--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keeping a journal has taught me that…" description: "\"Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/thomas-merton-231_deeper_keeping-a-journal-has-taught-me-that-the_2223413.jpg" --- # Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much… ![“Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. Still, it is true that one penetrates deeper and deeper into the same ideas…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/thomas-merton-231_deeper_keeping-a-journal-has-taught-me-that-the_2223413.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/thomas-merton-231_deeper_keeping-a-journal-has-taught-me-that-the_2223413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/thomas-merton-231_deeper_keeping-a-journal-has-taught-me-that-the_2223413.jpg) > “Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. Still, it is true that one penetrates deeper and deeper into the same ideas and the same experiences.” [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. Journaling reveals that many of our perceived new insights are repetitions of earlier realizations, deepening understanding over time. **In simple terms:** Journaling shows we often revisit old ideas. Key Takeaway Reflect on recurring themes in your writing. Themes self‑knowledge reflection growth Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - academic research - personal planning Key Concepts repetition depth personal development Questions to Reflect On - What recurring insight have you missed? - How can you use repetition to deepen insight? A Different Perspective May cause fixation on past patterns, limiting openness to truly novel ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeper/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal/) [Journal Latest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal-latest-4972354/) [Journal Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal-taught-4972353/) [Keeping a journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-journal/) [Keeping Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-journal-704093/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Read Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-journal-1436320/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [I suffered from a quite severe speech impediment when I was young, and keeping a journal was part of the therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-fetherling/i-suffered-from-a-quite-severe-speech-impediment-when-i-was-young-and/) [George Fetherling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-fetherling/) > [I've been keeping a journal since I was in the seventh grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-ve-been-keeping-a-journal-since-i-was-in-the-seventh-grade/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I feel happy to be keeping a journal again. I've missed it, missed naming things as they appear, missed the half hour when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-feel-happy-to-be-keeping-a-journal-again-i-ve-missed-it-missed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [It is this delightful habit of journalizing which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-this-delightful-habit-of-journalizing-which-largely-contributes/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [If you feel like keeping a journal-that neither you nor anyone else on earth will ever want to read-be my guest. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-you-feel-like-keeping-a-journal-that-neither-you-nor-anyone-else/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [I've never been one for keeping a journal, so my songs were my journals. They allowed me to express my feelings and let people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-ve-never-been-one-for-keeping-a-journal-so-my-songs-were-my/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/whether-you-re-keeping-a-journal-or-writing-as-a-meditation-it-s-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/perhaps-you-are-not-sitting-in-this-room-and-i-am-not-sitting-by-you/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [I guess whatever maturity is there may be there because I've been keeping a journal forever. In high school my friends would make fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-whatever-maturity-is-there-may-be-there-because-i-ve-been/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [ Keeping a \[journal\] need not be a major chore-just a few minutes of notes each day can be valuable. Writing crystallizes insights, fools the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-n-walsh/keeping-a-journal-need-not-be-a-major-chore-just-a-few-minutes-of/) [Roger N. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-n-walsh/) > [Keeping a journal will change your life in ways that you'd never imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/keeping-a-journal-will-change-your-life-in-ways-that-you-d-never/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Keeping a journal implies hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/keeping-a-journal-implies-hope/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Writing is another powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings promotes mental clarity, exactness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/writing-is-another-powerful-way-to-sharpen-the-mental-saw-keeping-a/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) ## 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 Deeper quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Schools must inquire deeper into their own practices, explore new ways to motivate their learners, make use of learning styles, introduce multiple intelligences, integrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fullan/schools-must-inquire-deeper-into-their-own-practices-explore-new-ways/) [Michael Fullan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fullan/) > [It's bluesy, rocky jazz. I call it soul music, but it's not James Brown soul music. It comes from my soul. It comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinsel-korey/it-s-bluesy-rocky-jazz-i-call-it-soul-music-but-it-s-not-james-brown/) [Tinsel Korey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinsel-korey/) > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [“It is usually easier to see what lies on the surface of a person rather than taking the time and attention to delve deeper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-anne-warren/it-is-usually-easier-to-see-what-lies-on-the-surface-of-a-person/) [Tracy Anne Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-anne-warren/) > [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [Forgiving the men who killed my parents and brother was a process, a journey into deeper and deeper prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immaculee-ilibagiza/forgiving-the-men-who-killed-my-parents-and-brother-was-a-process-a/) [Immaculee Ilibagiza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immaculee-ilibagiza/) > [I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/i-thought-i-knew-a-lot-about-music-then-you-start-digging-and-the/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/as-to-london-we-must-console-ourselves-with-the-thought-that-if-life/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/on-a-deeper-level-you-are-already-complete-when-you-realize-that/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Each day my love grows deeper, deeper than I never thought before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-day-my-love-grows-deeper-deeper-than-i-never-thought-before/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know what I was thinking about on my way home? How different my life would be if you’d made that gash a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/you-know-what-i-was-thinking-about-on-my-way-home-how-different-my/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/when-we-have-the-same-thought-again-the-line-of-the-original-thought/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I would say 'Home' is a lot richer and deeper than my earlier classical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoushka-shankar/i-would-say-home-is-a-lot-richer-and-deeper-than-my-earlier-classical/) [Anoushka Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoushka-shankar/) [Browse all 2,332 Deeper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeper/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you re-read your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. 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