Losing too is still ours; and even forgetting still has a shape in the kingdom of transformation. When something's let go of, it circles; and though we are rarely the center of the circle, it draws around us its unbroken, marvelous curve.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on loss and transformation, suggesting that while we may not hold everything, what we lose still holds significance in the larger scheme of life.
Rainer Maria Rilke's quote conveys the idea that even in loss and forgetfulness, there exists a process of transformation. It suggests that letting go can lead to a broader understanding and appreciation of life's cycles, where lost experiences and memories continue to influence our existence, drawing connections and creating meaning even if we are not directly at the center of these transformations. The 'unbroken, marvelous curve' indicates the beauty and continuity of life's experiences, highlighting that everything has its place in a greater whole.
In practice
In a discussion about coping with grief, this quote can provide comfort and a different perspective on loss.
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
She likes to try everything, out of curiosity, but she'll be sorry if she isn't guided by her heart.
Independence can be trusted nowhere but with the people in mass. They are inherently independent of all but moral law.
Men should be bewailed at their birth, and not at their death.
The most sublime truth of all has never been stated or written or sung. Not because it is far away and can not be reached, but because it is so intimately close, closer than anything that can be spoken. It is alive as the stillness in the core of your being, too close to be described, too close to be objectified, too close to be known in the usual way of knowledge. The truth of who you are is yours already. It is already present.
Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse
Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.
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