Darkness Quote by Anaïs Nin
““Am I pushing or dying? the light up there, the immense round blazing white light is drinking me. It drinks me slowly, inspires me into space. If I do not close my eyes, it will drink all of me. I seep upward, in long icy threads, too light, and yet inside me there is a fire too, the nerves are twisted, there is no rest from this long tunnel dragging me, or am I pushing myself out of the tunnel, or is the child being pushed out of me, or is the light drinking me. Am I dying? The ice in the veins, the cracking of the bones, this pushing in darkness, with a small shaft of light in the eyes like the edge of the knife, the feeling of a knife cutting the flesh, the flesh somewhere is tearing as if it were burned through by a flame, somewhere my flesh is tearing and the blood is spilling out. I am pushing in the darkness, in utter darkness.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Light and the Dark" by Anaïs Nin, 1935
The narrator confronts a blinding light that both consumes and inspires, reflecting inner conflict between surrender and resistance.
In simple terms: Light as both threat and inspiration, inner struggle.
Key Takeaway
Accept transformation, balance surrender and will.
Themes
conflict
light
transformation
Mood
intense
reflective
Type
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- meditation
- creative crisis
- spiritual awakening
Key Concepts
psychic tension
death and rebirth
Questions to Reflect On
- What light are you resisting?
- How can you channel the fire within?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may obscure practical coping.
