--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The human mind is a powerful thing in…" description: "\"The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png" --- # The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in… ![“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person.” quote by Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png) > “The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person.” [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The mind can be both strong and fragile; a single terror can shatter it, leaving a diminished self. **In simple terms:** A single terror can break a strong mind. Key Takeaway Protect mental health and seek support after trauma. Themes psychology fragility trauma Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - stress management - emergency response Key Concepts resilience vulnerability mental health Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your deepest fear? - How can you rebuild after a mental break? A Different Perspective Not all trauma is visible; recovery may be slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Single moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-moment/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [“What he had really wanted to do was to tear a hole in his world and escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/what-he-had-really-wanted-to-do-was-to-tear-a-hole-in-his-world-and/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“What he really wanted was to tear a hole in his world and escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov-signs-and/what-he-really-wanted-was-to-tear-a-hole-in-his-world-and-escape/) Vladimir Nabokov Signs and > [...the horrific fact that our lives and those of the people we love are impermanent and exquisitely fragile, that any of us can cease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ablow/the-horrific-fact-that-our-lives-and-those-of-the-people-we-love-are/) [Keith Ablow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ablow/) > [“The sub-conscious mind is so powerful in such a way that even if you empty your mind of all its components, there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-sub-conscious-mind-is-so-powerful-in-such-a-way-that-even-if-you/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Strength of the mind is more powerful than strength of the muscles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-monnar/strength-of-the-mind-is-more-powerful-than-strength-of-the-muscles/) [Ana Monnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-monnar/) > [The mind is a powerful thing and most people don't use it properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcgwire/the-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-and-most-people-don-t-use-it-properly/) [Mark McGwire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcgwire/) > [“The mind is the most powerful force in the universe. It is that which created every great empire in all of history. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-aigner/the-mind-is-the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe-it-is-that-which/) Mitch Aigner > [Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-fill-it-with-positive-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The mind is a powerful thing, when filled with positive thoughts only great things can happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/the-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-when-filled-with-positive-thoughts-only/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“Your mind is powerful, so powerful it can call a person from across the state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flory-garcia/your-mind-is-powerful-so-powerful-it-can-call-a-person-from-across/) Flory Garcia > [The future is to heal back to the mind again. 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If you learn to tame it, you can achieve anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-apetsi/your-mind-is-a-very-powerful-force-if-you-learn-to-tame-it-you-can/) [Emmanuel Apetsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-apetsi/) > [Your mind is the most powerful weapon you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mind-is-the-most-powerful-weapon-you-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alexander Gordon Smith > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [It's incredible how much stamina you can find when you're fighting and enemy in battle, even if that enemy is just in your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/it-s-incredible-how-much-stamina-you-can-find-when-you-re-fighting/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [You don't see heroism, humanity and hope like you do in a horror story. Horror celebrates the kind of friendship that keeps you standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/you-don-t-see-heroism-humanity-and-hope-like-you-do-in-a-horror-story/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Welcome home, Soldier of Furnace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/welcome-home-soldier-of-furnace/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“With every movement the claustrophobia threatened to consume me, and several times I had to stop as the fear rang bells in my brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/with-every-movement-the-claustrophobia-threatened-to-consume-me-and/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Next I was plunged into a void so profound that I thought I´d gone blind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/next-i-was-plunged-into-a-void-so-profound-that-i-thought-i-d-gone/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Gettting to know your characters is so much more important than plotting. Working out every detail of your story in advance, especially when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/gettting-to-know-your-characters-is-so-much-more-important-than/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [But nobody can run from their own demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/but-nobody-can-run-from-their-own-demons/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“The tea-infused steam was another smell that brought back a fistful of memories, and I let them come. Better to open the door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-tea-infused-steam-was-another-smell-that-brought-back-a-fistful/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“It surged inside me, setting every nerve ending alight, making me feel like I could snap my fingers and stop time, cut the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/it-surged-inside-me-setting-every-nerve-ending-alight-making-me-feel/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Don't need a degree in rocket science to do this job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/don-t-need-a-degree-in-rocket-science-to-do-this-job/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Still no pain as such, just that infuriating itch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/still-no-pain-as-such-just-that-infuriating-itch/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“Thats the best thing about endings: they have to be beginnings, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/thats-the-best-thing-about-endings-they-have-to-be-beginnings-too/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I knew that if I let the darkness take me now then I´d never see the light again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/i-knew-that-if-i-let-the-darkness-take-me-now-then-i-d-never-see-the/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“The Wookiee gambit.' he said with a smile. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but somewhere in my head a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-wookiee-gambit-he-said-with-a-smile-i-didn-t-have-a-clue-what-he/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) [Explore all 73 Alexander Gordon Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) ## More Cobwebs quotes > [Pushing yourself to extremes blows out the cobwebs of trusted habit. It shakes up what you know to be reliably safe and substitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/pushing-yourself-to-extremes-blows-out-the-cobwebs-of-trusted-habit/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [I did four or five years in telly, and by the end of it was drained. I was a bit sick of myself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-macfadyen/i-did-four-or-five-years-in-telly-and-by-the-end-of-it-was-drained-i/) [Matthew Macfadyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-macfadyen/) > [Fearless--the cobweb swings from the ceiling-- Indolent Housewife--in Daisies--lain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/fearless-the-cobweb-swings-from-the-ceiling-indolent-housewife-in/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [When I stand in a library where is all the recorded wit of the world, but none of the recording, a mere accumulated, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-stand-in-a-library-where-is-all-the-recorded-wit-of-the-world/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The wisest man preaches no doctrines; he has no scheme; he sees no rafter, not even a cobweb, against the heavens. It is clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-wisest-man-preaches-no-doctrines-he-has-no-scheme-he-sees-no/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To talk over a quarrel, with its inevitable accompaniment of self-justification, is too much like handling cobwebs to be very successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/to-talk-over-a-quarrel-with-its-inevitable-accompaniment-of-self/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Maybe some day they'll find me behind the computer, just bones and cobwebs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/maybe-some-day-they-ll-find-me-behind-the-computer-just-bones-and/) [Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/) > [The true doctrine of omnipresence is, that God reappears with all his parts in every moss and cobweb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-true-doctrine-of-omnipresence-is-that-god-reappears-with-all-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Science was tearing through the 'fine-spun ecclesiastical cobwebs' to behold a new cosmos, in which our Earth is merely an 'eccentric speck' - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-desmond/science-was-tearing-through-the-fine-spun-ecclesiastical-cobwebs-to/) Adrian Desmond > [Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/sometimes-the-biggest-gain-in-productive-energy-will-come-from/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [Let the clean air blow the cobwebs from your body. Air is medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-russell/let-the-clean-air-blow-the-cobwebs-from-your-body-air-is-medicine/) [Lillian Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-russell/) > [Habits begin as offhanded remarks, ideas and images. And then, layer upon layer, through practice, they grow from cobwebs into cables that shackle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/habits-begin-as-offhanded-remarks-ideas-and-images-and-then-layer/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [This is not my life. These are not my cobwebs. This is not the darkness I was designed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/this-is-not-my-life-these-are-not-my-cobwebs-this-is-not-the-darkness/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Looking at the world through the sunset in your eyes, traveling the train through clear Moroccan skies. Ducks and pigs and chickens call, animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-nash/looking-at-the-world-through-the-sunset-in-your-eyes-traveling-the/) [Graham Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-nash/) > [Habits that begin as cobwebs sometimes end as cables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/habits-that-begin-as-cobwebs-sometimes-end-as-cables/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 78 Cobwebs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single moment of pure terror to tear a hole in it, like a finger through a cobweb, leaving you forever just a shadow, a half-person.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Gordon Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-many-ways-but-in-others-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cobwebs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-many-ways-but-in-others-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/alexander-gordon-smith-9349_cobwebs_the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-ma_421988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The human mind is a powerful thing in many ways, but in others it's endlessly fragile—it takes only a single…” — Alexander Gordon Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Gordon Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The human mind is a powerful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-many-ways-but-in-others-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/the-human-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-in-many-ways-but-in-others-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```