---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wait. Now the night flows back, the…"
description: "\"I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty mile..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png"
---

#  I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness…

![“I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png)

> “I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation.”

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker finds peace and awe in nature’s night, feeling connection rather than isolation despite distance from others.

**In simple terms:** Night nature brings awe and connection.

Key Takeaway

Embrace solitude as a source of wonder.

Themes

solitude nature wonder connection

Mood

calm reflective

Type

poetic inspirational

When to use this quote

- camping
- stargazing
- long hikes
- remote work

Key Concepts

existential awe mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How does nature alter your perception of isolation?
- What rituals help you feel connected alone?

A Different Perspective

Loneliness can still arise in remote settings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Feel Loveliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-loveliness-1287321/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Loveliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loveliness/) [Loveliness Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loveliness-quiet-1287322/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Starlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starlight/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) [Stillness Embraces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness-embraces-1287320/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/)

[David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/)

> [Places: a cold, bleak, lonely day on the rim at Muley Point, Utah. And the heart-cracking loveliness of the blood-smeared, bitter, incomprehensible slaughterhouse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/places-a-cold-bleak-lonely-day-on-the-rim-at-muley-point-utah-and-the/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to stillness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does-not-include-the-right-to-play/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“Our mother performed in starlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/our-mother-performed-in-starlight/)

[Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/)

> [Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, starlight and dewdrop are waiting for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-foster/beautiful-dreamer-wake-unto-me-starlight-and-dewdrop-are-waiting-for/)

[Stephen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-foster/)

> [The Brother's hood fell back, and his silvery hair shone out in the dim chamber like starlight. All the air rushed out of Tessa's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/the-brother-s-hood-fell-back-and-his-silvery-hair-shone-out-in-the/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [Feels like coming home after traveling a million miles. I am not alone. Searching for the starlight in the darkest skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/feels-like-coming-home-after-traveling-a-million-miles-i-am-not-alone/)

[Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/)

> [“Let the red dawn surmise What we shall do, When this blue starlight dies And all is through.” (The Yellow Sign)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/let-the-red-dawn-surmise-what-we-shall-do-when-this-blue-starlight/)

[Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/)

> [A hundred years ago, Auguste Compte, ... a great philosopher, said that humans will never be able to visit the stars, that we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/a-hundred-years-ago-auguste-compte-a-great-philosopher-said-that/)

[Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/)

> [Three young cats with starlight in their eyes and the whisper of ancient wind in their fur." -Rock, Cats of the Clans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/three-young-cats-with-starlight-in-their-eyes-and-the-whisper-of/)

[Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/)

> [“That made me sad. Sure, sirens are a pain in the ass, but how could he not see all the beauty that was out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-rose-clarke/that-made-me-sad-sure-sirens-are-a-pain-in-the-ass-but-how-could-he/)

[Cassandra Rose Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-rose-clarke/)

> [“Of course Kim had buggered off as unpredictably as he'd appeared, because he was an untrustworthy shit and a lord. There had never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-charles/of-course-kim-had-buggered-off-as-unpredictably-as-he-d-appeared/)

[K.J. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-charles/)

> [Mathematics has the inhuman quality of starlight, brilliant and sharp, but cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-weyl/mathematics-has-the-inhuman-quality-of-starlight-brilliant-and-sharp/)

[Hermann Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-weyl/)

> [And a softness came from the starlight and filled me full to the bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-softness-came-from-the-starlight-and-filled-me-full-to-the-bone/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/)

[Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/)

## More by Edward Abbey

> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

[Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

## More Embrace quotes

> [I had to get to the point where I just had to embrace carrying the torch for the traditional girls out there. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamera-mowry/i-had-to-get-to-the-point-where-i-just-had-to-embrace-carrying-the/)

[Tamera Mowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamera-mowry/)

> [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/)

[Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/)

> [Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/strong-brows-is-what-i-have-and-i-embrace-them/)

[Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/)

> [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“A man of power should embrace his Shadow, or if he cannot embrace it, at least accept it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-lampe/a-man-of-power-should-embrace-his-shadow-or-if-he-cannot-embrace-it/)

[Katherine Lampe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-lampe/)

> [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/)

[Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/)

> [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [To re-embrace what I once loved about music has been a warming process for me, because it's a good, earned feeling now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/to-re-embrace-what-i-once-loved-about-music-has-been-a-warming/)

[Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/)

> [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/)

[Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/)

> [Sometimes, Ms. Lane," he said, "one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-ms-lane-he-said-one-must-break-with-one-s-past-to-embrace/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/)

[John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/)

> [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [Everything is a part of what God's up to in your life, so I think our job is to embrace it. Everything. Embrace it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-gaither/everything-is-a-part-of-what-god-s-up-to-in-your-life-so-i-think-our/)

[Gloria Gaither](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-gaither/)

> [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/)

[Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/)

> [You want to embrace, but I can't figure out how to hold on to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/you-want-to-embrace-but-i-can-t-figure-out-how-to-hold-on-to-it/)

[Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/)

[Browse all 3,428 Embrace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edward Abbey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-mighty-stillness-embraces-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Embrace"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-mighty-stillness-embraces-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/641/edward-abbey-254_embrace_i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-migh_905999.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again…” — Edward Abbey",
                "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": "Edward Abbey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I wait. Now the night flows...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-mighty-stillness-embraces-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-mighty-stillness-embraces-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
