--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No single event can awaken within us a…" description: "\"No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. It would be a bit too easy if we could go about bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png" --- # No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally… ![“No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. It would be a bit too easy if we could go about borrowing ready-made souls.” quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png) > “No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. It would be a bit too easy if we could go about borrowing ready-made souls.” [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal growth is a gradual, ongoing process; we cannot simply adopt pre-made identities, we must be continuously reborn. **In simple terms:** Life is a slow, continuous self-reinvention. Key Takeaway Embrace lifelong learning and self-discovery. Themes growth identity self‑creation Mood inspirational philosophical Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career changes - spiritual practice - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy existentialism personal development Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself are you currently redefining? - How do you nurture ongoing personal evolution? A Different Perspective Change can be uncomfortable and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ## Related quotes > [A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Living is being born slowly. It would be a little too easy if we could borrow ready-made souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/living-is-being-born-slowly-it-would-be-a-little-too-easy-if-we-could/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [No single event can awaken within us a stranger whose existence we had never suspected. To live is to be slowly born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-whose-existence-we/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“To live is to be born slowly. it would be a little too easy to borrow ready-made souls!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/to-live-is-to-be-born-slowly-it-would-be-a-little-too-easy-to-borrow/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Nobody grasped you by the shoulder while there was still time. Now the clay of which you were shaped has dried and hardened, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/nobody-grasped-you-by-the-shoulder-while-there-was-still-time-now-the/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsu-yun/saints-and-ordinary-folks-are-the-same-from-the-start-inquiring-about/) Hsu Yun > [As for borrowing Mr. Whistler's ideas about art, the only thoroughly original ideas I have heard him express have had reference to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-for-borrowing-mr-whistler-s-ideas-about-art-the-only-thoroughly/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Several southern actors are coming to Mumbai. Likewise, many Bollywood actors are appearing down South or borrowing ideas from southern films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-charan/several-southern-actors-are-coming-to-mumbai-likewise-many-bollywood/) [Ram Charan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-charan/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [By taking out a loan, I am committing myself to years of interest repayments, and therefore to years of wage slavery. And the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/by-taking-out-a-loan-i-am-committing-myself-to-years-of-interest/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) ## More by Antoine de Saint-Exupery > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/perfection-is-finally-attained-not-when-there-is-no-longer-anything/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“But for fear of disheartening them, we also spoke to them of disappointments and the bitter taste that rest has after a useless action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/but-for-fear-of-disheartening-them-we-also-spoke-to-them-of/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-stars-are-beautiful-because-of-a-flower-that-cannot-be-seen/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“You are beautiful but you are empty. One could not die for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-beautiful-but-you-are-empty-one-could-not-die-for-you/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-the-fox-said-to-the-little-prince-men-have-forgotten-this-truth/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/and-now-here-is-my-secret-a-very-simple-secret-it-is-only-with-the/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Flying is a man's job and its worries are a man's worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/flying-is-a-man-s-job-and-its-worries-are-a-man-s-worries/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-are-not-at-all-like-my-rose-he-said-as-yet-you-are-nothing-no-one/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Loneliness is bred of a mind that has grown earth-bound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/loneliness-is-bred-of-a-mind-that-has-grown-earth-bound/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“Stretched out before the fire I looked at the glowing fruit and said to myself that men did not know what an orange was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/stretched-out-before-the-fire-i-looked-at-the-glowing-fruit-and-said/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) [Explore all 719 Antoine de Saint-Exupery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More Awaken quotes > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Wherever you are is the perfect place to awaken. This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wherever-you-are-is-the-perfect-place-to-awaken-this-moment-is-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“You have to learn where your weaknesses end and your strengths starts or you will spend your life focusing on all that falls apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/you-have-to-learn-where-your-weaknesses-end-and-your-strengths-starts/) [Nikki rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“Some days I like to wander to old and warn our places, forests ripped apart by man and streams that carry stagnant water where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/some-days-i-like-to-wander-to-old-and-warn-our-places-forests-ripped/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“I write to awaken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-menon/i-write-to-awaken/) Becca Menon > [“Once you have woken up from your slumber, help lots more others to be awaken, that is the duty you are here to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anikor-daniel/once-you-have-woken-up-from-your-slumber-help-lots-more-others-to-be/) [ANIKOR Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anikor-daniel/) > [“Death is the final sleep that you never awaken from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/death-is-the-final-sleep-that-you-never-awaken-from/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Many spiritual seekers who say their wish is to awaken don't actually want what they believe they do. This becomes clear sometimes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-frazier/many-spiritual-seekers-who-say-their-wish-is-to-awaken-don-t-actually/) [Jan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-frazier/) > [Unless you awaken to your own truth, You will continue to live a lie, A life led by the thoughts and demands of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/unless-you-awaken-to-your-own-truth-you-will-continue-to-live-a-lie-a/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [How do we awaken to this true Self? By going within and putting our attention on the silent presence in our heart - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/how-do-we-awaken-to-this-true-self-by-going-within-and-putting-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken, the innermost of Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-all-the-self-was-conquered-and-dead-when-all-passions-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“If you take society’s definition of knowing oneself, you will become lost in the many translations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/if-you-take-society-s-definition-of-knowing-oneself-you-will-become/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [“Everything is simplicity there is nothing to do. There is no place to go. There is no thing to become. You are that, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/everything-is-simplicity-there-is-nothing-to-do-there-is-no-place-to/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [Trust your Heart. Value its intuition. Choose to let go of fear, and to open to the true and you will awaken to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/trust-your-heart-value-its-intuition-choose-to-let-go-of-fear-and-to/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) Browse all 334 Awaken quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. It would be a bit too easy if we could go about borrowing ready-made souls.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antoine de Saint-Exupery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awaken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry-174_awaken_no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-s_521411.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born. It…” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery", "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": "Antoine de Saint-Exupery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No single event can awaken within...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/no-single-event-can-awaken-within-us-a-stranger-totally-unknown-to-us/#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 } } ] } ```