--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that…" description: "\"“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement is the passage..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg" --- # THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in… ![“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement is the passage of time.” quote by Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg) > ““THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement is the passage of time.”” [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illness can feel isolating, and uncertainty is the only constant; time is the only thing that moves forward. **In simple terms:** Illness isolates, uncertainty rules, time passes. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and let time heal. Themes illness uncertainty time isolation Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - chronic illness coping - grief processing - personal reflection - healthcare communication Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty shape your daily decisions? - What role does time play in healing? A Different Perspective Time alone cannot resolve all suffering; active care may be needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a certain depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation: the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [When you connect as many memories to your geography as I have, and then you see that geography change around you, you're forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/when-you-connect-as-many-memories-to-your-geography-as-i-have-and/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [“I had learnt from my work: that all pain is erased in the passage of time. 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Everything is spinning, only time stands still.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/never-yet-has-such-furious-movement-brought-in-its-train-such/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More by Elisabeth Tova Bailey > [“The snail had been a true mentor; its tiny existence had sustained me. 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Or something more ephemeral:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/survival-often-depends-on-a-specific-focus-a-relationship-a-belief-or/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“Millions of centuries of voyaging via animals, water, and wind brought my snail's family to colonize the woods near where I was staying. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/millions-of-centuries-of-voyaging-via-animals-water-and-wind-brought/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“I find that nothing is quite as I remember; in my absence, the world has changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/i-find-that-nothing-is-quite-as-i-remember-in-my-absence-the-world/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“My bed was an island within the desolate sea of my room. Yet I knew that there were other people homebound from illness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/my-bed-was-an-island-within-the-desolate-sea-of-my-room-yet-i-knew/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“We are all hostages of time. We each have the same number of minutes and hours to live within a day, yet to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/we-are-all-hostages-of-time-we-each-have-the-same-number-of-minutes/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) > [“As the snail's world grew more familiar, my own human world became less so; my species was so large, so rushed, and so confusing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/as-the-snail-s-world-grew-more-familiar-my-own-human-world-became/) [Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) [Explore all 25 Elisabeth Tova Bailey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/) ## More Isolation quotes > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [Isolation makes me lonesome, but when I'm lonely in a crowd, I feel desolate and forlorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/isolation-makes-me-lonesome-but-when-i-m-lonely-in-a-crowd-i-feel/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [I am very convinced that I did not contract Ebola in the isolation unit, because our process is so safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-brantly/i-am-very-convinced-that-i-did-not-contract-ebola-in-the-isolation/) [Kent Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-brantly/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. 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I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Browse all 1,128 Isolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is uncertainty, and the only movement is the passage of time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elisabeth Tova Bailey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Isolation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/elisabeth-tova-bailey-23990_life_there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that_1449260.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of illness that is piercing in its isolation; the only rule of existence is…” — Elisabeth Tova Bailey", "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": "Elisabeth Tova Bailey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-tova-bailey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“THERE IS A CERTAIN depth of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-tova-bailey/there-is-a-certain-depth-of-illness-that-is-piercing-in-its-isolation-2/#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 } } ] } ```