Darkness Quotes - Page 2

• When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.

  Alexis de Tocqueville

  Inspirational, Motivational, Past

  "Democracy in America". Book by Alexis de Tocqueville, Volume II. Book Four, Chapter VIII, 1840.

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• We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened. But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen.

  Thomas Merton

  Spiritual, Failure, Fall

  Thomas Merton (2011). “Thoughts In Solitude”, p.53, Macmillan

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• Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Integrity, Selfish, Creativity

  Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

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• It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

  Eleanor Roosevelt

  Inspirational, Motivational, Leadership

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• Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and silence.

  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  Voice, Silence, Ships

  Tales of aWayside Inn pt. 3 "The Theologian's Tale: Elizabeth" pt. 4 (1874)

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• While looking for the light, you may suddenly be devoured by the darkness and find the true light

  Jack Kerouac

  Light, May, Darkness To Light

  Jack Kerouac (1960). “The Scripture of the Golden Eternity: Pocket Poets Number 51”, p.79, City Lights Books

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• If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, and hug it in mine arms.

  William Shakespeare

  Hug, Encounters, Arms

  'Measure for Measure' (1604) act 3, sc. 1, l. 81

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• The rising sun can dispel the darkness of night, but it cannot banish the blackness of malice, hatred, bigotry, and selfishness from the hearts of humanity.

  David O. McKay

  Heart, Night, Hatred

  LDS General Conference, October 1964.

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• Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness's of other people. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

  Carl Jung

  Dream, Heart, Light

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• As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

  Carl Jung

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Memories, Dreams, Reflections ch. 11 (1962)

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• You can't study the darkness by flooding it with light.

  Edward Abbey

  Education, Light, Illumination

  Edward Abbey (2015). “A Voice Crying in the Wilderness”, p.49, RosettaBooks

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• Put light against light - you have nothing. Put dark against dark - you have nothing. It's the contrast of light and dark that each give the other one meaning.

  Bob Ross

  Dark, Light, Opposites

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• Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.

  Helen Keller

  Inspirational, Patience, Wisdom

  1902 The Story of My Life.

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• Darkness is to space what silence is to sound, i.e., the interval.

  Marshall McLuhan

  Light, Space, Silence

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• I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

  Og Mandino

  Love, Life, Happiness

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• Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.

  Pema Chodron

  Relationship, Real, Compassion

  Pema Chodron (2003). “Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion”, p.73, Shambhala Publications

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• You don't have to say anything. You don't have to teach anything. You just have to be who you are: a bright flame shining in the darkness of despair, a shining example of a person able to cross bridges by opening your heart and mind.

  Tsoknyi Rinpoche

  Heart, Flames, Bridges

  Tsoknyi Rinpoche (2012). “Open Heart, Open Mind: A Guide to Inner Transformation”, p.237, Random House

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• Only the person who has experienced light and darkness, war and peace, rise and fall, only that person has truly experienced life.

  Stefan Zweig

  Life, War, Fall

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• Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, time bears it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.

  Stephen King

  Sad, Time, Loneliness

  Stephen King (2010). “The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel”, p.363, Simon and Schuster

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• Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Kings, Hate, Light

  "A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings".

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• It's a dark, cool, quiet place. A basement in your soul. And that place can sometimes be dangerous to the human mind. I can open the door and enter that darkness, but I have to be very careful. I can find my story there. Then I bring that thing to the surface, into the real world.

  Haruki Murakami

  Real, Dark, Doors

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• I actually think sadness and darkness can be very beautiful and healing.

  Duncan Sheik

  Beautiful, Healing, Sadness

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• To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.
  Always do what you are afraid to do.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Inspirational, Stars, Fear

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• And out of darkness came the hands that reach through nature, moulding men.

  Alfred Lord Tennyson

  Nature, Men, Hands

  Alfred Lord Tennyson, “In Memoriam A. H. H. Obiit: 124. That Which We Dare Invoke”

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• The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.

  Pliny the Elder

  Failure, Adversity, Depth

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