--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we climb high enough, we will reach a…" description: "\"If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which tragedy ceases to look tragic.\" — Irvin D. Yalom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/irvin-d-yalom-1519_climb_if-we-climb-high-enough-we-will-reach-a_2860052.png" --- # If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which… ![“If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which tragedy ceases to look tragic.” quote by Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/irvin-d-yalom-1519_climb_if-we-climb-high-enough-we-will-reach-a_2860052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/irvin-d-yalom-1519_climb_if-we-climb-high-enough-we-will-reach-a_2860052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/irvin-d-yalom-1519_climb_if-we-climb-high-enough-we-will-reach-a_2860052.png) > “If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which tragedy ceases to look tragic.” [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rising above tragedy changes perception, making suffering seem less overwhelming. **In simple terms:** Climbing high makes sorrow seem smaller. Key Takeaway Seek growth to lessen pain. Themes growth perspective tragedy Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal crises - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What heights have you reached that changed your view of loss? - Can perspective alone heal deep grief? A Different Perspective Perspective shift may not eliminate pain, only reframe it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) ## Related quotes > [Not to climb the high places lonely, but to climb there all together, to rise en masse! This is the way!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/not-to-climb-the-high-places-lonely-but-to-climb-there-all-together/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Can you climb high enough to get above the clouds, look down on the rain from a place in the sun?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/can-you-climb-high-enough-to-get-above-the-clouds-look-down-on-the/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [If we climb this high I swear we'll never die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-climb-this-high-i-swear-we-ll-never-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ambitious climb high and perilous stairs, and never care how to come down; the desire of rising hath swallowed up their fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-adams/the-ambitious-climb-high-and-perilous-stairs-and-never-care-how-to/) [Thomas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-adams/) > [Personally, I would rather climb in the high mountains. I have always abhorred the tremendous heat, the dirt-filled cracks, the ant-covered foul-smelling trees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/personally-i-would-rather-climb-in-the-high-mountains-i-have-always/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Tonight you should reach a height where the sky wont catch you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/tonight-you-should-reach-a-height-where-the-sky-wont-catch-you/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [Determination is when fake friends and haters says you can't reach the height you deserves but you still manage to get there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kings/determination-is-when-fake-friends-and-haters-says-you-can-t-reach/) [Chris Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kings/) > [I see, but cannot reach, the height That lies forever in the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/i-see-but-cannot-reach-the-height-that-lies-forever-in-the-light/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Those who, relying upon themselves only, not looking for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who will reach the top-most height.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/those-who-relying-upon-themselves-only-not-looking-for-assistance-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [When I was a kid I used to tell myself the moon was a silver gong and if I could climb high enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-tell-myself-the-moon-was-a-silver-gong-and/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [You know what I'd really like to do the most right now? Climb up to the top of some high place like the pyramids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-know-what-i-d-really-like-to-do-the-most-right-now-climb-up-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [You can climb too high for your own good. Linger too long at high altitudes and your hearing dulls and your eyesight dims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/you-can-climb-too-high-for-your-own-good-linger-too-long-at-high/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Follow in the footsteps of your fathers' virtue! How could you hope to climb high unless your fathers' will climbs with you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/follow-in-the-footsteps-of-your-fathers-virtue-how-could-you-hope-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The ladder of success is there waiting for you... you just have to realize it and reach towards and climb as high as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noor-ahmad/the-ladder-of-success-is-there-waiting-for-you-you-just-have-to/) Noor Ahmad > [“climb high, sleep low”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-smith/climb-high-sleep-low/) [Roland Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-smith/) ## More by Irvin D. Yalom > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Beginning therapists must learn that there are times to sit in silence, sometimes in silent communion, sometimes simply while waiting for patients' thoughts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/beginning-therapists-must-learn-that-there-are-times-to-sit-in/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [If one is to learn to live with the dead, one must first learn to live with the living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/if-one-is-to-learn-to-live-with-the-dead-one-must-first-learn-to-live/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Exactly. We know that the great Goethe carried a copy of Spinoza’s Ethics in his pocket for a year. Imagine that—an entire year! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/exactly-we-know-that-the-great-goethe-carried-a-copy-of-spinoza-s/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Hope is the worst of evils because it protracts torment.” “Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/hope-is-the-worst-of-evils-because-it-protracts-torment-your/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Indeed, the capacity to tolerate uncertainty is a prerequisite for the profession. Though the public may believe that therapists guide patients systematically and sure-handedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/indeed-the-capacity-to-tolerate-uncertainty-is-a-prerequisite-for-the/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Rollo May quipped that anxiety about nothing tries to become anxiety about something. In other words, anxiety about nothingness quickly attaches itself to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/rollo-may-quipped-that-anxiety-about-nothing-tries-to-become-anxiety/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“I often urge patients to project themselves into the future and to consider how they can live now so that five years hence they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-often-urge-patients-to-project-themselves-into-the-future-and-to/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When people don't have any curiosity about themselves, that is always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/when-people-don-t-have-any-curiosity-about-themselves-that-is-always/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) [Explore all 184 Irvin D. Yalom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## More Climb quotes > [Normally, it's more efficient to climb fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ondra/normally-it-s-more-efficient-to-climb-fast/) [Adam Ondra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ondra/) > [Our ape legs make us great generalists - we can walk, run and climb. But when you try to do too many things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/our-ape-legs-make-us-great-generalists-we-can-walk-run-and-climb-but/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Sometimes you climb the mountain, and you fall and fail. Maybe there is a different path that will take you up. Sometimes a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/sometimes-you-climb-the-mountain-and-you-fall-and-fail-maybe-there-is/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [The bumps are what you climb on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/the-bumps-are-what-you-climb-on/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Some day I'm going to climb Everest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/some-day-i-m-going-to-climb-everest/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [A part of me will always be unflyable, stuck in the climb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/a-part-of-me-will-always-be-unflyable-stuck-in-the-climb/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [Face your fears or they will climb over your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/face-your-fears-or-they-will-climb-over-your-back/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [It is sometimes a mistake to climb. It is always a mistake never even to make the attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-sometimes-a-mistake-to-climb-it-is-always-a-mistake-never-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to climb a mountain before you can enjoy the view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/you-have-to-climb-a-mountain-before-you-can-enjoy-the-view/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Where I'm is one of those stair climbing machines the agent has installed. You climb and climb forever and never get off the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/where-i-m-is-one-of-those-stair-climbing-machines-the-agent-has/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“There are points in your life where you find yourself going nowhere reaching nowhere, standing nowhere. You feel yourself a mess occupied in nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aquib-ali/there-are-points-in-your-life-where-you-find-yourself-going-nowhere/) [Aquib Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aquib-ali/) > [“Don't be afraid to start at the bottom of the ladder. And have the courage to climb to the top.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-hr-rosenthal/don-t-be-afraid-to-start-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-and-have-the/) Levi HR Rosenthal > [Dude, I just watched you climb up a f\*cking building!-Lace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/dude-i-just-watched-you-climb-up-a-f-cking-building-lace/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) Browse all 797 Climb quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we climb high enough, we will reach a height from which tragedy ceases to look tragic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irvin D. 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