We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.

Men in bowlers and dark suits with their rolled-up umbrellas. Men full of propriety, calm and proud, neat and noble.

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have-for their usefulness. -Thomas Merton.

We have to have a deep, patient compassion for the fears of men and irrational mania of those who hate or condemn us.

We have what we seek, it is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us.

To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times.