--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd…" description: "\"Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a thousand things that must first be forgotten. M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/thomas-merton-231_alive_memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crow_3151222.jpg" --- # Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If… ![“Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a thousand things that must first be forgotten. Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not remember the here and now, does…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/thomas-merton-231_alive_memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crow_3151222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/thomas-merton-231_alive_memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crow_3151222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/thomas-merton-231_alive_memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crow_3151222.jpg) > “Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a thousand things that must first be forgotten. Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not remember the here and now, does not remember its true identity, is not memory at all. He who remembers nothing but facts and past events, and is never brought back into the present, is a victim of amnesia.” [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. True memory requires letting go of past details; living in the present creates authentic recollection. **In simple terms:** To remember fully, you must forget some past facts and stay present. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to preserve meaningful memories. Themes memory presence forgetting identity Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - Everyday reflection - journaling - meditation Key Concepts Cognition philosophy spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance remembering and forgetting? - What practices help keep memories alive in the present? A Different Perspective Forgetting can lead to loss of valuable history. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesia/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Here and now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-and-now/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-events/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [True identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-identity/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [My true memory has been tainted by old home videos of my sister and I, ages 3 and 5 respectively, singing karaoke to Britney…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montaigne/my-true-memory-has-been-tainted-by-old-home-videos-of-my-sister-and-i/) [Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montaigne/) > [The things that have come into being change continually. The man with a good memory remembers nothing because he forgets nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-roa-bastos/the-things-that-have-come-into-being-change-continually-the-man-with/) [Augusto Roa Bastos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-roa-bastos/) > [What happens is that your wretched memory remembers the words and forgets what's behind them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-roa-bastos/what-happens-is-that-your-wretched-memory-remembers-the-words-and/) [Augusto Roa Bastos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-roa-bastos/) > [“Reading her reviews kept his memory of her alive in a way he probably shouldn’t want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reading-her-reviews-kept-his-memory-of-her-alive-in-a-way-he-probably/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [It's a fusion of almost everything, in the way that I think society today tends to take cultural memory. Because there's an internet, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-kahn/it-s-a-fusion-of-almost-everything-in-the-way-that-i-think-society/) [Joseph M. Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-kahn/) > [I have tried to keep memory alive... I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-have-tried-to-keep-memory-alive-i-have-tried-to-fight-those-who/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [My very first memory of being alive is being tossed in the air by my father and laughing and knowing, really knowing, that his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-atkins/my-very-first-memory-of-being-alive-is-being-tossed-in-the-air-by-my/) [Eileen Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-atkins/) > [It occurred to me at some point that what really links us to the past is memory, and there's so much we've forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/it-occurred-to-me-at-some-point-that-what-really-links-us-to-the-past/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [“The sweetness of the past? Our memory of it, since to remember it is to make it present, and it isn't present nor ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-sweetness-of-the-past-our-memory-of-it-since-to-remember-it-is-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory is therefore, neither Perception nor Conception, but a state or affection of one of these, conditioned by lapse of time. As already observed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/memory-is-therefore-neither-perception-nor-conception-but-a-state-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [She moved on, and I feel sorry for you, because she thought you were the most amazing boy ever. If she could have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-moved-on-and-i-feel-sorry-for-you-because-she-thought-you-were/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life is a movement, a constant movement in relationship; and thought, trying to capture that movement in terms of the past, as memory, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/life-is-a-movement-a-constant-movement-in-relationship-and-thought/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I dont used Onions to crying.. your past memory is enough to make me cry..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yankees/i-dont-used-onions-to-crying-your-past-memory-is-enough-to-make-me-cry/) Yankees > [“The mind is a current, very deep at the centre and very shallow at the periphery—like the river that has a strong current in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-mind-is-a-current-very-deep-at-the-centre-and-very-shallow-at-the/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [What Takes Us to the PAST is the MEMORY… What takes Us to the FUTURE is DREAM…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/what-takes-us-to-the-past-is-the-memory-what-takes-us-to-the-future/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) ## 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. 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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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a thousand things that must first be forgotten. Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not remember the here and now, does not remember its true identity, is not memory at all. 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