--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...our souls may be consumed by shadows…" description: "\"“...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters.”\" — Emm Cole" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg" --- # ...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't… ![“...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters.” quote by Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg) > ““...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters.”” [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when darkness threatens, we can choose not to become the monsters we fear. **In simple terms:** Shadows don't force us to be monsters. Key Takeaway Choose kindness over fear Themes morality inner conflict light vs dark choice Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal struggle - social injustice - online harassment Key Concepts ethical philosophy psychology self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you resist becoming what you despise? - What practices foster compassion? A Different Perspective Temptation to retaliate is strong ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Good versus evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-versus-evil/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Inner demons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-demons/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Light and dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-dark/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/) [Soul searching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-searching/) [Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/souls/) [Wounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounded/) ## Related quotes > [“But with all their mocking they had only hardened his resolve. 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There are some that carry their monstrosity inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/not-all-monsters-look-like-monsters-there-are-some-that-carry-their/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Where monsters lurked, love also waited. Bigger than any monster could be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-hardy/where-monsters-lurked-love-also-waited-bigger-than-any-monster-could/) [Dianna Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-hardy/) > [This has been happening to me right now too. My emotions sometimes get the best of me. However, it is good that evil never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-has-been-happening-to-me-right-now-too-my-emotions-sometimes-get/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“We don't fall in love with people because they're good people. We fall in love with people whose darkness we recognise. You can fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/we-don-t-fall-in-love-with-people-because-they-re-good-people-we-fall/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [We're taking action against evil people. Because this great nation of many religions understands, our war is not against Islam, or against faith practiced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-re-taking-action-against-evil-people-because-this-great-nation-of/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Battle scars from the war of good versus evil have a unique beauty all their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/battle-scars-from-the-war-of-good-versus-evil-have-a-unique-beauty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Time is tick, tick, ticking away. How many souls will I capture today? Will they be a challenge or will they be given? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-kuykendall/time-is-tick-tick-ticking-away-how-many-souls-will-i-capture-today/) [A.K. Kuykendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-kuykendall/) > [I like to stay away from writing about good versus evil. I think the world is more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mercurio/i-like-to-stay-away-from-writing-about-good-versus-evil-i-think-the/) [Jed Mercurio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mercurio/) > [In fact, American presidents never apologize for what America does in war, because in the American mind, all its wars are defensive, always fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/in-fact-american-presidents-never-apologize-for-what-america-does-in/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) ## More by Emm Cole > [“A Seer dreams of all kinds of endings, but never a happy one for herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/a-seer-dreams-of-all-kinds-of-endings-but-never-a-happy-one-for/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“I've misplaced it all, but I can't seem to lose my brother. It's a priceless gift--to have his love at a time when I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/i-ve-misplaced-it-all-but-i-can-t-seem-to-lose-my-brother-it-s-a/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“Helping your weapon reach your target is easy. Watching someone accept that their life is over before it ever became something is not quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/helping-your-weapon-reach-your-target-is-easy-watching-someone-accept/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“Home is the place that expects the most of you, but still welcomes you at your worst. And she has always been my home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/home-is-the-place-that-expects-the-most-of-you-but-still-welcomes-you/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“It's a messy business--being alive. But I'd rather have this short time with those I love than have an easy time. We forget about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/it-s-a-messy-business-being-alive-but-i-d-rather-have-this-short-time/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“Let the whole world knock on that door. I'm not opening it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/let-the-whole-world-knock-on-that-door-i-m-not-opening-it/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“When you do find your enemy, remember he will expect and welcome your hate. So surprise him, and let him fear your love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/when-you-do-find-your-enemy-remember-he-will-expect-and-welcome-your/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“I'd die of a broken heart before breaking yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/i-d-die-of-a-broken-heart-before-breaking-yours/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“No. Your thoughts are what make you. But your body isn't a meaningless thing either. Call me strange, but I think only the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/no-your-thoughts-are-what-make-you-but-your-body-isn-t-a-meaningless/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) > [“Smiling at death seems like a pretty bold act. And so I smile like a damned fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/smiling-at-death-seems-like-a-pretty-bold-act-and-so-i-smile-like-a/) [Emm Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) [Explore all 11 Emm Cole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/) ## More Anguish quotes > [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/) [B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/) > [Knowledge gives a wider choice and more anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/knowledge-gives-a-wider-choice-and-more-anguish/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I saw my parents as gods whose every wish must be obeyed or I would suffer the penalty of anguish and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wood/i-saw-my-parents-as-gods-whose-every-wish-must-be-obeyed-or-i-would/) [Natalie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wood/) > [Every last cast is actually a first cast. The first cast and first chance to catch the next fish. The next time you anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/every-last-cast-is-actually-a-first-cast-the-first-cast-and-first/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-there-are-many-words-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [So silently, peacefully, without hurry, without any tension, without any anguish, move into yourself instantly. It is urgent. Unless meditation becomes urgent to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/so-silently-peacefully-without-hurry-without-any-tension-without-any/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/it-breaks-my-heart-to-think-about-a-family-weeping-over-the-loss-of-a/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) [Browse all 570 Anguish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emm Cole" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anguish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/emm-cole-40346_anguish_our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but_2863508.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters.” — Emm Cole", "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": "Emm Cole", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-cole/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...our souls may be consumed by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-cole/our-souls-may-be-consumed-by-shadows-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/#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 } } ] } ```