--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: am touched that you are trying to…" description: "\"“am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend could not be more loving. I am more touched, still, that you are trying to understand—throug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg" --- # am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend… ![“am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend could not be more loving. I am more touched, still, that you are trying to understand—through rational thought—that which cannot be understood at all. There is no exact principle to be found here. The divine, as Boehme said, is…” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg) > ““am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend could not be more loving. I am more touched, still, that you are trying to understand—through rational thought—that which cannot be understood at all. There is no exact principle to be found here. The divine, as Boehme said, is unground—unfathomable, something outside the world as we experience it. But this is a difference of our minds, dearest one. I wish to arrive at revelation on wings, while you advance steadily on foot, magnifying glass in hand. I am a smattering wanderer, seeking God within the outer contours, searching for a new way of knowing. You stand upon the ground, and consider the evidence inch by inch. Your way is more rational and more methodical, but I cannot change my way.” “I do have a dreadful love for understanding,” Alma admitted. “Indeed you do love it, though it is not dreadful,”” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts rational analysis with mystical intuition, urging openness to unknowable divine experience. **In simple terms:** Rational thought and mystical feeling are different paths to truth. Key Takeaway Balance reason with wonder. Themes spirituality knowledge intuition Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual seeking - creative writing - dialogue Key Concepts mysticism philosophy epistemology Questions to Reflect On - Can you accept mystery alongside logic? - How do you integrate intuition in everyday decisions? A Different Perspective Rational methods may never fully grasp the divine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Seeking god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking-god/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“I am more touched, still, that you are trying to understand - through rational thought - that which cannot be understood at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-am-more-touched-still-that-you-are-trying-to-understand-through/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Now this was like trying to comprehend all the activity of an anthill, and read all the words in a book, and feel all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/now-this-was-like-trying-to-comprehend-all-the-activity-of-an-anthill/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it, but I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maria-gardner/i-thought-i-understood-it-that-i-could-grasp-it-but-i-didn-t-not/) Anna Maria Gardner > [“You realize something once, when you are nine, and then you realize it again when you are ten, and you realize when you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/you-realize-something-once-when-you-are-nine-and-then-you-realize-it/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [Whoever thought that he had understood something of me had merely construed something out of me, after his own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whoever-thought-that-he-had-understood-something-of-me-had-merely/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Jed thought he understood. It was like when his radios were thrown away. You could shrug your shoulders, put on a face that said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-thomson/jed-thought-he-understood-it-was-like-when-his-radios-were-thrown/) [Rupert Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-thomson/) > [If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/if-a-prospective-presidential-approach-can-t-be-explained-clearly/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I'd always thought that I understood this, but lately I realize that what I call "understanding" is basically just fantasizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-d-always-thought-that-i-understood-this-but-lately-i-realize-that/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“I've always thought nobody understood me quite as well as I understood myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-ve-always-thought-nobody-understood-me-quite-as-well-as-i/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Well, she thought. Well, well. Here we are, probably for the first time, just talking to each other. Not arguing, not being sarcastic, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/well-she-thought-well-well-here-we-are-probably-for-the-first-time/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [“So much science has at its root the ability to see afresh what has been seen and thought to be understood for centuries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/so-much-science-has-at-its-root-the-ability-to-see-afresh-what-has/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [I thought I understood the story very well, because I've lived with it for so long. But movies change and take on a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/i-thought-i-understood-the-story-very-well-because-i-ve-lived-with-it/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [Fire sat unbreathing. A life that was an apology for the life of his father: It was a notion she could understand, beyond words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/fire-sat-unbreathing-a-life-that-was-an-apology-for-the-life-of-his/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“...and she thought she understood, for the first time, the strange and terrible power a parent has over a child's happiness, and also how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-mitchell-moore/and-she-thought-she-understood-for-the-first-time-the-strange-and/) Meg Mitchell Moore ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) Unknwon > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) Unknow > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend could not be more loving. I am more touched, still, that you are trying to understand—through rational thought—that which cannot be understood at all. There is no exact principle to be found here. The divine, as Boehme said, is unground—unfathomable, something outside the world as we experience it. But this is a difference of our minds, dearest one. I wish to arrive at revelation on wings, while you advance steadily on foot, magnifying glass in hand. I am a smattering wanderer, seeking God within the outer contours, searching for a new way of knowing. You stand upon the ground, and consider the evidence inch by inch. Your way is more rational and more methodical, but I cannot change my way.” “I do have a dreadful love for understanding,” Alma admitted. “Indeed you do love it, though it is not dreadful,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-comprehend-me-a-friend-could-not-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-comprehend-me-a-friend-could-not-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/elizabeth-gilbert-131_friendship_am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-compre_1880082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“am touched that you are trying to comprehend me. A friend could not be more loving. I am more touched…” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“am touched that you are trying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-comprehend-me-a-friend-could-not-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/am-touched-that-you-are-trying-to-comprehend-me-a-friend-could-not-be/#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 } } ] } ```