We must learn to be detached from the results of our own activity. We must withdraw ourselves, to some extent, from effects that are beyond our control. [We must be content] to work without expecting an immediate reward, to love without an instantaneous satisfaction, and to exist without any special recognition.
— Thomas Merton, The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia by William H. Shannon, editor, Christine M. Bochen, editor, Patrick F. O'Connell, editor