--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are two abysses - a well staring at…" description: "\"We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.\" — Fernando Pessoa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg" --- # We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky. ![“We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg) > “We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.” [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 line juxtaposes depth (abysses) with a simple, upward gaze (well staring at the sky), suggesting paradoxical perspectives on existence. **In simple terms:** Deep and simple views coexist. Key Takeaway Embrace both depth and lightness. Themes paradox existence perspective Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical discussion Key Concepts existentialism dualism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance deep thought with everyday reality? - What does the sky symbolize for you? A Different Perspective May overlook practical concerns in favor of abstraction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) ## Related quotes > [“We never know self-realization. We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-never-know-self-realization-we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Staring up at the sky on a bright, sunny day makes me dream and gives me ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/staring-up-at-the-sky-on-a-bright-sunny-day-makes-me-dream-and-gives/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [He who is not a bird should not build his nest over abysses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-is-not-a-bird-should-not-build-his-nest-over-abysses/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The things we try our hardest not to lose, we really just put deep abysses in the spaces between them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-things-we-try-our-hardest-not-to-lose-we-really-just-put-deep/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The last time she was up here, she had been... staring up at the sky and dreaming of stars. Now, she looked down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/the-last-time-she-was-up-here-she-had-been-staring-up-at-the-sky-and/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“You see, my poor fellow, the hearts of women and she-cats are abysses that neither men nor toms will ever fathom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-murger/you-see-my-poor-fellow-the-hearts-of-women-and-she-cats-are-abysses/) Henry Murger > [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/) > [Madness is the WHO staring into the abyss and denying it is there. Madness is an ostrich who sticks her head in the sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/madness-is-the-who-staring-into-the-abyss-and-denying-it-is-there/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I had no problem working for 15 hours straight when I was producing someone else, but I couldn't do it with my own songs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/i-had-no-problem-working-for-15-hours-straight-when-i-was-producing/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/being-an-entrepreneur-is-like-eating-glass-and-staring-into-the-abyss/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [The abyss you stare into and that stares back at you is your reflection in the mirror - we all have it - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-abyss-you-stare-into-and-that-stares-back-at-you-is-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The human soul is an abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-human-soul-is-an-abyss/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The first sort of big present I remember getting from Santa Claus was quite a small telescope that I remember going into our backyard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-clinton/the-first-sort-of-big-present-i-remember-getting-from-santa-claus-was/) [Chelsea Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-clinton/) > [I'm so alive. As I stand facing the beauty of the never-ending Pacific Ocean, a late afternoon breeze blows down from the hills behind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-pelzer/i-m-so-alive-as-i-stand-facing-the-beauty-of-the-never-ending-pacific/) [Dave Pelzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-pelzer/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) ## 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 Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [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/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the-sky/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abyss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the-sky/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/fernando-pessoa-177_abyss_we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the_2025484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky.” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are two abysses - a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the-sky/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-are-two-abysses-a-well-staring-at-the-sky/#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 } } ] } ```