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You, darkness, of whom I am born- I love you more than the flame that limits the world to the circle it illumines and excludes the rest.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects a deep appreciation for the unknown and the darker aspects of existence, suggesting that love for these elements surpasses the limitations of light and clarity.

Rainer Maria Rilke's quote expresses the profound connection between the self and darkness, portraying darkness not just as absence of light but as an essential aspect of life. The speaker indicates a love for darkness that transcends the comfort of light, emphasizing that true understanding includes embracing the unknown and chaotic aspects of our existence which illuminate our lives in their own way.

Themes

DarknessLoveLightExistencePhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a conversation about personal growth, one might quote Rilke to emphasize the importance of embracing all aspects of life, including suffering.

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Spring has again returned. _x000D_ _x000D_ The Earth is like a child that knows many poems._x000D_ _x000D_ Many, O so many. For the hardship_x000D_ _x000D_ of such long learning she receives the prize._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Strict was her teacher. _x000D_ _x000D_ The white in the old man's beard pleases us._x000D_ _x000D_ Now, what to call green, to call blue,_x000D_ _x000D_ we dare to ask: She knows, She knows!
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Quote by Rainer Maria Rilke | QuoteProject