--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disasters teach us humility." description: "\"Disasters teach us humility.\" — Anselm of Canterbury" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png" --- # Disasters teach us humility. ![“Disasters teach us humility.” quote by Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png) > “Disasters teach us humility.” [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Disasters reveal our limits, reminding us to stay modest and open to learning. **In simple terms:** Disasters make us humble. Key Takeaway Embrace humility after crises. Themes humility learning perspective Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - disaster response - personal growth - community rebuilding Key Concepts existential human frailty Questions to Reflect On - How can humility improve recovery efforts? - What lessons can we apply after a disaster? A Different Perspective Humility alone doesn't solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disasters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disasters/) [Disasters Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disasters-teach-253023/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-humility-253024/) ## Related quotes > [“Thou shalt wear trousers, but they shall fall half down to teach humility over arrogance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/thou-shalt-wear-trousers-but-they-shall-fall-half-down-to-teach/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [The best way to learn how to work with actors is to have had experience of trying to act yourself - it will teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mackendrick/the-best-way-to-learn-how-to-work-with-actors-is-to-have-had/) [Alexander Mackendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mackendrick/) > [As we strive to teach others we must have the humility to acknowledge that we too still have much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/as-we-strive-to-teach-others-we-must-have-the-humility-to-acknowledge/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [Most history is a record of the triumphs, disasters, and follies of top people. The black hole in it is the way of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-howard-20th-earl-of-arundel/most-history-is-a-record-of-the-triumphs-disasters-and-follies-of-top/) [Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-howard-20th-earl-of-arundel/) > [We love disasters that have nothing to do with us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/we-love-disasters-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-us/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [All disasters stem from us. Why is there a war? Perhaps because now and then I might be inclined to snap at my neighbour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/all-disasters-stem-from-us-why-is-there-a-war-perhaps-because-now-and/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [But ah! disasters have their use; And life might e'en be too sunshiny...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stuart-calverley/but-ah-disasters-have-their-use-and-life-might-e-en-be-too-sunshiny/) [Charles Stuart Calverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stuart-calverley/) > [Disasters have no mercy hours where they stop visiting the people; for them, all hours are favourite and legitimate to visit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/disasters-have-no-mercy-hours-where-they-stop-visiting-the-people-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Live disasters are wonderful attractions when you're safe on the other side of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/live-disasters-are-wonderful-attractions-when-you-re-safe-on-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [i am a limitless series of natural disasters and all of these disasters have been unnaturally repressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-am-a-limitless-series-of-natural-disasters-and-all-of-these/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [When you see natural disasters caught on film you realize how well they had been imagined by Hollywood for such a long time. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-harris/when-you-see-natural-disasters-caught-on-film-you-realize-how-well/) [Jared Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-harris/) > [The environmental movement, like all political processes, reacts best to disasters. But these are very slow, very gradual disasters in the making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/the-environmental-movement-like-all-political-processes-reacts-best/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [Disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, oil spills and radioactive fallout cause massive death of people, pigs, bats and birds. These disasters also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stamets/disasters-such-as-earthquakes-tsunamis-volcanoes-floods-oil-spills/) [Paul Stamets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stamets/) > [Birth: The first and direst of all disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/birth-the-first-and-direst-of-all-disasters/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) ## More by Anselm of Canterbury > [Let no worldly prosperity divert you, nor any worldly adversity restrain you from His praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/let-no-worldly-prosperity-divert-you-nor-any-worldly-adversity/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Remove grace, and you have nothing whereby to be saved. Remove free will and you have nothing that could be saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/remove-grace-and-you-have-nothing-whereby-to-be-saved-remove-free/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Thus you are just not because you give what is owed, but because you do what is appropriate to you as the highest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/thus-you-are-just-not-because-you-give-what-is-owed-but-because-you/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [It is impossible to save one's soul without devotion to Mary and without her protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/it-is-impossible-to-save-one-s-soul-without-devotion-to-mary-and/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [If it can be conceived at all - it must exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/if-it-can-be-conceived-at-all-it-must-exist/) [Anselm Of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [A Prayer of Anselm My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/a-prayer-of-anselm-my-god-i-pray-that-i-may-so-know-you-and-love-you/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God often works more by the life of the illiterate seeking the things that are God's, than by the ability of the learned seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-often-works-more-by-the-life-of-the-illiterate-seeking-the-things/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Therefore Lord, not only are you that than which a greater cannot be thought but you are also something greater than can be thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/therefore-lord-not-only-are-you-that-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God does not delay to hear our prayers because He has no mind to give; but that, by enlarging our desires, He may give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-does-not-delay-to-hear-our-prayers-because-he-has-no-mind-to-give/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [God hath promised pardon to him that repenteth, but he hath not promised repentance to him that sinneth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/god-hath-promised-pardon-to-him-that-repenteth-but-he-hath-not/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [ And indeed we believe you \[God\] to be something than which a greater cannot be conceived. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/and-indeed-we-believe-you-god-to-be-something-than-which-a-greater/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [I believe in order that I may understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/i-believe-in-order-that-i-may-understand/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [Therefore Lord God, you are more truly omnipotent, because you have no power through impotence and nothing can be against you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/therefore-lord-god-you-are-more-truly-omnipotent-because-you-have-no/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe this: unless I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/for-i-do-not-seek-to-understand-in-order-to-believe-but-i-believe-in/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) > [O supreme and unapproachable light! O whole and blessed truth, how far art thou from me, who am so near to thee! How far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/o-supreme-and-unapproachable-light-o-whole-and-blessed-truth-how-far/) [Anselm of Canterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) [Explore all 26 Anselm of Canterbury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/) ## More Disaster quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [One of the undervalued contributors to Trump's stunning 2016 victory was the masterful performance Pence had in his debate against Hillary Clinton running mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mollie-hemingway/one-of-the-undervalued-contributors-to-trump-s-stunning-2016-victory/) [Mollie Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mollie-hemingway/) > [You know, we can't beat ISIS. We can't do anything. We can't take care of our vets. We can't have good health care. "Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-know-we-can-t-beat-isis-we-can-t-do-anything-we-can-t-take-care/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“She was—of course—perfectly normal— quiet and polite and reasonably intelligent and...normal and self destructive and lonely and terrified of every thing And she loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tah-the-trickster/she-was-of-course-perfectly-normal-quiet-and-polite-and-reasonably/) [Tah the Trickster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tah-the-trickster/) > [Obviously, it's my goal to be the top scorer in the Bundesliga, but it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't achieve that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gomez/obviously-it-s-my-goal-to-be-the-top-scorer-in-the-bundesliga-but-it/) [Mario Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gomez/) > [Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/yes-life-in-chechnya-so-far-looks-more-like-a-life-after-a-natural/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Even disasters -- there are always disasters when you travel -- can be turned into adventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/even-disasters-there-are-always-disasters-when-you-travel-can-be/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-are-always-just-one-successful-terrorist-attack-away-from-a/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [The only aspect of our travels that is interesting to others is disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/the-only-aspect-of-our-travels-that-is-interesting-to-others-is/) [Martha GellmanMartha Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellmanmartha-gellman/) [Browse all 2,239 Disaster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Disasters teach us humility.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anselm of Canterbury" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/disasters-teach-us-humility/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disaster" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/disasters-teach-us-humility/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/anselm-of-canterbury-23059_disaster_disasters-teach-us-humility-810685_810685.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Disasters teach us humility.” — Anselm of Canterbury", "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": "Anselm of Canterbury", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-of-canterbury/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Disasters teach us humility.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/disasters-teach-us-humility/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury/disasters-teach-us-humility/#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 } } ] } ```