My Day  Begins,

Thomas Merton

“All people seek peace first of all within themselves.

That is necessary because we do not naturally find rest even in our beings. We have to learn to commune with ourselves before we can communicate with other people and with God.

A person who is not at peace with himself projects his internal fighting into the society of those he (or she) lives with and spreads a contagion of conflict all around him…

We must withdraw ourselves…from effects that are beyond our control and be content with the good will and the work that are the quiet expression of our inner life.

We must be content to live without watching ourselves live, to work without

expecting an immediate reward.”

Thomas Merton, Come Into The Silence