--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and…" description: "\"I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/cheryl-strayed-605_aspect_i-had-diverged-digressed-wandered-and-be_2997395.jpg" --- # I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I… ![“I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances or life, but because even in my darkest days—those very days in which I was naming myself—I saw the power of the darkness. Saw that, in fact, I had…” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/cheryl-strayed-605_aspect_i-had-diverged-digressed-wandered-and-be_2997395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/cheryl-strayed-605_aspect_i-had-diverged-digressed-wandered-and-be_2997395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/cheryl-strayed-605_aspect_i-had-diverged-digressed-wandered-and-be_2997395.jpg) > “I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances or life, but because even in my darkest days—those very days in which I was naming myself—I saw the power of the darkness. Saw that, in fact, I had strayed and that I was a stray and that from the wild places my straying had brought me, I knew things I couldn't have known before.” [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing darkness reveals hidden knowledge and personal transformation. **In simple terms:** Darkness teaches hidden truths. Key Takeaway Use hardship as a catalyst for self‑discovery. Themes pain self‑discovery transformation Mood introspective empowering Type psychological spiritual When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - spiritual journeys Key Concepts darkness personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What darkness have you learned from? - How can you transform pain into insight? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) ## Related quotes > [“It was time. Our paths had diverged. He was gone. And I was left. I'm not fine... I took a deep breath. 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Now their lives had diverged into a score of independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-no-longer-formed-a-single-group-united-in-the-common-cause-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“No matter how old you get, no matter how far you’ve strayed, a mother can always see right through you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/no-matter-how-old-you-get-no-matter-how-far-you-ve-strayed-a-mother/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [But whither am I strayed? I need not raise Trophies to thee from other men's dispraise; Nor is thy fame on lesser ruins built;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denham/but-whither-am-i-strayed-i-need-not-raise-trophies-to-thee-from-other/) [John Denham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denham/) > [It was really dreadful to be so different from other people…and yet rather wonderful, too, as if you were a being strayed from another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-really-dreadful-to-be-so-different-from-other-people-and-yet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Penning an advice column for the literary website The Rumpus, \[Strayed\] worked anonymously, using the pen name Sugar, replying to letters from readings suffering… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/penning-an-advice-column-for-the-literary-website-the-rumpus-strayed/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [But I've strayed so far from normal now, I'll never find my way back. And the truth is, I no longer want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-noel/but-i-ve-strayed-so-far-from-normal-now-i-ll-never-find-my-way-back/) [Alyson Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-noel/) > [“But man is a strayed animal, and when he falls victim to doubt, if he should happen to take no further pleasure in attacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/but-man-is-a-strayed-animal-and-when-he-falls-victim-to-doubt-if-he/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [I've never strayed from who I am or where I came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-combs/i-ve-never-strayed-from-who-i-am-or-where-i-came-from/) [Jessi Combs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-combs/) > [We have strayed away from God, and He is in quest of us; Like us, He is humble and is a prisoner of desire:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/we-have-strayed-away-from-god-and-he-is-in-quest-of-us-like-us-he-is/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [“It seems I've strayed from my mission vision, which is used as the sea is now about to hoard even filled in by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pilo-poly/it-seems-i-ve-strayed-from-my-mission-vision-which-is-used-as-the-sea/) [Pilo Poly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pilo-poly/) > [Send home my long strayed eyes to me, Which (Oh) too long have dwelt on thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/send-home-my-long-strayed-eyes-to-me-which-oh-too-long-have-dwelt-on/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) ## More by Cheryl Strayed > [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) [Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More Aspect quotes > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [I do miss the social aspect of sitting in a pub with a pint but you know what when I get down to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-do-miss-the-social-aspect-of-sitting-in-a-pub-with-a-pint-but-you/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Some say that you should not want money at all because the desire for money is materialistic and not Spiritual. But we want you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/some-say-that-you-should-not-want-money-at-all-because-the-desire-for/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [I love fall because I love the whole cuddling aspect of it, and a sweater dress has that vibe of I'm going to hunker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-love-fall-because-i-love-the-whole-cuddling-aspect-of-it-and-a/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [The socially redeeming aspect of golf lies in the vast number of lawyers and bankers and managers who play it, and when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-socially-redeeming-aspect-of-golf-lies-in-the-vast-number-of/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I didnt like the Survivor shows because of the mean-spirited aspect, and women certainly were part of whatever conflict they would create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lawrence/i-didnt-like-the-survivor-shows-because-of-the-mean-spirited-aspect/) [Sharon Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lawrence/) > [MAC allowed me to have complete freedom on the collaborations—from the shades, the look-and-feel, to the campaign visuals. 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