--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all so afraid, we are all so…" description: "\"We are all so afraid, we are all so alone, we all so need from the outside the assurance of our own worthiness to exist. So, for a time, if such a pass..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/ford-madox-ford-3409_assurance_we-are-all-so-afraid-we-are-all-so-alone_2235034.png" --- # We are all so afraid, we are all so alone, we all so need… ![“We are all so afraid, we are all so alone, we all so need from the outside the assurance of our own worthiness to exist. So, for a time, if such a passion come to fruition, the man will get what he wants. He will get the moral support, the encouragement, the relief from the sense of loneliness…” quote by Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/ford-madox-ford-3409_assurance_we-are-all-so-afraid-we-are-all-so-alone_2235034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/ford-madox-ford-3409_assurance_we-are-all-so-afraid-we-are-all-so-alone_2235034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/ford-madox-ford-3409_assurance_we-are-all-so-afraid-we-are-all-so-alone_2235034.png) > “We are all so afraid, we are all so alone, we all so need from the outside the assurance of our own worthiness to exist. So, for a time, if such a passion come to fruition, the man will get what he wants. He will get the moral support, the encouragement, the relief from the sense of loneliness, the assurance of his own worth. But these things pass away; inevitably they pass away as the shadows pass across sundials. It is sad, but it is so. The pages of the book will become familiar; the beautiful corner of the road will have been turned too many times. Well, this is the saddest story.” [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek external validation to feel worthy, but such support is fleeting; true worth must be cultivated internally. **In simple terms:** External approval is temporary; inner worth is lasting. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑worth independent of others. Themes loneliness validation self‑worth transience Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationship counseling - self‑esteem workshops - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology human connection Questions to Reflect On - How can you build lasting self‑worth? - What practices help you feel internally validated? A Different Perspective Relying on others can create dependency and disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Fruition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruition/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-support/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Passing away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-away/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief/) [Saddest Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saddest-story-2870774/) [Sense Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-loneliness-588797/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Sundials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sundials/) [Sundials Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sundials-sad-5042657/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Saddest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-saddest-5042656/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Worthiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthiness/) ## Related quotes > [“This is the saddest story I have ever heard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/this-is-the-saddest-story-i-have-ever-heard/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [To be known for one's saddest story is not the road to notoriety anyone would willingly choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dorris/to-be-known-for-one-s-saddest-story-is-not-the-road-to-notoriety/) [Michael Dorris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dorris/) > [“I lay there with my mind running amuck, on the brink of madness. 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Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/here-had-lived-someone-else-who-knew-that-the-only-thing-waiting-at/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“The forest is quiet but I can still hear the sound of trickling water and the trees whispering to each other in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/the-forest-is-quiet-but-i-can-still-hear-the-sound-of-trickling-water/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [For me it is essential to understand that everyone is alone. Not in the sense of loneliness, but rather in the sense that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rineke-dijkstra/for-me-it-is-essential-to-understand-that-everyone-is-alone-not-in/) [Rineke Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rineke-dijkstra/) > [“...savoring the sense of loneliness and freedom that comes only from solitary sojourns in strange lands...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/savoring-the-sense-of-loneliness-and-freedom-that-comes-only-from/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) ## More by Ford Madox Ford > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You can't kill a minuet de la coeur. You may shut up the music book... but surely the minuet-- the minuet itself is dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-can-t-kill-a-minuet-de-la-coeur-you-may-shut-up-the-music-book/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You see in such a world as this, an idealist -or perhaps it's only a sentimentalist-must be stoned to death. He makes the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-see-in-such-a-world-as-this-an-idealist-or-perhaps-it-s-only-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree planting. Should you plant a group of copper beeches against a group of white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his-heirs-about-tree-planting/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“How was it possible that the most honourable man she knew should be so overwhelmed by foul and baseless rumours? It made you suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/how-was-it-possible-that-the-most-honourable-man-she-knew-should-be/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [It is not merely that people must die and people must suffer, if not here, then there. But what is dreadful is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/it-is-not-merely-that-people-must-die-and-people-must-suffer-if-not/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“But upon my word, I don't know how we put in our time. How does one put in one's time? How is it possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-upon-my-word-i-don-t-know-how-we-put-in-our-time-how-does-one-put/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [In every man there are two minds that work side by side, the one checking the other; thus emotion stands against reason, intellect corrects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/in-every-man-there-are-two-minds-that-work-side-by-side-the-one/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“No, by God, it is false! It wasn't a minuet that we stepped; it was a prison - a prison full of screaming hysterics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/no-by-god-it-is-false-it-wasn-t-a-minuet-that-we-stepped-it-was-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Damn it all, it's the first duty of a soldier - it's the first duty of all Englishmen - to be able to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/damn-it-all-it-s-the-first-duty-of-a-soldier-it-s-the-first-duty-of/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“Yes, society must go on; it must breed, like rabbits. That is what we are here for. But then, I don't like society—much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/yes-society-must-go-on-it-must-breed-like-rabbits-that-is-what-we-are/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“The signal for the train's departure was a very bright red; that is about as passionate a statement as I can get into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-signal-for-the-train-s-departure-was-a-very-bright-red-that-is/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [The world is full of places to which I want to return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-world-is-full-of-places-to-which-i-want-to-return/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [...she had always known under her mind and now she confessed it: her agony had been, half of it, because one day he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/she-had-always-known-under-her-mind-and-now-she-confessed-it-her/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“I like the slow, smooth roll of the great big trains—and they are the best trains in the world! I like being drawn through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/i-like-the-slow-smooth-roll-of-the-great-big-trains-and-they-are-the/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) [Explore all 124 Ford Madox Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## More Assurance quotes > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. We have an assurance that the cause is just and worthy. But, above all, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-have-a-commitment-to-serve-our-lord-we-have-an-assurance-that-the/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not rest, believer, until you have full assurance of your interest in Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/do-not-rest-believer-until-you-have-full-assurance-of-your-interest/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/confidentially-the-type-of-male-i-find-most-enjoyable-for-a-friend-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 557 Assurance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all so afraid, we are all so alone, we all so need from the outside the assurance of our own worthiness to exist. 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