--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world yearns. This is its sure…" description: "\"“The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction of bodies. Earth for molten star. Moon for earth. A hand for the orb of a breast. This is i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg" --- # The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction… ![“The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction of bodies. Earth for molten star. Moon for earth. A hand for the orb of a breast. This is its movement too: the motion of desire, of a longing toward.” quote by Alison MacLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg) > ““The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction of bodies. Earth for molten star. Moon for earth. A hand for the orb of a breast. This is its movement too: the motion of desire, of a longing toward.”” Alison MacLeod ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage likens the universe’s gravitational pull to desire, suggesting that longing is a natural, cosmic force drawing entities together. **In simple terms:** Desire is like gravity, pulling us toward what we want. Key Takeaway Recognize longing as a natural, guiding force. Themes desire gravity longing cosmic metaphor human emotion Mood poetic contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - romantic relationships - career aspirations - creative inspiration - spiritual quests Key Concepts physics metaphor psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What are you drawn to and why? - How can you channel longing constructively? A Different Perspective Desire can become obsessive if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Attraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attraction/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“But sex as a physical act is merely athletics, a momentary relief. What it needs to be powerful is desire, and the strongest element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-sullivan/but-sex-as-a-physical-act-is-merely-athletics-a-momentary-relief-what/) Rosemary Sullivan > [Four billion years ago the planet Earth was molten rock; now it sings opera!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/four-billion-years-ago-the-planet-earth-was-molten-rock-now-it-sings/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [The earth was once molten rock and now sings operas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-earth-was-once-molten-rock-and-now-sings-operas/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [As long as the "I" is there, love cannot be. All that we call love is only desire, longing, passion and attachment; as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/as-long-as-the-i-is-there-love-cannot-be-all-that-we-call-love-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Desire and longing are the whips of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wickham/desire-and-longing-are-the-whips-of-god/) [Anna Wickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wickham/) > [“He doesn’t desire me. This is not longing, or love. This is hate-sex”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-wrights/he-doesn-t-desire-me-this-is-not-longing-or-love-this-is-hate-sex/) [D.S. Wrights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-wrights/) > [I have loved you in every manner that my imagination could contrive. I have wanted you so deeply that my body sang with pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bantock/i-have-loved-you-in-every-manner-that-my-imagination-could-contrive-i/) [Nick Bantock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bantock/) > [If writing is language and language is desire and longing and suffering . . . then why when we write, when we make shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-maso/if-writing-is-language-and-language-is-desire-and-longing-and/) [Carole Maso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-maso/) > [“The devil puts before us every sort of thing we could want or desire. Our longing is pulled away from the things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-wolfmueller/the-devil-puts-before-us-every-sort-of-thing-we-could-want-or-desire/) [Bryan Wolfmueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-wolfmueller/) > [“He drew me like gravity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/he-drew-me-like-gravity/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [“The physics of gravity was not reserved only for large celestial objects to efficiently exert.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayendra-abeywardane/the-physics-of-gravity-was-not-reserved-only-for-large-celestial/) [Gayendra Abeywardane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayendra-abeywardane/) > [They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-carried-all-the-emotional-baggage-of-men-who-might-die-grief/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [There is so much deep contradiction in my soul. Such deep longing for God - so deep that it is painful - a suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kolodiejchuk/there-is-so-much-deep-contradiction-in-my-soul-such-deep-longing-for/) [Brian Kolodiejchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kolodiejchuk/) > [You have to fight gravity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-wine/you-have-to-fight-gravity/) [Sherwin Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-wine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) ## More by Alison MacLeod > [“He decides it is better to die in Ireland than in Paris because in Ireland the outdoors looks like the outdoors and gravestones are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/he-decides-it-is-better-to-die-in-ireland-than-in-paris-because-in/) Alison MacLeod > [“To imagine wasn’t to escape but to go deeper; to see through to the secret life of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/to-imagine-wasn-t-to-escape-but-to-go-deeper-to-see-through-to-the/) Alison MacLeod Explore all 3 Alison MacLeod quotes ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction of bodies. Earth for molten star. Moon for earth. A hand for the orb of a breast. This is its movement too: the motion of desire, of a longing toward.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alison MacLeod" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravity-the-attraction-of-bodies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravity-the-attraction-of-bodies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/alison-macleod-79948_astronomy_the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravit_1970263.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world yearns. This is its sure gravity: the attraction of bodies. Earth for molten star. Moon for earth…” — Alison MacLeod", "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": "Alison MacLeod", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-macleod/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The world yearns. This is its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravity-the-attraction-of-bodies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-macleod/the-world-yearns-this-is-its-sure-gravity-the-attraction-of-bodies/#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 } } ] } ```