QuoteProject
A person isn't who they are during the last conversation you had with them - they're who they've been throughout your whole relationship.
Rainer Maria Rilke
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

A person's true character is defined by their entire history with you, not just the final interactions.

This quote emphasizes that our perception of others should not be based solely on recent encounters or isolated moments. Instead, it invites us to consider the entirety of our experiences and interactions with a person to truly understand their character and the depth of our relationship. By acknowledging the full journey we’ve shared, we can appreciate the complexity and evolution of the individual.

Themes

CharacterRelationshipsHistoryUnderstandingDepth

In practice

Example use cases

During a reflective speech at a wedding, one might say this to emphasize the importance of shared experiences.

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.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
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.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
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

Similar quotes

We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white.
Desmond TutuRead
Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret.
Mary Kay AshRead
Never make a companion equal to a brother.
HesiodRead
There is, inside all our heads, the ego’s rabid attack dog. It is purely vicious toward others and toward ourselves as well. Learning to control that dog, and ultimately to end its life, is the process and purpose of enlightened relationships.
Marianne WilliamsonRead
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another.
Irving TownsendRead
That fiend!" Mr. Darling would cry, and Nana's bark was the echo of it, but Mrs. Darling never upbraided Peter; there was something in the right-hand corner of her mouth that wanted her not to call Peter names.
James M. BarrieRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.