--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If these seeds would take root in my…" description: "\"“If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that He is, and my harvest would be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/thomas-merton-231_freedom_if-these-seeds-would-take-root-in-my-lib_843519.jpg" --- # If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His… ![“If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that He is, and my harvest would be His glory and my own joy. And” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/thomas-merton-231_freedom_if-these-seeds-would-take-root-in-my-lib_843519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/thomas-merton-231_freedom_if-these-seeds-would-take-root-in-my-lib_843519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/thomas-merton-231_freedom_if-these-seeds-would-take-root-in-my-lib_843519.jpg) > ““If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that He is, and my harvest would be His glory and my own joy. And”” [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. Freedom nurtures love and divine joy, intertwining personal harvest with divine glory. **In simple terms:** Freedom leads to love and joy. Key Takeaway Cultivate liberty to experience divine love. Themes freedom spirituality joy Mood reflective inspirational Type poetic spiritual When to use this quote - spiritual practice - personal reflection - creative work Key Concepts divine love personal harvest liberty Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms enable your deepest love? - How does personal joy reflect divine glory? A Different Perspective May overlook responsibilities that accompany freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I think to be - for me to be an American is - you know, it's one of the greatest things in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phelps/i-think-to-be-for-me-to-be-an-american-is-you-know-it-s-one-of-the/) [Michael Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phelps/) > [“High Roller: All I require from you is a slither of a moment. To have you not by force, but simply as a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-snyder/high-roller-all-i-require-from-you-is-a-slither-of-a-moment-to-have/) [Zack Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-snyder/) > [Love can never possess. Love is giving freedom to the other. Love is an unconditional gift, it is not a bargain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-can-never-possess-love-is-giving-freedom-to-the-other-love-is-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage. Minds innocent and quiet take that for a hermitage: If I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lovelace/stone-walls-do-not-a-prison-make-nor-iron-bars-a-cage-minds-innocent/) [Richard Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lovelace/) > [It is essential that our love be liberating, not possessive. We must at all times give those we love the freedom to be themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/it-is-essential-that-our-love-be-liberating-not-possessive-we-must-at/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [I learned what I really love is making films, not the film business. I want to be on the set, meeting with writers, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-weinstein/i-learned-what-i-really-love-is-making-films-not-the-film-business-i/) [Harvey Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-weinstein/) > [Empty your birdcage, empty your aquarium! To love is to give freedom; to love is to refuse the prisons!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/empty-your-birdcage-empty-your-aquarium-to-love-is-to-give-freedom-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“It means that you are my freedom, love." "Yes," she whispered. That was it exactly. "And you are mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/it-means-that-you-are-my-freedom-love-yes-she-whispered-that-was-it/) [Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/) > [Those who are not capable of sinning are said that they have attained freedom. The knowledge of the Truth raises them even more. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/those-who-are-not-capable-of-sinning-are-said-that-they-have-attained/) [Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-aleksandrovich-antonov/) > [Universal Love can take on many forms. It can be considered acceptance of yourself, or of others. Love is unconditional and it doesn't set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koena-mitra/universal-love-can-take-on-many-forms-it-can-be-considered-acceptance/) [Koena Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koena-mitra/) > [Love indeed is a cage. But then it has everything you need inside the cage so don't be scare of losing your freedom for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/love-indeed-is-a-cage-but-then-it-has-everything-you-need-inside-the/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [We wanted the freedom to love. We wanted the freedom to choose. Now we have to fight for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-wanted-the-freedom-to-love-we-wanted-the-freedom-to-choose-now-we/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Most importantly, nothing has happened to change my conviction that freedom and the love of liberty remain the essential defining attributes of our national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-babangida/most-importantly-nothing-has-happened-to-change-my-conviction-that/) [Ibrahim Babangida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-babangida/) > [Love is blind Love is deaf Love is colorless Love feels Love is freedom Love is strength Love is courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/love-is-blind-love-is-deaf-love-is-colorless-love-feels-love-is/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [“Be not dishearten’d—Affection shall solve the problems of Freedom yet; Those who love each other shall become invincible. —WALT WHITMAN, “Over the Carnage Rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goolrick/be-not-dishearten-d-affection-shall-solve-the-problems-of-freedom-yet/) [Robert Goolrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goolrick/) ## 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/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. 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