the knowledge of impermanence that haunts our days is their very fragrance.
Interpretation
The awareness of life's transient nature enhances our appreciation for each moment.
Rainer Maria Rilke suggests that recognizing the impermanence of life serves as a poignant reminder of its beauty, depth, and significance. This knowledge, which can be unsettling, ultimately enriches our experiences and imbues our days with a sense of preciousness, allowing us to savor the fleeting moments that make life meaningful.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of mindfulness, this quote reminds everyone to cherish the moment.
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
Humble people can do great things with uncommon perfection because they are no longer concerned about their own interests and their own reputation, and therefore they no longer need to waste their efforts in defending them.
No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character.
I think I've got my business notions and my sense for that sort of thing from my dad. My dad never had a chance to go to school. He couldn't read and write. But he was so smart. He was just one of those people that could just make the most of anything and everything that he had to work with.
Money is a handmaiden, if thou knowest how to use it A mistress, if thou knowest not.
On the day I swore to uphold the Hippocratic oath, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I waited for lightning to strike. Who was I, vowing calmly among all these necktied young men to steal life out of nature's jaws, every old time we got half a chance and a paycheck?... I could not accept the contract: that every child born human upon this earth comes with a guarantee of perfect health and old age clutched in its small fist.
There is no good in anything until it is finished.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.