--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To deny that there was this dark side of…" description: "\"To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow only a temporary illusion, a way station on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg" --- # To deny that there was this dark side of life would be… ![“To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow only a temporary illusion, a way station on the way to the higher "reality" of long, warm, pleasant summers. But summer, it turned out, was no more real than the snow that melted in wintertime.” quote by David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg) > “To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow only a temporary illusion, a way station on the way to the higher "reality" of long, warm, pleasant summers. But summer, it turned out, was no more real than the snow that melted in wintertime.” [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Denial of life's darkness creates an illusion of perpetual comfort, ignoring that both hardship and ease are equally real and transient. **In simple terms:** Illusion of perpetual comfort Key Takeaway Both pain and joy are real Themes impermanence duality illusion acceptance reality Mood contemplative melancholic hopeful Type philosophical metaphorical When to use this quote - grieving loss - celebrating success - navigating uncertainty - reflecting on personal growth Key Concepts contrast perception balance Practical Applications - therapy counseling - creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging darkness alter your view of happiness? - What does it mean to accept both seasons of life? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-side/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) [Wintertime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wintertime/) ## Related quotes > [“Such dreams provide this temporary illusion of a life that has meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jae/such-dreams-provide-this-temporary-illusion-of-a-life-that-has-meaning/) [Anna Jae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-jae/) > [“Pain is a temporary illusion. I’ve concluded this through the many people that made fun of me when I said I was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/pain-is-a-temporary-illusion-i-ve-concluded-this-through-the-many/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“the snow of twenty-nine wasn't real snow. If you didn't want it to be snow, you just paid some money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-snow-of-twenty-nine-wasn-t-real-snow-if-you-didn-t-want-it-to-be/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [In 'Snow for Mother', a mother waits for her little boy to grow up so that she can take him to Alaska to experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/in-snow-for-mother-a-mother-waits-for-her-little-boy-to-grow-up-so/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [The fashionable Canadian drug habit, instead of cocaine, is to sniff real snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nicol/the-fashionable-canadian-drug-habit-instead-of-cocaine-is-to-sniff/) [Eric Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nicol/) > [“Change, at least in my life, is more often than not a slow and steady stream. It’s not an avalanche. It’s more of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/change-at-least-in-my-life-is-more-often-than-not-a-slow-and-steady/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [When you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/when-you-are-in-your-worst-moods-wait-be-patient-the-storm-will-pass/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [Only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stout/only-in-the-winter-in-the-country-can-you-have-longer-quiet-stretches/) [Ruth Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stout/) > [Okay. That was nice. Clothes. You need clothes before I do something I might not regret. What was your size again, Steve? (Sunshine) Talon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/okay-that-was-nice-clothes-you-need-clothes-before-i-do-something-i/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Im not expecting to grow flowers in the desert, but I can live, and breathe, and see the sun in wintertime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-adamson/im-not-expecting-to-grow-flowers-in-the-desert-but-i-can-live-and/) Stuart Adamson > [I believe there are two sides to the phenomenon known as death, this side where we live, and the other side where we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/i-believe-there-are-two-sides-to-the-phenomenon-known-as-death-this/) [Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [In the wintertime I like macaroni and cheese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/in-the-wintertime-i-like-macaroni-and-cheese/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [“Wintertime is the best time of the year to get really fat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/wintertime-is-the-best-time-of-the-year-to-get-really-fat/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I live in Mexico in the wintertime, and I live off the grid down there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-live-in-mexico-in-the-wintertime-and-i-live-off-the-grid-down-there/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) ## More by David Guterson > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [He decided then that he would love her forever no matter what came to pass. It was not so much a matter of deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/he-decided-then-that-he-would-love-her-forever-no-matter-what-came-to/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There's a certain nostalgia and romance in a place you left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/there-s-a-certain-nostalgia-and-romance-in-a-place-you-left/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/hemingway-said-the-only-way-to-write-about-a-place-is-to-leave-it/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [It doesn't matter who you are, how many awards you've won, how popular you are, or how much critical acclaim you've had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/it-doesn-t-matter-who-you-are-how-many-awards-you-ve-won-how-popular/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“Ben remembered that in Italy, he and Rachel had slipped down between rows of apple trees on the plain of the Po, deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/ben-remembered-that-in-italy-he-and-rachel-had-slipped-down-between/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“The color of the sky was like a length of white chalk turned on its side and rubbed into asphalt. Sanded--that was how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/the-color-of-the-sky-was-like-a-length-of-white-chalk-turned-on-its/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [We should recognize that schools will never solve the bedrock problems of education because the problems are problems of families, of cultural pressures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/we-should-recognize-that-schools-will-never-solve-the-bedrock/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“It ate at whatever was warm nearby, and then the coldness settled in permanently. You learned to live with it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/it-ate-at-whatever-was-warm-nearby-and-then-the-coldness-settled-in/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“The trick was to live here without hating yourself because all around you was hatred. The trick was to refuse to allow your pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/the-trick-was-to-live-here-without-hating-yourself-because-all-around/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [I grew up in Seattle, but I always knew I wanted to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/i-grew-up-in-seattle-but-i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-leave/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [A literary achievement of the highest order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/a-literary-achievement-of-the-highest-order/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Well, I think it’s extraordinarily fun to write, and I look forward to it every day, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s easy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/well-i-think-it-s-extraordinarily-fun-to-write-and-i-look-forward-to/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“He hoped it would snow recklessly and bring to the island the impossible winter purity, so rare and precious, he remembered fondly from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/he-hoped-it-would-snow-recklessly-and-bring-to-the-island-the/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) [Explore all 80 David Guterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) Jimy Williams > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow only a temporary illusion, a way station on the way to the higher \"reality\" of long, warm, pleasant summers. But summer, it turned out, was no more real than the snow that melted in wintertime.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Guterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of-life-would-be-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of-life-would-be-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-guterson-8456_cold_to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of_76082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To deny that there was this dark side of life would be like pretending that the cold of winter was somehow…” — David Guterson", "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": "David Guterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To deny that there was this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of-life-would-be-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-deny-that-there-was-this-dark-side-of-life-would-be-like/#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 } } ] } ```