God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night. These are the words we dimly hear: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. Flare up like a flame and make big shadows I can move in. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don't let yourself lose me. Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand.
Interpretation
This quote describes the journey of self-discovery and the importance of embracing both beauty and challenges in life.
Rainer Maria Rilke's quote speaks to the deep connection between our inner experience and the spiritual guidance that shapes our lives. It encourages us to explore the depths of our desires and fears, suggesting that all feelings, whether joyful or painful, are temporary and part of our human experience. The imagery of 'walking silently out of the night' reflects the often unseen presence of a guiding force, urging us to keep moving forward despite the uncertainties we may face. Ultimately, Rilke invites us to fully engage with life, recognizing its seriousness and the beauty that arises from our willingness to embrace both light and darkness.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students embarking on their new journeys.
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!
Verses are not, as people think, feelings (those one has early enough) -- they are experiences. For the sake of a verse one must see many cities, men, and things, one must know the animals feel how birds fly, and know the gesture with which the little flowers open in the morning.
a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude
He reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thinks: there's another dog.
The only journey is the one within.
And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been
One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.
See the Light in Others, and Treat Them as if That is All you See.
Doubts and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.
No one is more miserable than the person who wills everything and can do nothing.
Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs.
Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.
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