Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight! You must forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light.
Emily DickinsonRead
God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him! The charms of the heaven in the bush are superseded, I fear, by the heaven in the hand, occasionally.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that God provides us with friends to remind us of His presence, cautioning against valuing earthly pleasures over divine connection.
In this quote, Emily Dickinson suggests that God, unlike humans, does not take offense easily; otherwise, He might choose to withhold friends from us to ensure we remain focused on Him. The second part warns us about the temptation of preferring tangible joys ('heaven in the hand') over the deeper, spiritual fulfillment that comes from a relationship with the divine ('heaven in the bush'). It prompts reflection on the balance between earthly and spiritual relationships.
Themes
FriendshipDivineRelationshipsSpiritualityTemptation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of relationships, one could quote Dickinson to highlight how friendships remind us of our spiritual values.
More from Emily Dickinson
All quotes →I held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep." I woke and chid my honest fingers,— The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.
Emily DickinsonRead
I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time. The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets, The bobolinks begun. Then I said softly to myself, "That must have been the sun!
Emily DickinsonRead
My best Acquaintances are those With Whom I spoke no Word
Emily DickinsonRead
This is the Hour of Lead- Remembered, if outlived, As freezing persons, recollect the Snow- First-Chill-then Stupor- then the letting go---
Emily DickinsonRead
Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.
Emily DickinsonRead
Similar quotes
I listened so hard because it felt like, while she was telling me stories, she was massaging my soul, letting me know that I was not alone, that I will never have to be alone, that there are friends and family and churches and coffee shops. I was not going to be cast into space.
Donald MillerRead
I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Talk is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing in money, it is all profit, it completes our education, founds and fosters our friendships, and can be enjoyed at any age and in almost any state of health.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Old friendships are like meats served up repeatedly, cold, comfortless, and distasteful. The stomach turns against them.
William HazlittRead
Today I know this: when it comes time to take stock, the most painful wound is that of broken friendships; and there is nothing more foolish than to sacrifice a friendship to politics.
Milan KunderaRead
Friendship increases in visiting friends, but in visiting them seldom.
Francis BaconRead