--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is this simple: we are living in a…" description: "\"Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/thomas-merton-231_divine_life-is-this-simple-we-are-living-in-a-w_2751696.jpg" --- # Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is… ![“Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/thomas-merton-231_divine_life-is-this-simple-we-are-living-in-a-w_2751696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/thomas-merton-231_divine_life-is-this-simple-we-are-living-in-a-w_2751696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/thomas-merton-231_divine_life-is-this-simple-we-are-living-in-a-w_2751696.jpg) > “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.” [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 world is completely open and divine presence is constantly evident, making life a clear, truthful experience. **In simple terms:** Life is transparent and divine. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor the ever‑present divine. Themes spirituality truth awareness Mood contemplative reverent Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - nature walks - mindful living - creative expression Key Concepts divine presence transparency existential clarity Questions to Reflect On - How does perceiving transparency affect your daily choices? - In what ways can you notice the divine in ordinary moments? A Different Perspective It may overlook hidden complexities and personal struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Fables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fables/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [There are people who believe in an absolutely transparent prose; with every respect for clarity of expression, I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-ford/there-are-people-who-believe-in-an-absolutely-transparent-prose-with/) [John M. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-ford/) > [The window of the soul cleansed perfectly and made completely transparent by the divine light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/the-window-of-the-soul-cleansed-perfectly-and-made-completely/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) > [Creation was given to people as a clean window through which the light of God could shine into people's souls. Sun and moon, night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/creation-was-given-to-people-as-a-clean-window-through-which-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-living-in-a-world-that-is-absolutely-transparent-and-god-is/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The intellect,-that is miraculous! Who has it, has the talisman: his skin and bones, though they were of the color of night, are transparent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-intellect-that-is-miraculous-who-has-it-has-the-talisman-his-skin/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Equals make the best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/equals-make-the-best-friends/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [ We are full of dreams \[...\] We long for the unattainable. We believe in the nonsense of fables. There is no pure love; there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/we-are-full-of-dreams-we-long-for-the-unattainable-we-believe-in-the/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“Fables from before the Anaheiming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/fables-from-before-the-anaheiming/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Imagine an American Hans Christian Andersen, conceive of the Brothers Grimm living in Missouri, and you will approximate Howard Schwartz, a fable-maker and fable-gatherer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/imagine-an-american-hans-christian-andersen-conceive-of-the-brothers/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“ The Prodigal Son They gave the deep end of their heart--a hue of crimson red, They whispered their desire and offered up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-prodigal-son-they-gave-the-deep-end-of-their-heart-a-hue-of/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I would rather have written Fables in Slang than be President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-allen-white/i-would-rather-have-written-fables-in-slang-than-be-president/) [William Allen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-allen-white/) > [No theory is too false, no fable too absurd, no superstition too degrading for acceptance when it has become embedded in common belief. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-george/no-theory-is-too-false-no-fable-too-absurd-no-superstition-too/) [Henry George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-george/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [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/) ## 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. 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Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. 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