--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I search and can't find myself. I belong…" description: "\"I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum time, sharp in calla lily elongations. God made my soul into an ornamental thing.\" — Fernando..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/fernando-pessoa-177_callas_i-search-and-can-t-find-myself-i-belong_1430569.jpg" --- # I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum… ![“I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum time, sharp in calla lily elongations. God made my soul into an ornamental thing.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/fernando-pessoa-177_callas_i-search-and-can-t-find-myself-i-belong_1430569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/fernando-pessoa-177_callas_i-search-and-can-t-find-myself-i-belong_1430569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/fernando-pessoa-177_callas_i-search-and-can-t-find-myself-i-belong_1430569.jpg) > “I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum time, sharp in calla lily elongations. God made my soul into an ornamental thing.” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## 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 feels alienated, seeing themselves as a decorative object shaped by divine design, yearning for a natural, seasonal identity. **In simple terms:** Feeling lost and ornamental, longing for natural belonging. Key Takeaway Embrace authentic self beyond imposed roles. Themes identity alienation nature spirituality Mood melancholic contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism symbolism self-construction Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your identity feel ornamental? - How can you reconnect with your natural rhythms? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical self‑acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/callas/) [Chrysanthemums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chrysanthemums/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Lily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lily/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I look for myself but find no one. I belong to the chrysanthemum hour of bright flowers placed in tall vases. I should make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-look-for-myself-but-find-no-one-i-belong-to-the-chrysanthemum-hour/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [I seek and don’t find myself. I belong to chrysanthemum hours, neatly lined up in flowerpots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-seek-and-don-t-find-myself-i-belong-to-chrysanthemum-hours-neatly/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Emily didn’t search to belong, she searched to be lost”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/emily-didn-t-search-to-belong-she-searched-to-be-lost/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower—suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-calla-lilies-are-in-bloom-again-such-a-strange-flower-suitable-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought you said scrying was a bad idea.” “It's like vodka,” Calla said. “It really depends on who's doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-thought-you-said-scrying-was-a-bad-idea-it-s-like-vodka-calla-said/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [When I was a teenager, I dreamed of being an opera singer like Maria Callas or a jazz singer like June Christy or Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-dreamed-of-being-an-opera-singer-like-maria/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [The first opera I went to see was Maria Callas singing 'Tosca'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-faithfull/the-first-opera-i-went-to-see-was-maria-callas-singing-tosca/) [Marianne Faithfull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-faithfull/) > [When does it happen?" "It already has," Calla replied. Her eyes opened and fixed on Blue. "And it hasn't yet. Time' circular, chicken. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/when-does-it-happen-it-already-has-calla-replied-her-eyes-opened-and/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I'm very nearly drunk enough to be transcendent," Calla said after a space. She was not the only psychic drinking, but she was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-m-very-nearly-drunk-enough-to-be-transcendent-calla-said-after-a/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Calla readjusted, wrapping the silk around her other thigh instead. "Which one's he again? The pretty one?" Blue and Gansey exchanged a look. Blue's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/calla-readjusted-wrapping-the-silk-around-her-other-thigh-instead/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [When Callas carried a grudge, she planted it, nursed it, fostered it, watered it and watched it grow to sequoia size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-c-schonberg/when-callas-carried-a-grudge-she-planted-it-nursed-it-fostered-it/) [Harold C. Schonberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-c-schonberg/) > [The most widely criticised singers in the history of opera, Maria Callas and Franco Corelli, happen also to be the best singers. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/the-most-widely-criticised-singers-in-the-history-of-opera-maria/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [I will not enter into a public feud with Madame Callas, since I am well aware that she has considerably greater competence and experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-bing/i-will-not-enter-into-a-public-feud-with-madame-callas-since-i-am/) [Rudolf Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-bing/) > [The calla lilies are in bloom again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/the-calla-lilies-are-in-bloom-again/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [In those days, you had to like one or the other. You couldn't like Sutherland AND Callas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-mcnally/in-those-days-you-had-to-like-one-or-the-other-you-couldn-t-like/) [Terrence McNally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-mcnally/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Belong quotes > [How come I end up where I started How come I end up where I belong... You used to be alright What happened?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/how-come-i-end-up-where-i-started-how-come-i-end-up-where-i-belong/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I hate this feeling. Like Im here. But, Im not. Like someone cares. But, they dont. Like I belong somewhere else, anywhere but here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-this-feeling-like-im-here-but-im-not-like-someone-cares-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As you know, in America there's no rights for the artist, so whatever films I've made kind of belong to the studio, so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/as-you-know-in-america-there-s-no-rights-for-the-artist-so-whatever/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [God has a purpose for us. If he didn't we wouldn't be alive in the first place. We have a calling. We are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-janssen/god-has-a-purpose-for-us-if-he-didn-t-we-wouldn-t-be-alive-in-the/) [Kenny Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-janssen/) > [I thought of how many places there are in the world that belong in this way to someone, who has it in his blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/i-thought-of-how-many-places-there-are-in-the-world-that-belong-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [I belong to a Bohri Muslim family, and for us, food is our biggest celebration. We are used to elaborate five- to six-course meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/i-belong-to-a-bohri-muslim-family-and-for-us-food-is-our-biggest/) [Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/) > [“You need to belong to yourself, and let others belong to themselves too. You need to be free and detached from things and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-need-to-belong-to-yourself-and-let-others-belong-to-themselves/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [I want all of my films to belong to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-want-all-of-my-films-to-belong-to-me/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [“Your beliefs, and your beliefs alone, belong to you. You are the only one who is with you for your entire life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz-jr/your-beliefs-and-your-beliefs-alone-belong-to-you-you-are-the-only/) [Miguel Ruiz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz-jr/) > [Earth does not belong to us; we belong to earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/earth-does-not-belong-to-us-we-belong-to-earth/) [Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/) > [I think I know where you belong. I think I know its not with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-i-know-where-you-belong-i-think-i-know-its-not-with-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a compelling reason why I belong in the Hall of Fame, but I understand the argument against me. My career didn't go like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-warner/there-s-a-compelling-reason-why-i-belong-in-the-hall-of-fame-but-i/) [Kurt Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-warner/) Browse all 1,571 Belong quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I search and can't find myself. I belong in chrysanthemum time, sharp in calla lily elongations. 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