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So you mustn't be frightened, dear Mr. Kappus, if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety - like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and everything you do. You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in the palm of its hand and will not let you fall.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reassures that sadness and anxiety are part of the human experience and suggests that they hold deeper significance.

Rainer Maria Rilke's quote emphasizes that facing profound sadness or anxiety is a natural part of life that should not evoke fear. Instead, it encourages an understanding that such feelings indicate active engagement in life's journey, reminding us that we are cared for and supported by the greater forces of existence, thus suggesting a sense of hope and resilience in the face of challenges.

Themes

SadnessAnxietyLifeResilienceHope

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can inspire someone going through a tough time at a support group meeting.

More from Rainer Maria Rilke

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!
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
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.
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a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude
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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.
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The only journey is the one within.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been
Rainer Maria RilkeRead

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