--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character forms a life regardless of how…" description: "\"Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from the stars.\" — James Hillman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png" --- # Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that… ![“Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from the stars.” quote by James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png) > “Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from the stars.” [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person’s character shapes their life, even if their existence is obscure and unnoticed. **In simple terms:** Character defines life, even unseen. Key Takeaway Focus on building character. Themes character existence obscurity Mood reflective serene Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal development - legacy building - quiet influence Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does character affect unseen lives? - Can quiet influence be meaningful? A Different Perspective Obscurity may limit impact despite strong character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Forms Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forms-life-331317/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lived/) [Life Regardless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-regardless-916396/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Obscurely Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurely-life-2277707/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [Of the rest some we know to be dead though they walk among us; some are not yet born though they go through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/of-the-rest-some-we-know-to-be-dead-though-they-walk-among-us-some/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/nothing-exists-for-itself-alone-but-only-in-relation-to-other-forms/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [No form of love is wrong, so long as it is love, and you yourself honour what you are doing. Love has an extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/no-form-of-love-is-wrong-so-long-as-it-is-love-and-you-yourself-2/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [What we're talking about is creating new forms of life on the basis of new values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/what-we-re-talking-about-is-creating-new-forms-of-life-on-the-basis/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [The occurrence of successive forms of life upon our globe is an historical fact, which cannot be disputed; and the relation of these successive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-occurrence-of-successive-forms-of-life-upon-our-globe-is-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The real question is not are there other forms of life in the universe, but are there other intelligent forms of life out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/the-real-question-is-not-are-there-other-forms-of-life-in-the/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [“The basic common denominator of all life is the urge to survive, and the survival of life on Planet Earth is achieved only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-anthony/the-basic-common-denominator-of-all-life-is-the-urge-to-survive-and/) [Lawrence Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-anthony/) > [We have the ability to choose, we are God's higher form of creation, we surpass all other forms of life and we don't use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/we-have-the-ability-to-choose-we-are-god-s-higher-form-of-creation-we/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/while-the-living-thing-may-easily-be-crushed-by-superior-force-it/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“So much of what happens by chance forms what becomes your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/so-much-of-what-happens-by-chance-forms-what-becomes-your-life/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [What has to be accepted, the given, is - so one could say - forms of life .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-has-to-be-accepted-the-given-is-so-one-could-say-forms-of-life/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [some we know to be dead even though they walk among us; some are not yet born though they go through all the forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/some-we-know-to-be-dead-even-though-they-walk-among-us-some-are-not/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“This much should be clear by now: the term 'renaissance' can only remain fruitful and demanding as long as it refers to a far-reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/this-much-should-be-clear-by-now-the-term-renaissance-can-only-remain/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [Few forms of life are so engaging as birds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/few-forms-of-life-are-so-engaging-as-birds/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The first and the most important thing is to know that life is one and immortal. Only the forms, countless in number, are transient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/the-first-and-the-most-important-thing-is-to-know-that-life-is-one/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) ## More by James Hillman > [“Each life is formed by its unique image, an image that is the essence of that life and calls it to a destiny. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/each-life-is-formed-by-its-unique-image-an-image-that-is-the-essence/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Fear is a huge thing for older people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/fear-is-a-huge-thing-for-older-people/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [It's a terrible cruelty of predatory capitalism: both parents now have to work. A family has to have two incomes in order to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/it-s-a-terrible-cruelty-of-predatory-capitalism-both-parents-now-have/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [You know, people come to therapy really for a blessing. Not so much to fix what's broken, but to get what's broken blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/you-know-people-come-to-therapy-really-for-a-blessing-not-so-much-to/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Until the culture recognizes the legitimacy of growing down, each person in the culture struggles blindly to make sense of the darkness that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/until-the-culture-recognizes-the-legitimacy-of-growing-down-each/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [ “The first way has been excellently presented by David Holt in his lecture on “Jung and Marx.” \[1\] There Holt shows that Jung imagined his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/the-first-way-has-been-excellently-presented-by-david-holt-in-his/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [I'm the result of upbringing, class, race, gender, social prejudices, and economics. So I'm a victim again. A result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/i-m-the-result-of-upbringing-class-race-gender-social-prejudices-and/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [There is more in a human life than our theories of it allow. Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/there-is-more-in-a-human-life-than-our-theories-of-it-allow-sooner-or/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Depression opens the door to beauty of some kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/depression-opens-the-door-to-beauty-of-some-kind/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [The idea of death robs inquiry of its passionate vitality and empties our efforts of their purpose by coming to one predestined conclusion, death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/the-idea-of-death-robs-inquiry-of-its-passionate-vitality-and-empties/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [I'm in favor of destruction, aggression, hating things. Not bearing things anymore. We think the breakdown comes because our life is in bad shape.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/i-m-in-favor-of-destruction-aggression-hating-things-not-bearing/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [In the past, friendship was a huge thing. But it's hard for us to think of friendship as a calling, because it's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/in-the-past-friendship-was-a-huge-thing-but-it-s-hard-for-us-to-think/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Psychotherapy theory turns it all on you: you are the one who is wrong. If a kid is having trouble or is discouraged, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/psychotherapy-theory-turns-it-all-on-you-you-are-the-one-who-is-wrong/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [The self divided is precisely where the self is authentically located. . . We all have identity crises because a single identity is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/the-self-divided-is-precisely-where-the-self-is-authentically-located/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Love alone is not enough. Without imagination, love stales into sentiment, duty, boredom. Relationships fail not because we have stopped loving but because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/love-alone-is-not-enough-without-imagination-love-stales-into/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) [Explore all 171 James Hillman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) [Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/) > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from the stars.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Hillman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how-obscurely-that-life-is-lived/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how-obscurely-that-life-is-lived/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/james-hillman-2336_astronomy_character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how_1831416.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Character forms a life regardless of how obscurely that life is lived and how little light falls on it from…” — James Hillman", "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": "James Hillman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Character forms a life regardless of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how-obscurely-that-life-is-lived/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/character-forms-a-life-regardless-of-how-obscurely-that-life-is-lived/#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 } } ] } ```