--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had refused to pay any attention to the…" description: "\"I had refused to pay any attention to the moral laws upon which all our vitality and sanity depend: and so now I was reduced to the condition of a sill..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/thomas-merton-231_attention_i-had-refused-to-pay-any-attention-to-th_1485309.jpg" --- # I had refused to pay any attention to the moral laws upon… ![“I had refused to pay any attention to the moral laws upon which all our vitality and sanity depend: and so now I was reduced to the condition of a silly old woman, worrying about a lot of imaginary rules of health, standards of food-value, and a thousand minute details of conduct that were in…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/thomas-merton-231_attention_i-had-refused-to-pay-any-attention-to-th_1485309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/thomas-merton-231_attention_i-had-refused-to-pay-any-attention-to-th_1485309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/thomas-merton-231_attention_i-had-refused-to-pay-any-attention-to-th_1485309.jpg) > “I had refused to pay any attention to the moral laws upon which all our vitality and sanity depend: and so now I was reduced to the condition of a silly old woman, worrying about a lot of imaginary rules of health, standards of food-value, and a thousand minute details of conduct that were in themselves completely ridiculous and stupid, and yet which haunted me with vague and terrific sanctions. If I eat this, I may go out of my mind. If I do not eat that, I may die in the night.” [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. The narrator describes being overwhelmed by obsessive health rules, feeling trapped by irrational fears about food and health, leading to a loss of vitality. **In simple terms:** Obsessive health rules cause anxiety and loss of vitality. Key Takeaway Question and release irrational health fears. Themes anxiety health obsession mental health self-doubt overanalysis Mood anxious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - dietary choices - mental health therapy - daily routines Key Concepts psychology behavioral health mindfulness self-care Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify irrational health beliefs? - What steps can restore balanced living? A Different Perspective Rigid rules can harm well‑being more than help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Condition Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condition-silly-5423167/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Imaginary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginary/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-laws-480751/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Of my mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/of-my-mind/) [Old woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-woman/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) [Sanity Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity-depend-3753505/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Vitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vitality/) [Vitality Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vitality-sanity-5423166/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) [Worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worrying/) ## Related quotes > [Our sense of worth, of well-being, even our sanity depends upon our remembering. 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Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [The program of our movement stems from the fundamental moral laws and order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-program-of-our-movement-stems-from-the-fundamental-moral-laws-and/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The vermin explain their sin with sanctimonious language like, "We've prayed about it and sought counsel, and we feel it's the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/the-vermin-explain-their-sin-with-sanctimonious-language-like-we-ve/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [“It’s not God who gave us moral laws, but this doesn’t make them less important”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margherita-hack/it-s-not-god-who-gave-us-moral-laws-but-this-doesn-t-make-them-less/) [Margherita Hack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margherita-hack/) > [Morals — all correct moral laws — derive from the instinct to survive. Moral behavior is survival behavior above the individual level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/morals-all-correct-moral-laws-derive-from-the-instinct-to-survive/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The concept of absolute, hence (or whence) springs, in the moral field, the moral laws or norms, represent, in the field of knowledge, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/the-concept-of-absolute-hence-or-whence-springs-in-the-moral-field/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [All the moral laws are readily translated into natural philosophy, for often we have only to restore the primitive meaning of thewords by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-the-moral-laws-are-readily-translated-into-natural-philosophy-for/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The artist is to be exempt from the moral laws that are binding on ordinary people. 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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/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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