--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're confronted with great darkness as a…" description: "\"We're confronted with great darkness as a species right now as spiritual creatures on this planet. I don't think it's hopeless, and I don't want 'You'v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/bruce-cockburn-9323_call_we-re-confronted-with-great-darkness-as_1259165.jpg" --- # We're confronted with great darkness as a species right… ![“We're confronted with great darkness as a species right now as spiritual creatures on this planet. I don't think it's hopeless, and I don't want 'You've Never Seen Everything' to make people feel hopeless. But I think we've got to call a spade a spade.” quote by Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/bruce-cockburn-9323_call_we-re-confronted-with-great-darkness-as_1259165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/bruce-cockburn-9323_call_we-re-confronted-with-great-darkness-as_1259165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/bruce-cockburn-9323_call_we-re-confronted-with-great-darkness-as_1259165.jpg) > “We're confronted with great darkness as a species right now as spiritual creatures on this planet. I don't think it's hopeless, and I don't want 'You've Never Seen Everything' to make people feel hopeless. But I think we've got to call a spade a spade.” [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity faces deep challenges, yet acknowledging harsh truths is essential for progress without succumbing to despair. **In simple terms:** We see darkness but must stay hopeful and honest. Key Takeaway Face reality, keep hope alive. Themes hope environmental crisis spirituality realism Mood concerned determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - education reform - spiritual practice - community dialogue Key Concepts existentialism activism collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What actions can we take to turn hope into change? - How do we balance realism with optimism? A Different Perspective Optimism may overlook systemic inertia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Call](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call/) [Confronted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confronted/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-hopeless-442044/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Hopeless Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless-think-1780818/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen/) [Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spade/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-hopeless-754722/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [ The moment you start thinking it's hopeless, then it is. \[But\], if you think it's gonna get better, it really does. Life is a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/the-moment-you-start-thinking-it-s-hopeless-then-it-is-but-if-you/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [“We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably hopeless. We think we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-need-never-be-hopeless-because-we-can-never-be-irreparably/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think I'm much less self confident today. 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But I think pain is harder, personally. I think to be hopeless is very hard. I think to die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/self-knowledge-i-guess-is-hard-but-i-think-pain-is-harder-personally/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Then you think that one can keep a hopeless love in one's heart for so long as that?...And that life can breathe upon it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/then-you-think-that-one-can-keep-a-hopeless-love-in-one-s-heart-for/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless. – Chester Nimitz”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/god-grant-me-the-courage-not-to-give-up-what-i-think-is-right-even/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [I just want people to not assume their story is over, especially when maybe they have somebody in their life that they've given up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-millard/i-just-want-people-to-not-assume-their-story-is-over-especially-when/) [Bart Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-millard/) > [When you feel like you're isolated and you're on your own, you feel hopeless and who knows what those hopeless thoughts can turn into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmie-allen/when-you-feel-like-you-re-isolated-and-you-re-on-your-own-you-feel/) [Jimmie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmie-allen/) > [Sometimes it's not the optimist you need, but another pessimist to walk beside you and know, absolutely know, that the sound in the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/sometimes-it-s-not-the-optimist-you-need-but-another-pessimist-to/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I can remember watching MTV Cribs - these amazing houses - and looking around my house where there was no carpet on the floors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-can-remember-watching-mtv-cribs-these-amazing-houses-and-looking/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) ## More by Bruce Cockburn > [It sounds strange to say it, but you can be in a war zone and have a lot of fun. Even though war is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/it-sounds-strange-to-say-it-but-you-can-be-in-a-war-zone-and-have-a/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [I'd always loved poetry and I'd always loved writing music and composing music, but I hadn't thought of putting the two together until around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/i-d-always-loved-poetry-and-i-d-always-loved-writing-music-and/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [My models for graceful aging are guys like John Lee Hooker and Mississippi John Hurt, who never stopped working till they dropped, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/my-models-for-graceful-aging-are-guys-like-john-lee-hooker-and/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > ['Gifts' was just a short little one-verse song that I used to close shows in the '60s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/gifts-was-just-a-short-little-one-verse-song-that-i-used-to-close/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Music itself isn't enough to completely wear down my stash of anger. And I don't have all that much more to be angry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/music-itself-isn-t-enough-to-completely-wear-down-my-stash-of-anger/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [In between effect and cause and just beyond the range of normal sight, this glittering joker was dancing in the dragon's jaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/in-between-effect-and-cause-and-just-beyond-the-range-of-normal-sight/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [When you know even for a moment That it's your time Then you can walk with the power Of a thousand generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/when-you-know-even-for-a-moment-that-it-s-your-time-then-you-can-walk/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [A number of Iraqis told us they had welcomed the U.S. forces as liberators initially but in the intervening months, they had come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/a-number-of-iraqis-told-us-they-had-welcomed-the-u-s-forces-as/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [The people who have impressed me most - and the closest I've come to having heroes - are the people who have devoted their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/the-people-who-have-impressed-me-most-and-the-closest-i-ve-come-to/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Sometimes I catch myself doing something that I've already done. The more I've done, the more that's likely to happen. Then I just throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/sometimes-i-catch-myself-doing-something-that-i-ve-already-done-the/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Anger is energy, and you've got to find a place to put it that works for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/anger-is-energy-and-you-ve-got-to-find-a-place-to-put-it-that-works/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Wave the flag, wave the Bible, wave your sex or your business degree, whatever you want, just don't wave that thing at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/wave-the-flag-wave-the-bible-wave-your-sex-or-your-business-degree/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [“Got to kick at the darkness 'till it bleeds daylight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/got-to-kick-at-the-darkness-till-it-bleeds-daylight/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [All these years of thinking, ending up like this: In front of all this beauty, understanding nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/all-these-years-of-thinking-ending-up-like-this-in-front-of-all-this/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Everybody wants to see justice done, to somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/everybody-wants-to-see-justice-done-to-somebody-else/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) [Explore all 73 Bruce Cockburn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) ## More Call quotes > [Some would call me an environmentalist. I don't know why. I reuse the water that falls in my backyard in the winter. I reuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/some-would-call-me-an-environmentalist-i-don-t-know-why-i-reuse-the/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [I call myself an educator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliyahu-goldratt/i-call-myself-an-educator/) [Eliyahu Goldratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliyahu-goldratt/) > [I would call myself a Gnostic. Which means, I'm interested in pursuing and understanding the spiritual nature of things. A Gnostic is somebody seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/i-would-call-myself-a-gnostic-which-means-i-m-interested-in-pursuing/) [Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/) > [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [We only call at ducks when their rear ends are towards us. If I'm looking at you and you call my name, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jase-robertson/we-only-call-at-ducks-when-their-rear-ends-are-towards-us-if-i-m/) [Jase Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jase-robertson/) > [As someone who came to New York in the 1970s, I was, like so many of my friends, a certified member of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/as-someone-who-came-to-new-york-in-the-1970s-i-was-like-so-many-of-my/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [Most people I know are not hard-core religious people. They are what I would call 'lightly religious.' So I don't buy the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/most-people-i-know-are-not-hard-core-religious-people-they-are-what-i/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [Obama did organize a great large number of people and many enthusiastic people, what's called in the press 'Obama's Army.' But the army is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-did-organize-a-great-large-number-of-people-and-many/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It's always a wake-up call to get beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usain-bolt/it-s-always-a-wake-up-call-to-get-beaten/) [Usain Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usain-bolt/) > [You've got Washington picking winners and losers. And so, all of a sudden, decisions are being made on what helps politicians, not what helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/you-ve-got-washington-picking-winners-and-losers-and-so-all-of-a/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [If LFC call, you have to listen and think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timo-werner/if-lfc-call-you-have-to-listen-and-think-about-it/) [Timo Werner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timo-werner/) > [It's silly to call me the new Ed Sheeran. He can fill stadiums as a solo artist, but I'm not like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/it-s-silly-to-call-me-the-new-ed-sheeran-he-can-fill-stadiums-as-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) > [I'm doing what all modern artists do now, which is nothing - just sit around and dream about things. 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In order for a writer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/countee-cullen/there-is-no-secret-to-success-except-hard-work-and-getting-something/) [Countee Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/countee-cullen/) [Browse all 1,525 Call quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're confronted with great darkness as a species right now as spiritual creatures on this planet. I don't think it's hopeless, and I don't want 'You've Never Seen Everything' to make people feel hopeless. 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