--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all return. It is this certainty that…" description: "\"We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to life and it does not make the slightest difference whether or not in a later incarnation we r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/gustav-mahler-9935_aspiration_we-all-return-it-is-this-certainty-that_842310.jpg" --- # We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to… ![“We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to life and it does not make the slightest difference whether or not in a later incarnation we remember the former life. What counts is not the individual and his comfort, but the great aspiration to the perfect and the pure which goes on in…” quote by Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/gustav-mahler-9935_aspiration_we-all-return-it-is-this-certainty-that_842310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/gustav-mahler-9935_aspiration_we-all-return-it-is-this-certainty-that_842310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/gustav-mahler-9935_aspiration_we-all-return-it-is-this-certainty-that_842310.jpg) > “We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to life and it does not make the slightest difference whether or not in a later incarnation we remember the former life. What counts is not the individual and his comfort, but the great aspiration to the perfect and the pure which goes on in each incarnation.” [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s meaning lies in the collective aspiration toward perfection across rebirths, not individual comfort. **In simple terms:** Purpose comes from striving for the ideal beyond self. Key Takeaway Seek higher purpose beyond personal comfort. Themes philosophy spirituality rebirth Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - ethical decision-making - long-term goal setting - mindfulness practice Key Concepts transcendence collective aspiration Questions to Reflect On - How does your daily life reflect a higher aspiration? - What does “perfection” mean to you? A Different Perspective Focus on personal comfort can distract from larger goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Former life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former-life/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Incarnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarnation/) [Incarnation Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarnation-remember-655843/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-life/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Reincarnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reincarnation/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-life/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) ## Related quotes > [Every incarnation that we remember must increase our comprehension of ourselves as who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/every-incarnation-that-we-remember-must-increase-our-comprehension-of/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [A man advanced in years that thinks fit to look back on his former life, and calls that only life which was passed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/a-man-advanced-in-years-that-thinks-fit-to-look-back-on-his-former/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > ['Perfect justice rules the world' for the Powers that are superior to us know the whole life of the Soul and all its' former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iamblichus/perfect-justice-rules-the-world-for-the-powers-that-are-superior-to/) [Iamblichus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iamblichus/) > [Zombies have no memories of their former life. You wont see the undead trying to wash windows or do your taxes. All they know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/zombies-have-no-memories-of-their-former-life-you-wont-see-the-undead/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [If your primary focus is to get over your health problems or get past a relationship crisis so that you can return to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-moss/if-your-primary-focus-is-to-get-over-your-health-problems-or-get-past/) [Richard Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-moss/) > [...the counsels of the Divine Mind had some glimpse of truth when they said that men are born in order to suffer the penalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-counsels-of-the-divine-mind-had-some-glimpse-of-truth-when-they/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The FA would remove him tomorrow if they had a spine, but clearly, in former lives, were cruel to jellyfish which is why they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-samuel/the-fa-would-remove-him-tomorrow-if-they-had-a-spine-but-clearly-in/) [Martin Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-samuel/) > [In my former life I was in insider, as much as anybody else. 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And I knew what it's like, and I still know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-my-former-life-i-was-in-insider-as-much-as-anybody-else-and-i-knew-2/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Life is very difficult. It seems right to me sometimes that we should follow our strongest feelings; but then such feelings continually come across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/life-is-very-difficult-it-seems-right-to-me-sometimes-that-we-should/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We haven't started playing it live yet but we're going to. And then 'Warpaint' is a song that's really, really close to me because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-wayman/we-haven-t-started-playing-it-live-yet-but-we-re-going-to-and-then/) [Theresa Wayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-wayman/) > [Through incarnations, some beings do go down. That is to say, they forget. The soul falls into an eclipse of itself and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/through-incarnations-some-beings-do-go-down-that-is-to-say-they/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More by Gustav Mahler > [It is always the same with me; only when I experience something do I compose, and only when composing do I experience! After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/it-is-always-the-same-with-me-only-when-i-experience-something-do-i/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [God can only be comprehended as Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/god-can-only-be-comprehended-as-love/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [All that is not perfect down to the smallest detail is doomed to perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/all-that-is-not-perfect-down-to-the-smallest-detail-is-doomed-to/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [A true personality . . . is like a robust organism that, with unconscious sureness, seeks out and digests the nourishment appropriate to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/a-true-personality-is-like-a-robust-organism-that-with-unconscious/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [My time will come, that is: after the finish of the recurring song cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/my-time-will-come-that-is-after-the-finish-of-the-recurring-song/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [Only when I experience do I compose - only when I compose do I experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/only-when-i-experience-do-i-compose-only-when-i-compose-do-i/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [I am thrice homeless, as a bohemian, as an Austrian, and all over the world, you guessed it right I am Jewish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/i-am-thrice-homeless-as-a-bohemian-as-an-austrian-and-all-over-the/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [I am thrice homeless, as a native of Bohemia in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans, and as a Jew throughout the world. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/i-am-thrice-homeless-as-a-native-of-bohemia-in-austria-as-an-austrian/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [It should be one’s sole endeavor to see everything afresh and create it anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/it-should-be-one-s-sole-endeavor-to-see-everything-afresh-and-create/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [It is easier to achieve a desired result in short pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/it-is-easier-to-achieve-a-desired-result-in-short-pieces/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [For the last month I have been a strict vegetarian. The moral effects of this regime are immense, owing to the voluntary subjugation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/for-the-last-month-i-have-been-a-strict-vegetarian-the-moral-effects/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [Both my marriages were failures! Number one departed, and number two stayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/both-my-marriages-were-failures-number-one-departed-and-number-two/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [I live like a Hottentot. I cannot exchange one sensible word with anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/i-live-like-a-hottentot-i-cannot-exchange-one-sensible-word-with/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [I beg of you... never assume an inner or an outer pose, never a disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/i-beg-of-you-never-assume-an-inner-or-an-outer-pose-never-a-disguise/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [Fortunately, something always remains to be harvested. So let us not be idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/fortunately-something-always-remains-to-be-harvested-so-let-us-not-be/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) [Explore all 69 Gustav Mahler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) ## More Aspiration quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Noise has taken the place of punk rock. People who play noise have no real aspirations to being part of the mainstream culture. Punk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/noise-has-taken-the-place-of-punk-rock-people-who-play-noise-have-no/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/our-task-today-is-to-bring-india-to-the-threshold-of-the-twenty-first/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [“Don't die without fulfilling your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-die-without-fulfilling-your-purpose/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Eschew evil and it's machinations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/eschew-evil-and-it-s-machinations/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-boys-know-what-tropism-is-it-s-what-makes-a-plant-grow-toward-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [The world of rumor and gossip is like a privileged world with which a social scientist or an anthropologist can take the temperature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-scott/the-world-of-rumor-and-gossip-is-like-a-privileged-world-with-which-a/) [James C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-scott/) > [“Don't let any situation intimidate you anymore, don't accept defeat anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/don-t-let-any-situation-intimidate-you-anymore-don-t-accept-defeat/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [The most important part of our lives-our sensations, emotions, desires, and aspirations-takes place in a universe of illusions which science can attenuate or destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/the-most-important-part-of-our-lives-our-sensations-emotions-desires/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) [Browse all 1,137 Aspiration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to life and it does not make the slightest difference whether or not in a later incarnation we remember the former life. 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