The true inner self must be drawn up like a jewel from the bottom of the sea, rescued from confusion, from indistinction, from immersion in the common, the nondescript, the trivial, the sordid, the evanescent.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of uncovering one's true self amidst life's distractions and superficialities.
Thomas Merton's quote reflects the journey of self-discovery, likening the true inner self to a precious jewel that needs to be rescued from the depths of confusion and triviality. It suggests that amidst the noise and commonality of everyday life, there lies a unique and valuable essence within each person waiting to be recognized and appreciated.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a motivational speech about personal growth.
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.
Reaction and non-action both create karma, but conscious action transcends karma.
If Socialism can only be realized when the intellectual development of all the people permits it, then we shall not see Socialism for at least five hundred years.
After the horse dance was over, it seemed that I was above the ground and did not touch it when I walked.
Within the soul of each Vietnam veteran there is probably something that says "Bad war, good soldier." Only now are Americans beginning to separate the war from the warrior.
Psychology is ultimately mythology, the study of the stories of the soul.
I'm always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact.
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