A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.
Interpretation
True fulfillment comes when one discovers their true calling and embraces life fully.
This quote by Thomas Merton highlights the transformative power of finding one's vocation. When a person aligns their life with their true purpose, they shift from a mindset of mere survival and contemplation to one of active engagement and fulfillment, leading to a more meaningful existence.
In practice
In a motivational speech about finding one's passion in life.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Things are sweeter when they're lost. I know--because once I wanted something and got it. It was the only thing I ever wanted badly, Dot, and when I got it it turned to dust in my hand.
Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another.
The best protection for the people is not necessarily to believe everything people tell them.
Careless indifference and bodily restlessness in meditation cause negative vibrations.
Isn't it funny how something that will later be a blessing can be a curse if you get it too soon.
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