Thomas Merton Quotes

I am what I wanted and I want what I am.

I once wanted to be a personage. Now I am comfortable being a person.

I came to love, I came into my own.

How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.

It just gets easier in that you become more you in the process.

I want to be successful, and I want to do good, but I also want to be myself.

I never had time to dream about being anyone else.

I like this idea of becoming fully realised.

What does it mean to be an individual? What does it mean to flourish?

One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.

I felt totally released from the need to make it as an actress. I had experienced complete fulfillment in something that had nothing to do with me being in the spotlight.

It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.

It only seems that there is something more important for you to do than to just quietly be yourself.

Learn what you are and be such.

Your life is meant for you to understand and process, not to make anyone else happy.

I once wanted to prove myself by being a great actress. Now I want to prove that I'm a person. Then maybe I'll be a great actress.

I feel the older I get, the more I'm learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it's all about finding yourself.

I definitely feel more complete than before. There's a void you have when you don't feel you've found the other part of who you are, so I'm in a different place now and that's nice to experience.

It took me several years to figure out who I am and a few more to accept what I discovered. Now, I'm in the enjoyment stage of that process and it's a happy place.

I want to stop transforming and just start being.

I wanted to become me, totally me. The more me, the better. I instinctively knew this and I was right.

I've got to where I've always wanted to be. I just feel more myself, and I've learned not to care what other people think. It's happened slowly, very slowly. But I did it.

I wanted to do things that I knew were going to be me.

I think that's one of the things that's missing in a lot of people's lives. That's finding out what works for you and doing that.

Every person can reach a full life.