--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we are alone on a starlit night…" description: "\"When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg" --- # When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we… ![“When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg) > “When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the "newness," the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.” [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. Experiencing simple, natural moments can dissolve ordinary values, revealing a pure, cosmic perspective. **In simple terms:** Simple moments reveal deeper truth. Key Takeaway Notice and cherish quiet, natural experiences. Themes nature spirituality perception beauty Mood reverent wonderful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - watching birds - children playing - listening to nature - quiet contemplation Key Concepts transcendence mindfulness cosmic unity Questions to Reflect On - How can you create space for these moments? - What does “newness” mean to you? A Different Perspective Such moments may be fleeting and hard to sustain in daily life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Purity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purity/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## 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/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast. 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I know that if a wave of energy is allowed to complete itself, it yields a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-roth/movement-is-my-medium-and-my-metaphor-i-know-that-if-a-wave-of-energy/) [Gabrielle Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-roth/) > [Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/hundreds-of-years-ago-indian-artists-created-visual-images-of-dancing/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [“Life is not a discrete phenomenon it is a part of an intelligent cosmic field. It is a cosmic dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/life-is-not-a-discrete-phenomenon-it-is-a-part-of-an-intelligent/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [If I could give you one key, and one key only to more abundant life, I would give you a sense of your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-crosby/if-i-could-give-you-one-key-and-one-key-only-to-more-abundant-life-i/) Greta Crosby > [There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. 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It must be filled unceasingly anew to dissemble the curse it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/from-one-minute-to-the-next-the-present-is-merely-an-honorary-past-it/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of people believe that you don't need to know the history and that creates newness. I disagree: we should always be informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/a-lot-of-people-believe-that-you-don-t-need-to-know-the-history-and/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [Science is the only news. When you scan a news portal or magazine, all the human interest stuff is the same old he-said-she-said, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/science-is-the-only-news-when-you-scan-a-news-portal-or-magazine-all/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [The greatest success in life is to feel I’m something for someone; the feeling of falling in love, the newness of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-wilson/the-greatest-success-in-life-is-to-feel-i-m-something-for-someone-the/) [Dennis Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-wilson/) ## 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 Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the \"newness,\" the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autumn" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab2/thomas-merton-231_autumn_when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-whe_2155093.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a…” — Thomas Merton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Merton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we are alone on a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-we-are-alone-on-a-starlit-night-when-by-chance-we-see-the-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```