---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Catastrophe and desire are linked in our…"
description: "\"Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon is linked to that reflected light from the sun which enables the eye to see it.\" — Herbert Gold"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png"
---

#  Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon…

![“Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon is linked to that reflected light from the sun which enables the eye to see it.” quote by Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png)

> “Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon is linked to that reflected light from the sun which enables the eye to see it.”

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Desire and catastrophe are intertwined like moonlight and sunlight, both necessary for perception.

**In simple terms:** Desire and disaster together shape our view.

Key Takeaway

Embrace both joy and hardship for fuller insight.

Themes

philosophy existential dualism

Mood

reflective poetic

Type

existential literary

When to use this quote

- art
- therapy
- personal growth
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

contrast meaning-making human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- Can we find meaning without catastrophe?
- How does desire shape our perception of loss?

A Different Perspective

He may romanticize suffering as essential.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/)

## Related quotes

> [“Why not become the one Who lives with a full moon in each eye That is always saying, With that sweet moon Language What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/why-not-become-the-one-who-lives-with-a-full-moon-in-each-eye-that-is/)

[Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/)

> [The magic will which makes us see the other side of our natures-dream and disaster, catastrophe and fulfillment-is the great permanent challenge of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-magic-will-which-makes-us-see-the-other-side-of-our-natures-dream/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Direct interference in a person's life does not enter our scope of activity, nor, on the other, tralatitiously speaking, hand, is his destiny a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/direct-interference-in-a-person-s-life-does-not-enter-our-scope-of/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [Barium, which is commonly found in power plant waste and scrubber wastewater, has been linked to heart problems and diseases in other organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/barium-which-is-commonly-found-in-power-plant-waste-and-scrubber/)

[Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/)

> [Terrorists are linked to money laundering, dirty money, drug dealing, arms trafficking. We have to ask ourselves, where do terrorists get their weapons from?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/terrorists-are-linked-to-money-laundering-dirty-money-drug-dealing/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [All the different classes of beings which taken together make up the universe are, in the ideas of God who knows distinctly their essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/all-the-different-classes-of-beings-which-taken-together-make-up-the/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [It is axiomatic that the security of America and Europe are linked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/it-is-axiomatic-that-the-security-of-america-and-europe-are-linked/)

[Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/)

> [Increased physical activity during the school day can help children's attention, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores. Meanwhile, the decline of play is closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/increased-physical-activity-during-the-school-day-can-help-children-s/)

[Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/)

> [Amazing things happen when you pull individual pieces of information together into larger linked datasets: meaning emerges, as you produce facts from figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/amazing-things-happen-when-you-pull-individual-pieces-of-information/)

[Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/)

> [My creativity and my political work are linked. I don't do this work out of guilt or out of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-near/my-creativity-and-my-political-work-are-linked-i-don-t-do-this-work/)

[Holly Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-near/)

> [Our individual fates are linked our futures intertwined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/our-individual-fates-are-linked-our-futures-intertwined/)

[Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/)

> [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/)

[Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/)

> [In Washington, the public and the private intertwine in such a way that they can't be easily separated. This is the city where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/in-washington-the-public-and-the-private-intertwine-in-such-a-way/)

[Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/)

> [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

## More by Herbert Gold

> [To construct a proper privacy, making it a privilege rather than a burden, we first need to construct a community-love, family, politics, art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/to-construct-a-proper-privacy-making-it-a-privilege-rather-than-a/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [He carried his childhood like a hurt warm bird held to his middle-aged breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/he-carried-his-childhood-like-a-hurt-warm-bird-held-to-his-middle/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Sometimes he advertises himself assiduously, writing a few words and then rushing to the talk show to wave his flag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/sometimes-he-advertises-himself-assiduously-writing-a-few-words-and/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Literature boils with the madcap careers of writers brought to the edge by the demands of living on their nerves, wringing out their memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/literature-boils-with-the-madcap-careers-of-writers-brought-to-the/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Conformity is inevitable when folks huddle together in rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/conformity-is-inevitable-when-folks-huddle-together-in-rebellion/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [With short stories, the story-teller must have a story to tell, not merely some sweet prose to take out for a walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/with-short-stories-the-story-teller-must-have-a-story-to-tell-not/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to do with it-insist on something different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-young-know-what-to-do-with-it/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [The fact that all of us die anyway (the rumor turns out to be true) is a mere detail in the celestial glow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-fact-that-all-of-us-die-anyway-the-rumor-turns-out-to-be-true-is/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [The magic will which makes us see the other side of our natures-dream and disaster, catastrophe and fulfillment-is the great permanent challenge of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-magic-will-which-makes-us-see-the-other-side-of-our-natures-dream/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Diverting the internal traffic between the Writer as Angel of Light and the Writer as Hustler is that scribbling child in a grown-up body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/diverting-the-internal-traffic-between-the-writer-as-angel-of-light/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [I always ask young writers, 'Are you certain you want to be a writer? If you're absolutely sure, then do it.' If you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/i-always-ask-young-writers-are-you-certain-you-want-to-be-a-writer-if/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [Isolation from power makes men look for a mob in which they can be strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/isolation-from-power-makes-men-look-for-a-mob-in-which-they-can-be/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [The would-bees take their honey from the flowers of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-would-bees-take-their-honey-from-the-flowers-of-creation/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [If mankind is naturally good, he is sure going against his nature more and more of the time. It sounds like a bad joke:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/if-mankind-is-naturally-good-he-is-sure-going-against-his-nature-more/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

> [The steady pressure to consume, absorb, participate, receive, by eye, ear, mouth, and mail involves a cruelty to intestines, blood pressure, and psyche unparalleled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-steady-pressure-to-consume-absorb-participate-receive-by-eye-ear/)

[Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

[Explore all 17 Herbert Gold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/)

## More Catastrophe quotes

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [“..the sense of a catastrophe perpetually invoked and avoided creates a rapture in whose depths horror and pleasure coincide...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/the-sense-of-a-catastrophe-perpetually-invoked-and-avoided-creates-a/)

[Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/)

> [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/)

[Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/)

> [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/)

[Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/)

> [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/)

[David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/)

> [“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/war-is-catastrophe-it-breaks-families-in-irretrievable-pieces-but/)

[Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/)

> [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/)

[Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/)

> [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [When the regime changed in Japan, the Japanese changed; Russians too can change, as long as the conditions for it are present once again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/when-the-regime-changed-in-japan-the-japanese-changed-russians-too/)

[Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/)

> [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/)

[Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/)

> [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/)

[John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/)

[Browse all 656 Catastrophe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon is linked to that reflected light from the sun which enables the eye to see it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Herbert Gold"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our-lives-as-the-moon-is-linked/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Catastrophe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our-lives-as-the-moon-is-linked/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/herbert-gold-30296_catastrophe_catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our_2632890.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Catastrophe and desire are linked in our lives as the moon is linked to that reflected light from the sun…” — Herbert Gold",
                "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": "Herbert Gold",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Catastrophe and desire are linked in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our-lives-as-the-moon-is-linked/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/catastrophe-and-desire-are-linked-in-our-lives-as-the-moon-is-linked/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
