected way” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal growth often occurs through unexpected setbacks that redirect us. **In simple terms:** Setbacks can lead to new directions. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty as a guide. Themes spirituality growth acceptance Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - life transitions - creative projects - personal crises - spiritual journeys Key Concepts Nonlinear progress faith Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected change shaped your life? - How can you trust the unknown? A Different Perspective Unexpected paths can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction/) [Where you are going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where-you-are-going/) ## Related quotes > [“What I'm trying to explain to my sulky little cousin is that we are doing things backwards. 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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. 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I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. 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We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards and get where you are going in a totally unexpected way", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-power-and-sense-of-direction-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backwards" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-power-and-sense-of-direction-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e7/thomas-merton-231_backwards_i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-pow_608709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards…” — Thomas Merton", "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": "Thomas Merton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can depend less and less...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-power-and-sense-of-direction-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-can-depend-less-and-less-on-my-own-power-and-sense-of-direction-it/#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 } } ] } ```