--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The blade of grass was alone. Together…" description: "\"“The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone. They were alone together. The ground of the Realm was alone. The blade of grass was alone wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/849/greg-bear-12310_loneliness_the-blade-of-grass-was-alone-together-th_845375.jpg" --- # The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone… ![“The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone. They were alone together. The ground of the Realm was alone. The blade of grass was alone with the ground. Words flowed within him, arguments, changing shape and meaning, having no meaning. He gave them up only after a tremendous, jerking…” quote by Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/849/greg-bear-12310_loneliness_the-blade-of-grass-was-alone-together-th_845375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/849/greg-bear-12310_loneliness_the-blade-of-grass-was-alone-together-th_845375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/849/greg-bear-12310_loneliness_the-blade-of-grass-was-alone-together-th_845375.jpg) > ““The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone. They were alone together. The ground of the Realm was alone. The blade of grass was alone with the ground. Words flowed within him, arguments, changing shape and meaning, having no meaning. He gave them up only after a tremendous, jerking pain swept him. “I am in love with words,” Michael said. “They are my horse. I ride them, use them. But I can never kill them. Even if I cannot use words to get where I am going.” The realization of his dependence was enough. His aloneness suddenly became apparent, without words, truth, meaning or thought. The only way one can truly be alone is to be at one with everything, everybody... The entire universe, having only one voice. All the faces of creation, alone. Michael became aware of what he had been doing when he performed the small tricks the Crane Women had taught him. “To be alone is to be difficult to spot.” He could improve on that. “Aloneness means isolation from needs.” He could last indefinitely without food or water. “I only fight shadows. If I am alone, there is no enemy to fight.” And ultimately, no need to fight. “It is crazy to fight when you are alone.” He put down the blade of grass and looked up at the multitude of stars. Biri had helped him build this structure piece by piece, carefully. Now it began to collapse. The whole thing was ridiculous. How could he ever believe such”” [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores profound isolation, the paradox of being alone yet connected to everything, and the limits of language to convey truth. **In simple terms:** Alone yet linked, words fail to capture truth. Key Takeaway Embrace silence to find deeper connection. Themes isolation language existence connection paradox Mood contemplative melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical poetic When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - spiritual practice - psychological therapy - philosophical debate Key Concepts philosophy metaphysics identity solitude Questions to Reflect On - How does silence reveal truth? - Can isolation be both painful and liberating? A Different Perspective Words cannot fully express inner reality, limiting communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aloneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aloneness/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) ## Related quotes > [In the words of Michael Jackson: I'm a lover, not a fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/in-the-words-of-michael-jackson-i-m-a-lover-not-a-fighter/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [“Do you love me?' I asked her. She smiled. 'Yes.' 'Do you want me to be happy?' as I asked her this I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/do-you-love-me-i-asked-her-she-smiled-yes-do-you-want-me-to-be-happy/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“I appricated that Nell was talking to me like a grown-up, but I had no idea what she meant. Still, I could see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-house/i-appricated-that-nell-was-talking-to-me-like-a-grown-up-but-i-had-no/) [Silas House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-house/) > [“He didn’t allow her to finish her sentence. Instantly, his chest touched hers, and her chin rose with the direction of his forceful grasp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleatha-romig/he-didn-t-allow-her-to-finish-her-sentence-instantly-his-chest/) [Aleatha Romig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleatha-romig/) > [“I had been working hard at my book; it was one of those rare days of authorship when everything seemed to go right; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-maxwell/i-had-been-working-hard-at-my-book-it-was-one-of-those-rare-days-of/) [Gavin Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-maxwell/) > [“A certain pleasure was added to Grace’s relief at establishing herself as a migratory bird. She found that she understood the characters in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/a-certain-pleasure-was-added-to-grace-s-relief-at-establishing/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“The non-stop music wrapped a warm cocoon around her body. People's thoughts, rapid words flowed around her, without doing her any harm. She was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/the-non-stop-music-wrapped-a-warm-cocoon-around-her-body-people-s/) [J.M.G. Le Clézio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-g-le-cl-zio/) > [A river of words flowed between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/a-river-of-words-flowed-between-us/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [Become aware of your aloneness - which is a reality. And it is so beautiful to experience it, to feel it, because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/become-aware-of-your-aloneness-which-is-a-reality-and-it-is-so/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“When she came home, she smelled the way I like. But . . . her face seemed sadder than when she left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/when-she-came-home-she-smelled-the-way-i-like-but-her-face-seemed/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [“People would rather live in a community with unreasonable claims, than face loneliness with their truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/people-would-rather-live-in-a-community-with-unreasonable-claims-than/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Sometimes you need to take a break from everyone and spend time alone, to experience, appreciate and love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-tew/sometimes-you-need-to-take-a-break-from-everyone-and-spend-time-alone/) [Robert Tew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-tew/) > [“He knows that when she passes, a grief will rip through him unlike anything he has ever known. Preparing for it doesn't help. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/he-knows-that-when-she-passes-a-grief-will-rip-through-him-unlike/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More by Greg Bear > [Man is the poet who kills, Woman the angel who eats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/man-is-the-poet-who-kills-woman-the-angel-who-eats/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Life on earth is hard. Competition for the necessities of life is fierce. How ridiculous to believe that the law of harsh survival would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/life-on-earth-is-hard-competition-for-the-necessities-of-life-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [It's kind of a misnomer about science fiction that science fiction is about anything other than people. It's about people doing stuff, sometimes doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/it-s-kind-of-a-misnomer-about-science-fiction-that-science-fiction-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“Nature is a bitch goddess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/nature-is-a-bitch-goddess/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“The sorrow never dies; it is merely pearled by time. No”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/the-sorrow-never-dies-it-is-merely-pearled-by-time-no/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Sometimes I feel like a beetle crawling through a fusion power plant. I can feel a certain amount, see a certain amount, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/sometimes-i-feel-like-a-beetle-crawling-through-a-fusion-power-plant/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Welcome to the truth of our world-a massive seed shot out to the stars, filled with deadly children. A seed designed to slay everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/welcome-to-the-truth-of-our-world-a-massive-seed-shot-out-to-the/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Apocalypse could not be repealed by the democratic process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/apocalypse-could-not-be-repealed-by-the-democratic-process/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“BBQ Grills There are a number of gas grills which might be obtainable to the market. Grill professionals from different manufactures point out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/bbq-grills-there-are-a-number-of-gas-grills-which-might-be-obtainable/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“You seem to like helping, taking care of people," he said. "That is admirable." "You enjoy being nurtured?" "Well, that isn’t all you promise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/you-seem-to-like-helping-taking-care-of-people-he-said-that-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [For years, even before 9/11, I've been trying to warn that the threat from amateur biolabs will ultimately turn out to be far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/for-years-even-before-9-11-i-ve-been-trying-to-warn-that-the-threat/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Nothing is lost. Nothing is forgotten.It was in the blood, the flesh,And now it is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/nothing-is-lost-nothing-is-forgotten-it-was-in-the-blood-the-flesh/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [To fight an enemy properly, you have to know what they are. Ignorance is defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/to-fight-an-enemy-properly-you-have-to-know-what-they-are-ignorance/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [“the children were no longer fast gods, but pigeons in the head of a very quiet, dark bomb,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/the-children-were-no-longer-fast-gods-but-pigeons-in-the-head-of-a/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Once, poets were magicians. Poets were strong, stronger than warriors or kings — stronger than old hapless gods. And they will be strong once again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/once-poets-were-magicians-poets-were-strong-stronger-than-warriors-or/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) [Explore all 55 Greg Bear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) ## More Aloneness quotes > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence and aloneness with God, together as a community as well as personally;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/we-too-are-called-to-withdraw-at-certain-intervals-into-deeper/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“He knows that when she passes, a grief will rip through him unlike anything he has ever known. Preparing for it doesn't help. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/he-knows-that-when-she-passes-a-grief-will-rip-through-him-unlike/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [Sometimes you need to take a break from everyone and spend time alone, to experience, appreciate and love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-tew/sometimes-you-need-to-take-a-break-from-everyone-and-spend-time-alone/) [Robert Tew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-tew/) > [“It was as if I was in a picture, a flat canvas, and everything around me was flat, me painted on like everything else:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-relf/it-was-as-if-i-was-in-a-picture-a-flat-canvas-and-everything-around/) [Tim Relf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-relf/) > [“People would rather live in a community with unreasonable claims, than face loneliness with their truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/people-would-rather-live-in-a-community-with-unreasonable-claims-than/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [It is extraordinary how the house and the simplest possessions of someone who has been left become so quickly sordid. . . . Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/it-is-extraordinary-how-the-house-and-the-simplest-possessions-of/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“When she came home, she smelled the way I like. But . . . her face seemed sadder than when she left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/when-she-came-home-she-smelled-the-way-i-like-but-her-face-seemed/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [Become aware of your aloneness - which is a reality. And it is so beautiful to experience it, to feel it, because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/become-aware-of-your-aloneness-which-is-a-reality-and-it-is-so/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“You must learn one thing: the world was made to be free in. Give up all the other worlds except the one to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/you-must-learn-one-thing-the-world-was-made-to-be-free-in-give-up-all/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [We are all born and someday we'll all die. Most likely to some degree alone. Our aloneness in this world is, maybe not anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-corrie/we-are-all-born-and-someday-we-ll-all-die-most-likely-to-some-degree/) [Rachel Corrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-corrie/) > [“With the need for the self in the time of another / I left my seaport grim and dear / knowing good work could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/with-the-need-for-the-self-in-the-time-of-another-i-left-my-seaport/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [All good writing comes out of aloneness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/all-good-writing-comes-out-of-aloneness/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your own hand. Aloneness was the air in your tires, the wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/aloneness-was-like-riding-a-bike-at-gunpoint-with-the-gun-in-your-own/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Aloneness is not always the same thing as loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/aloneness-is-not-always-the-same-thing-as-loneliness/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) [Browse all 165 Aloneness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aloneness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The blade of grass was alone. Together, they were alone. They were alone together. The ground of the Realm was alone. The blade of grass was alone with the ground. Words flowed within him, arguments, changing shape and meaning, having no meaning. He gave them up only after a tremendous, jerking pain swept him. “I am in love with words,” Michael said. “They are my horse. I ride them, use them. But I can never kill them. Even if I cannot use words to get where I am going.” The realization of his dependence was enough. His aloneness suddenly became apparent, without words, truth, meaning or thought. The only way one can truly be alone is to be at one with everything, everybody... The entire universe, having only one voice. All the faces of creation, alone. Michael became aware of what he had been doing when he performed the small tricks the Crane Women had taught him. “To be alone is to be difficult to spot.” He could improve on that. “Aloneness means isolation from needs.” He could last indefinitely without food or water. “I only fight shadows. If I am alone, there is no enemy to fight.” And ultimately, no need to fight. “It is crazy to fight when you are alone.” He put down the blade of grass and looked up at the multitude of stars. Biri had helped him build this structure piece by piece, carefully. Now it began to collapse. 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