--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is in us an instinct for newness…" description: "\"There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes ou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/thomas-merton-231_born_there-is-in-us-an-instinct-for-newness-f_487594.jpg" --- # There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a… ![“There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/thomas-merton-231_born_there-is-in-us-an-instinct-for-newness-f_487594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/thomas-merton-231_born_there-is-in-us-an-instinct-for-newness-f_487594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/thomas-merton-231_born_there-is-in-us-an-instinct-for-newness-f_487594.jpg) > “There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves. To be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves.” [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. Humans have an inner drive for renewal that restores their deepest authentic self, not a new persona. **In simple terms:** Renewal restores our true self. Key Takeaway Embrace inner change to become authentic. Themes self‑discovery creativity renewal authenticity Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal transformation - creative projects - spiritual practice - therapy Key Concepts existentialism personal growth psychology Questions to Reflect On - What part of yourself feels most authentic when renewed? - How can you nurture this instinct daily? A Different Perspective Change can be frightening and may meet resistance from habitual patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awaken/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-again/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-power/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Instinct Newness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct-newness-4179344/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Newness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newness/) [Newness Renewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newness-renewal-4179345/) [Originals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originals/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Recovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recovery/) [Renewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renewal/) [Renewal Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renewal-liberation-4179346/) ## Related quotes > [When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the/) [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 into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense-2/) [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/) > [Creative powers can just as easily turn out to be destructive. 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The creative powers of your subconscious will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/all-you-have-to-do-is-unite-mentally-and-emotionally-with-the-good/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Those who wish, in the interest of morality, to reduce Leonardo, that inexhaustible source of creative power, to a neutral or sexless agency, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/those-who-wish-in-the-interest-of-morality-to-reduce-leonardo-that/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [“Quit using your creative power to formulate questions. You can just as easily—more easily— use it to formulate answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-using-your-creative-power-to-formulate-questions-you-can-just-as/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/odd-how-the-creative-power-at-once-brings-the-whole-universe-to-order/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## 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. 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This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wherever-you-are-is-the-perfect-place-to-awaken-this-moment-is-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“You have to learn where your weaknesses end and your strengths starts or you will spend your life focusing on all that falls apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/you-have-to-learn-where-your-weaknesses-end-and-your-strengths-starts/) [Nikki rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“Some days I like to wander to old and warn our places, forests ripped apart by man and streams that carry stagnant water where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/some-days-i-like-to-wander-to-old-and-warn-our-places-forests-ripped/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“I write to awaken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-menon/i-write-to-awaken/) [Becca Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-menon/) > [“Once you have woken up from your slumber, help lots more others to be awaken, that is the duty you are here to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/once-you-have-woken-up-from-your-slumber-help-lots-more-others-to-be/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [“Death is the final sleep that you never awaken from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/death-is-the-final-sleep-that-you-never-awaken-from/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Many spiritual seekers who say their wish is to awaken don't actually want what they believe they do. This becomes clear sometimes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-frazier/many-spiritual-seekers-who-say-their-wish-is-to-awaken-don-t-actually/) [Jan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-frazier/) > [Unless you awaken to your own truth, You will continue to live a lie, A life led by the thoughts and demands of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/unless-you-awaken-to-your-own-truth-you-will-continue-to-live-a-lie-a/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [How do we awaken to this true Self? 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