--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you reread your journal you find out…" description: "\"When you reread your journal you find out that your newest discovery is something you already found out five years ago.\" — Thomas Merton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg" --- # When you reread your journal you find out that your newest… ![“When you reread your journal you find out that your newest discovery is something you already found out five years ago.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg) > “When you reread your journal you find out that your newest discovery is something you already found out five years ago.” [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. Revisiting past writings reveals that new insights often repeat earlier discoveries. **In simple terms:** New ideas can be old ideas in disguise. Key Takeaway Review past work to avoid redundancy. Themes selfreflection learning growth Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journaling - research projects - creative writing - academic study Key Concepts Cyclical knowledge selfawareness Questions to Reflect On - What patterns repeat in your own work? - How can you differentiate genuine novelty? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on past may hinder fresh perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ## Related quotes > [You never forget the discovery years. First kisses. The first time you try certain foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-never-forget-the-discovery-years-first-kisses-the-first-time-you/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I probably reread novels more often than I read new ones. The novel form is made for rereading. Novels are by their nature too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-hadley/i-probably-reread-novels-more-often-than-i-read-new-ones-the-novel/) [Tessa Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-hadley/) > [“I reread? A lie! I don’t dare reread. I can’t reread. What good would it do me to reread? The person in the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-reread-a-lie-i-don-t-dare-reread-i-can-t-reread-what-good-would-it/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The ultimate luxury is to reread: to revisit a book to see how time has treated it, how memory has distorted it, or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-upchurch/the-ultimate-luxury-is-to-reread-to-revisit-a-book-to-see-how-time/) Michael Upchurch > [“With "The Thousand and One Nights", I learned and never forgot that we should read only those books that force us to reread them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/with-the-thousand-and-one-nights-i-learned-and-never-forgot-that-we/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I went back and reread the Dinosaur chapter in 'Our Band Could Be Your Life,' and it was so depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-barlow/i-went-back-and-reread-the-dinosaur-chapter-in-our-band-could-be-your/) [Lou Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-barlow/) > [When I go back and reread the stuff, I'm always floored by how deeply personal and revealing it actually is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-go-back-and-reread-the-stuff-i-m-always-floored-by-how-deeply/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [“A book--the book that was, for some reason, THE book--can be reread, unchanged. Only we have changed. And that makes all the difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-book-the-book-that-was-for-some-reason-the-book-can-be-reread/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Clip your year-end column and put it away for 10 years. See if you don’t feel like an idiot when you reread it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-albini/clip-your-year-end-column-and-put-it-away-for-10-years-see-if-you-don/) [Steve Albini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-albini/) > [Usually when I put together a book like this Death-Ray hardcover or that Ghost World special edition, then I have to reread it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/usually-when-i-put-together-a-book-like-this-death-ray-hardcover-or/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [“The New Testament does not need to be rewritten, but it needs to reread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-lizorkin-eyzenberg/the-new-testament-does-not-need-to-be-rewritten-but-it-needs-to-reread/) Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg > [Ever since 'Strange Heaven,' I haven't really reread my old work. Not so much because I don't like the writer I was, or because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/ever-since-strange-heaven-i-haven-t-really-reread-my-old-work-not-so/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn't work, throw it away. It's a nice feeling, and you don't want to be cluttered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/reread-rewrite-reread-rewrite-if-it-still-doesn-t-work-throw-it-away/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I've reread 'The Secret Garden' every year as an adult. I have a battered copy on my bookshelf - it's really quite a mess!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-potter/i-ve-reread-the-secret-garden-every-year-as-an-adult-i-have-a/) [Ellen Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-potter/) ## 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 Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you reread your journal you find out that your newest discovery is something you already found out five years ago.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-out-that-your-newest-discovery/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-out-that-your-newest-discovery/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-merton-231_discovery_when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-ou_2023233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you reread your journal you find out that your newest discovery is something you already found out five…” — 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 you reread your journal you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-out-that-your-newest-discovery/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-you-reread-your-journal-you-find-out-that-your-newest-discovery/#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 } } ] } ```