--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I almost think that hope is for the soul…" description: "\"I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking the soul dries up and withers...\" — Gabriel M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/gabriel-marcel-23278_breathing_i-almost-think-that-hope-is-for-the-soul_1697511.png" --- # I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is… ![“I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking the soul dries up and withers...” quote by Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/gabriel-marcel-23278_breathing_i-almost-think-that-hope-is-for-the-soul_1697511.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/gabriel-marcel-23278_breathing_i-almost-think-that-hope-is-for-the-soul_1697511.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/gabriel-marcel-23278_breathing_i-almost-think-that-hope-is-for-the-soul_1697511.png) > “I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking the soul dries up and withers...” [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope sustains the soul like breath sustains a body; without it, the inner self withens and fades. **In simple terms:** Hope is essential for the soul's vitality. Key Takeaway Nurture hope to keep your spirit alive. Themes hope spirituality resilience Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - grief - creative block - health recovery Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What nurtures your hope? - How do you revive a withering spirit? A Different Perspective Hope alone cannot solve practical problems; action is also needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-organisms/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Only the brilliance of your soul can keep you breathing while you sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-di-quinzio/only-the-brilliance-of-your-soul-can-keep-you-breathing-while-you/) Bruce Di Quinzio > [“Life without strife is a rose without thorns. Alive as one is thriving today towards tomorrow, Nowhere is the past but simply a school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/life-without-strife-is-a-rose-without-thorns-alive-as-one-is-thriving/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [Prayer is the soul's breathing itself into the bosom of its heavenly Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/prayer-is-the-soul-s-breathing-itself-into-the-bosom-of-its-heavenly/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [If I keep breathing, then I have to keep living, and if I keep living, then I have to keep hurting, and I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/if-i-keep-breathing-then-i-have-to-keep-living-and-if-i-keep-living/) [Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/) > [“Reading is to writing what breathing is to living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-mae-robinson/reading-is-to-writing-what-breathing-is-to-living/) Diane Mae Robinson > [Surviving is just not dying. Its actually about what dies inside you while youre still breathing. And living is about striving ways to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/surviving-is-just-not-dying-its-actually-about-what-dies-inside-you/) Unkown > [“In nature, we find so may things. At the water's edge, atop a mountain, or in the middle of a park, I watch my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-blake-soule/in-nature-we-find-so-may-things-at-the-water-s-edge-atop-a-mountain/) Amanda Blake Soule > [We are fighters and survivors. We are here. We are alive and breathing, living and loving, birthing and caring, working and earning. The sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-souljah/we-are-fighters-and-survivors-we-are-here-we-are-alive-and-breathing/) [Sister Souljah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-souljah/) > [“My heart was still beating, I was still breathing, but was living something more?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-looby/my-heart-was-still-beating-i-was-still-breathing-but-was-living/) [Molly Looby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-looby/) > [“I think the rest of the world is not as cold and lonely a place as you think. At least I have to hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/i-think-the-rest-of-the-world-is-not-as-cold-and-lonely-a-place-as/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [“You hope for the best for your kids. You want them to be happy, and you want to feel close to them and help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/you-hope-for-the-best-for-your-kids-you-want-them-to-be-happy-and-you/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [If you're not being pessimistic, you're not being very realistic. But I think one must always have hope, and when you have children, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/if-you-re-not-being-pessimistic-you-re-not-being-very-realistic-but-i/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [When I am sad and wearyWhen I think all hope has goneWhen I walk along High HolbornI think of you with nothing on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mitchell/when-i-am-sad-and-wearywhen-i-think-all-hope-has-gonewhen-i-walk/) [Adrian Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mitchell/) > [think what you hope for is that at different times of your life you're able to write the poetry that reflects the moment that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/think-what-you-hope-for-is-that-at-different-times-of-your-life-you/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think we should all hope for a Russia that is successful, where its people are employed and the economy is growing and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-should-all-hope-for-a-russia-that-is-successful-where-its/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Gabriel Marcel > [A mystery is a problem that encroaches upon itself because the questioner becomes the object of the question. Getting to Mars is a problem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/a-mystery-is-a-problem-that-encroaches-upon-itself-because-the/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [It is right that we be concerned with the scientific probity of metaphysics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/it-is-right-that-we-be-concerned-with-the-scientific-probity-of/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [“The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would have such and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience-but-on-an-idea-or-pseudo-idea/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [But however measurable, there is much more life in music than mathematics or logic ever dreamed of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/but-however-measurable-there-is-much-more-life-in-music-than/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [But a science is exact to the extent that its method measures up to and is adequate to its object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/but-a-science-is-exact-to-the-extent-that-its-method-measures-up-to/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [... freedom is a conquest, always partial, always precarious, always challenged. ... the freest person is the one with the most hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/freedom-is-a-conquest-always-partial-always-precarious-always/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [The dynamic element in my philosophy, taken as a whole, can be seen as an obstinate and untiring battle against the spirit of abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-dynamic-element-in-my-philosophy-taken-as-a-whole-can-be-seen-as/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [You know you have loved someone when you have glimpsed in them that which is too beautiful to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/you-know-you-have-loved-someone-when-you-have-glimpsed-in-them-that/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [On a grassroots level we say that man can touch more than he can grasp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/on-a-grassroots-level-we-say-that-man-can-touch-more-than-he-can-grasp/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [I not only have a body; I am this body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/i-not-only-have-a-body-i-am-this-body/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [The wise man knows how to run his life so that contemplation is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-wise-man-knows-how-to-run-his-life-so-that-contemplation-is/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Hope consists in asserting that there is at the heart of being, beyond all data, beyond all inventories and all calculations, a mysterious principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/hope-consists-in-asserting-that-there-is-at-the-heart-of-being-beyond/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Being and having in our society teaches us how to take possession of things, when it should rather initiate us in the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/being-and-having-in-our-society-teaches-us-how-to-take-possession-of/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [An individual is not distinct from his place. He is his place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/an-individual-is-not-distinct-from-his-place-he-is-his-place/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Music at times is more like perfume than mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/music-at-times-is-more-like-perfume-than-mathematics/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) [Explore all 24 Gabriel Marcel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) ## More Breathing quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) Marcel Williams > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-d-moved-toward-me-again-his-hands-released-mine-and-moved-to-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Browse all 1,666 Breathing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. 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