--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Christian solitary does not seek…" description: "\"“The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an atmosphere or as a setting for a special and exalted spirituality. Not doesn't he seek soli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/thomas-merton-231_solitude_the-christian-solitary-does-not-seek-sol_1489611.jpg" --- # The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an… ![“The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an atmosphere or as a setting for a special and exalted spirituality. Not doesn't he seek solitude as a favorable means for obtaining something he wants--contemplation. He seeks solitude as an expression of his total gift of himself to God.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/thomas-merton-231_solitude_the-christian-solitary-does-not-seek-sol_1489611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/thomas-merton-231_solitude_the-christian-solitary-does-not-seek-sol_1489611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/thomas-merton-231_solitude_the-christian-solitary-does-not-seek-sol_1489611.jpg) > ““The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an atmosphere or as a setting for a special and exalted spirituality. Not doesn't he seek solitude as a favorable means for obtaining something he wants--contemplation. He seeks solitude as an expression of his total gift of himself to God.”” [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. A Christian solitary chooses solitude not for its own sake but as a means to deepen contemplation and fully offer himself to God. **In simple terms:** Solitude is a tool for spiritual focus, not an end. Key Takeaway Use solitude to deepen your spiritual practice. Themes spirituality solitude self‑offering Mood contemplative solemn Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - prayer retreat - personal meditation - silent walking - monastic life Key Concepts contemplation gift divine relationship Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance solitude with connection? - What does offering yourself to God look like daily? A Different Perspective Solitude can become isolation if not balanced with community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-solitary-5443462/) [Contemplation Seeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation-seeks-5443463/) [Seek Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-solitude-746836/) [Seeks Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeks-solitude-3172731/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Solitude Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude-expression-5443464/) ## Related quotes > [He who understands humanity seeks solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/he-who-understands-humanity-seeks-solitude/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [Let him who cannot be alone beware of community... Let him who is not in community beware of being alone... Each by itself has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/let-him-who-cannot-be-alone-beware-of-community-let-him-who-is-not-in/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/one-who-wants-fellowship-without-solitude-plunges-into-the-void-of/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There is convincing evidence that the search for solitude is not a luxury but a biological need. Just as humans posses a herding instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/there-is-convincing-evidence-that-the-search-for-solitude-is-not-a/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [To seek solitude like a wild animal. That is my only ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/to-seek-solitude-like-a-wild-animal-that-is-my-only-ambition/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Too tired for company, You seek a solitude You are too tired to fill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/too-tired-for-company-you-seek-a-solitude-you-are-too-tired-to-fill/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [There comes a moment during which almost every girl or boy falls into melancholy; they are tormented by a vague inquietude which rests on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-comes-a-moment-during-which-almost-every-girl-or-boy-falls-into/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Yes, I do seek solitude, but I am never lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/yes-i-do-seek-solitude-but-i-am-never-lonely/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [There are times when you seek your solitude, and your solitude just wants to be left alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-are-times-when-you-seek-your-solitude-and-your-solitude-just/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“We are familiar with people who seek out solitude: penitents, failures, saints, or prophets. They retreat to deserts, preferably, where they live on locusts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/we-are-familiar-with-people-who-seek-out-solitude-penitents-failures/) [Patrick Suskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [Ah! I need solitude. I have come forth to this hill at sunset to see the forms of the mountains in the horizon -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/ah-i-need-solitude-i-have-come-forth-to-this-hill-at-sunset-to-see/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“I know why you seek solitude. You suffer; I see it day by day. You sure you do not suffer needlessly? There are other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/i-know-why-you-seek-solitude-you-suffer-i-see-it-day-by-day-you-sure/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“Nourish yourself with grand and austere ideas of beauty . Seek solitude. If your life is well ordered your health will not suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/nourish-yourself-with-grand-and-austere-ideas-of-beauty-seek-solitude/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [Wherever you may seek solitude, men will ferret you out and compel you to belong to their desperate company of oddfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wherever-you-may-seek-solitude-men-will-ferret-you-out-and-compel-you/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [However softly we speak, God is so close to us that he can hear us; nor do we need wings to go in search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/however-softly-we-speak-god-is-so-close-to-us-that-he-can-hear-us-nor/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) ## 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 Solitude quotes > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“I still love to love my friends, but I punctuate those moments with solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-klein/i-still-love-to-love-my-friends-but-i-punctuate-those-moments-with/) [Stephanie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-klein/) > [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Point is, that’s when I really realized that I don’t think like most people. I’m fine with solitude. In fact, I get antsy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-e-taylor/point-is-that-s-when-i-really-realized-that-i-don-t-think-like-most/) [Dennis E. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-e-taylor/) > [By all means use some time to be alone, salute thyself, see what thy soul doth wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/by-all-means-use-some-time-to-be-alone-salute-thyself-see-what-thy/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“...the solitude was intoxicating. On my first night there I lay on my back on the sticky carpet for hours, in the murky orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/the-solitude-was-intoxicating-on-my-first-night-there-i-lay-on-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The journey towards your inner self is Solitude!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farheen-viquas/the-journey-towards-your-inner-self-is-solitude/) [Farheen Viquas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farheen-viquas/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [“Well…there’s only one glove. Right away, I wonder, where’s the other glove? How did it become separated from its mate? Does it feel lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/well-there-s-only-one-glove-right-away-i-wonder-where-s-the-other/) [Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/) > [“Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-james/seclusion-wasn-t-good-for-anyone-it-made-you-forget-how-to-protect/) [Heather James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-james/) > [I cannot keep quiet even when I am a lone voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-cannot-keep-quiet-even-when-i-am-a-lone-voice/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) [Browse all 4,219 Solitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an atmosphere or as a setting for a special and exalted spirituality. 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