--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suffering took hold of me like a magic…" description: "\"“Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing all differences between friends and strangers.”\" — Diane Ackerman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg" --- # Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing… ![“Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing all differences between friends and strangers.” quote by Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg) > ““Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing all differences between friends and strangers.”” [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering erases social boundaries, making all people feel equally vulnerable and connected. **In simple terms:** Pain unites strangers and friends alike. Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity in hardship. Themes empathy humanity vulnerability Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - community building - conflict resolution - support groups Key Concepts philosophy psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does shared pain change your view of others? - What practices foster compassion during hardship? A Different Perspective Suffering can also breed resentment or isolation if not processed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazis/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“That was the treachery of suffering. It took you to the point from which you thought death must follow, then let you know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/that-was-the-treachery-of-suffering-it-took-you-to-the-point-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I marvel now that it was not obvious how inextricable suffering and fear are. It was not until fear left that I noticed, slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-frazier/i-marvel-now-that-it-was-not-obvious-how-inextricable-suffering-and/) [Jan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-frazier/) > [“The ceremony was fast so we wouldn't be caught. When it was over, the men all whispered 'Mazel tov' and climbed back onto their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/the-ceremony-was-fast-so-we-wouldn-t-be-caught-when-it-was-over-the/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [“Most German perpetrators were never punished or rewarded for their behavior, but they had learned something about themselves. They know what they did or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fern-schumer-chapman/most-german-perpetrators-were-never-punished-or-rewarded-for-their/) [Fern Schumer Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fern-schumer-chapman/) > [“I shook with helplessness and rage, but also with fear. This was what fighting back earned you. More abuse. More death. Half a dozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/i-shook-with-helplessness-and-rage-but-also-with-fear-this-was-what/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [“Aunt Rosa, a fussy, angular, wild-eyed old lady, who had lived in a tremulous world of bad news, bankruptcies, train accidents, cancerous growths—until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/aunt-rosa-a-fussy-angular-wild-eyed-old-lady-who-had-lived-in-a/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The missionaries of Christianity had said in effect: You have no right to live among us as Jews. The secular rulers who followed had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-hilberg/the-missionaries-of-christianity-had-said-in-effect-you-have-no-right/) [Raul Hilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-hilberg/) > [“I had survived the work gangs in the ghetto. Baked bread under cover of night. Hidden in a pigeon coop. Had a midnight bar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/i-had-survived-the-work-gangs-in-the-ghetto-baked-bread-under-cover/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [The Nazis victimized some people for what they did, some for what they refused to do, some for what they were, and some for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-horton-conway/the-nazis-victimized-some-people-for-what-they-did-some-for-what-they/) John Horton Conway > [“If I had known what the next six years of my life were going to be like, I would have eaten more. I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/if-i-had-known-what-the-next-six-years-of-my-life-were-going-to-be/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [“More broadly, the Nazis were ardent animal lovers and environmentalists who promoted calisthenics and healthy living, regular trips into the countryside, and far-reaching animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/more-broadly-the-nazis-were-ardent-animal-lovers-and/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“Hither I come, From my airy home, Afar in the silver moon. Take the magic spell, And use it well, Or its power will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/hither-i-come-from-my-airy-home-afar-in-the-silver-moon-take-the/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“She didn’t notice that she used black magic and put a spell on her daughter. She didn’t know the power of her word, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/she-didn-t-notice-that-she-used-black-magic-and-put-a-spell-on-her/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [That old black magic has me in its spell, That old black magic that you weave so well; Icy fingers up and down my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mercer/that-old-black-magic-has-me-in-its-spell-that-old-black-magic-that/) [Johnny Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mercer/) > [“I can't bring myself to move. Because as soon as I do, it will be time to be polite and matter-of-fact and back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/i-can-t-bring-myself-to-move-because-as-soon-as-i-do-it-will-be-time/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) ## More by Diane Ackerman > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“Our lives together, our duet, also continues to evolve, and even if we can’t go back to how it was, we’re designing a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/our-lives-together-our-duet-also-continues-to-evolve-and-even-if-we/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/hit-a-tripwire-of-smell-and-memories-explode-all-at-once-a-complex/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Horses have made civilization possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/horses-have-made-civilization-possible/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky. When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/look-at-your-feet-you-are-standing-in-the-sky-when-we-think-of-the/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant? ...We are all shape-shifters and magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/who-would-deduce-the-dragonfly-from-the-larva-the-iris-from-the-bud/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Though we marry as adults, we don't marry adults. We marry children who have grown up and still rejoice in being children, especially if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/though-we-marry-as-adults-we-don-t-marry-adults-we-marry-children-who/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Libraries change lives. They are the soul of a people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/libraries-change-lives-they-are-the-soul-of-a-people/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“The etymology of the Hebrew word for prophet, navi, combines three processes: navach (to cry out), nava (to gush or flow), and navuv (to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/the-etymology-of-the-hebrew-word-for-prophet-navi-combines-three/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain everythingness of everything, in cahoots with the everythingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/knee-deep-in-the-cosmic-overwhelm-i-m-stricken-by-the-ricochet-wonder/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [ Symbolic of life, hair bolts from our head\[s\]. Like the earth, it can be harvested, but it will rise again. We can change its… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/symbolic-of-life-hair-bolts-from-our-head-s-like-the-earth-it-can-be/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“Most people know that 30 to 40 percent of the world's Jews were killed during World War II, but not that 80 to 90…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/most-people-know-that-30-to-40-percent-of-the-world-s-jews-were/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Choice is a signature of our species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/choice-is-a-signature-of-our-species/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [The further we distance ourselves from the spell of the present, explored by our senses, the harder it will be to understand and protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/the-further-we-distance-ourselves-from-the-spell-of-the-present/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Culture is what people invent when they have lost nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/culture-is-what-people-invent-when-they-have-lost-nature/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) [Explore all 304 Diane Ackerman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) ## More Changes quotes > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [“Nothing changes… until you see it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpender-kaushik/nothing-changes-until-you-see-it/) Pushpender Kaushik > [Everyone changes all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/everyone-changes-all-the-time/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [If you don't change your life; your life will change you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-don-t-change-your-life-your-life-will-change-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the littlest thing in life changes something forever and there will be times when you wish you can go back to how things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu/sometimes-the-littlest-thing-in-life-changes-something-forever-and/) [Ritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu/) > [It's crazy how style changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-randle/it-s-crazy-how-style-changes/) [Julius Randle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-randle/) > [As we get more transparent with data sets about infrastructure and systems management, I have a feeling we'll see big changes in how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-koblin/as-we-get-more-transparent-with-data-sets-about-infrastructure-and/) [Aaron Koblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-koblin/) > [Personal responsibility changes everything. You are the one that has to live with your decisions; you might as well be the one making them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/personal-responsibility-changes-everything-you-are-the-one-that-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If it was to be a time of momentous changes, then why not allow oneself to be swept along?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/if-it-was-to-be-a-time-of-momentous-changes-then-why-not-allow/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orszag/defense-spending-as-a-share-of-the-economy-dropped-significantly/) Peter Orszag > [Even your own memory changes over time because of circumstances or even because your body changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ronk/even-your-own-memory-changes-over-time-because-of-circumstances-or/) [Martha Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ronk/) > [“God’s Word changes the way you think, feel, and live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/god-s-word-changes-the-way-you-think-feel-and-live/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [You do not notice changes in what is always before you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/you-do-not-notice-changes-in-what-is-always-before-you/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) Browse all 1,461 Changes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing all differences between friends and strangers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diane Ackerman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-spell-abolishing-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Changes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-spell-abolishing-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/diane-ackerman-1035_changes_suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-s_2149035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Suffering took hold of me like a magic spell abolishing all differences between friends and strangers.” — Diane Ackerman", "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": "Diane Ackerman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Suffering took hold of me like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-spell-abolishing-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/suffering-took-hold-of-me-like-a-magic-spell-abolishing-all/#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 } } ] } ```