We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of making choices that align with our true selves and potential.
Thomas Merton suggests that in order to truly embrace our identity and reach our full potential, we must consciously select paths and make decisions that resonate with our authentic selves. This implies a deep understanding of who we are at our core and the responsibility we have to act in accordance with that understanding.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a personal development workshop to inspire participants to reflect on their life choices.
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.
The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct.
I've managed to keep a clear head and remain sane in this business because I remain a kid off-camera.
The world is full of people who have stopped listening to themselves or have listened only to their neighbors to learn what they ought to do, how they ought to behave, and what the values are they should be living for.
Neglect of duty does not cease, by repetition, to be neglect of duty.
I used to believe everything my brother told me, because he was older and I figured he knew more about the world. But as it turns out, being a grown-up doesn’t mean you’re fearless. It just means you fear different things.
The most important hour is always the present. _x000D_ The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now. _x000D_ The most necessary work is always love.
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