--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Immensity is always there, but we so…" description: "\"Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's large. Step into t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png" --- # Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to… ![“Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's large. Step into the ocean or walk on Mount Tamalpais, and that kind of amnesia and self-centeredness isn't possible. Enter the natural world at all, you see…” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png) > “Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's large. Step into the ocean or walk on Mount Tamalpais, and that kind of amnesia and self-centeredness isn't possible. Enter the natural world at all, you see existence emerge, ripen, fall and continue, and you can't help but feel more tender towards self and others. That summoning into the large and the shared is what poems exist also to do.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing the vastness of nature counters self‑absorption, fostering empathy and humility. **In simple terms:** Nature reminds us we are part of something larger. Key Takeaway Seek connection with the natural world. Themes empathy humility nature poetry self‑awareness Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - hiking - meditation - creative writing - community service Key Concepts interconnectedness transcendence environmental consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does time in nature change your view of yourself? - What practices bring you a sense of shared existence? A Different Perspective Nature can be inaccessible for some, limiting the experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesia/) [Centeredness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centeredness/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Immensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensity/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) [Numb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numb/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self centeredness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-centeredness/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In my poems though, as you say, the comic arrived fairly late. This doubtless has something to do with growing older. A person who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-my-poems-though-as-you-say-the-comic-arrived-fairly-late-this/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [“I tell them that we can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved. We must decide. If we choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-doyle-melton/i-tell-them-that-we-can-choose-to-be-perfect-and-admired-or-to-be/) [Glennon Doyle Melton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-doyle-melton/) > [It matters, it matters very much, what each of us chooses to do. The journey toward self-discovery and self-knowledge is not only life's highest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/it-matters-it-matters-very-much-what-each-of-us-chooses-to-do-the/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [I think that may be the biggest difference between Americans and people elsewhere. Unlike Americans, Canadians know that there are places just as real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/i-think-that-may-be-the-biggest-difference-between-americans-and/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [We are unlikely to cease making gods or inventing ceremonies to please them for as long as we are afraid of death, or of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-are-unlikely-to-cease-making-gods-or-inventing-ceremonies-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I have no self-centeredness or ego about being a movie star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahrukh-khan/i-have-no-self-centeredness-or-ego-about-being-a-movie-star/) [Shahrukh Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahrukh-khan/) > [The whole story of the Father's Christ-exalting plan of redeeming love, from eternity to eternity, must be told, or the radical reorientation of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/the-whole-story-of-the-father-s-christ-exalting-plan-of-redeeming/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Insecure leaders think everything is about them, and as a result, every action, every piece of information, every decision is put through their filter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/insecure-leaders-think-everything-is-about-them-and-as-a-result-every/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Human cultures are all experiments in trying to find a form that will fit the matter of our immediacy; but it is absolutely not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/human-cultures-are-all-experiments-in-trying-to-find-a-form-that-will/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [To be politically activated is to dare to care about the happiness of others and that is just about the most important activity anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/to-be-politically-activated-is-to-dare-to-care-about-the-happiness-of/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [Self-centeredness will bring on the destruction of our world. National pride separates people. All people need the same thing. When you really get down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/self-centeredness-will-bring-on-the-destruction-of-our-world-national/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [I think we've become a TV culture, where we forget the live performer in front of us can see us. I think there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-benanti/i-think-we-ve-become-a-tv-culture-where-we-forget-the-live-performer/) [Laura Benanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-benanti/) > [Raising or caring for children requires sacrifice and service, which, I believe, heals us from the destructive forces of self-centeredness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/raising-or-caring-for-children-requires-sacrifice-and-service-which-i/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [We must get away from this limited \*I did this and I did that\* and the self-centeredness, that dominates our society Today. It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-must-get-away-from-this-limited-i-did-this-and-i-did-that-and-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [So much of the world's suffering results from the sinful action or inaction of ourselves and others. For example, people look at a famine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/so-much-of-the-world-s-suffering-results-from-the-sinful-action-or/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some unnoticed moment, I began to understand that a life is written in indelible ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-unnoticed-moment-i-began-to-understand-that-a-life-is-written/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Amnesia quotes > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“I never thought I'd get a second chance at a first time with you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-andrews/i-never-thought-i-d-get-a-second-chance-at-a-first-time-with-you/) [Amy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-andrews/) > [“It’s a cool morning, raining out, and you’re a thirty-eight-year-old woman who can’t remember a thing about her life. A strange amnesia, one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-nicholson/it-s-a-cool-morning-raining-out-and-you-re-a-thirty-eight-year-old/) [Hope Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-nicholson/) > [“The Bible is clear: amnesia produces apostasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ralph-davis/the-bible-is-clear-amnesia-produces-apostasy/) Dale Ralph Davis > [I Wish I Can Have Amnesia When It Comes To Some Of My Ex's I've Been With](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-payne/i-wish-i-can-have-amnesia-when-it-comes-to-some-of-my-ex-s-i-ve-been/) Thomas Payne > [It would never occur to me to map my research against events in my life, and the recent history of globalization seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keller-easterling/it-would-never-occur-to-me-to-map-my-research-against-events-in-my/) [Keller Easterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keller-easterling/) > [“Details can change or go missing entirely, particularly in moments of physical peril. A kind of amnesia goes hand in hand with sickness, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/details-can-change-or-go-missing-entirely-particularly-in-moments-of/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [& everytime I see her I sees ya, got you runnin' through my mind , jog my memories amnesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/everytime-i-see-her-i-sees-ya-got-you-runnin-through-my-mind-jog-my/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Sometimes people who want to understand Haiti from a political perspective may be missing part of the picture. They also need to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/sometimes-people-who-want-to-understand-haiti-from-a-political/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Call me crazy, but there is something terribly wrong with this city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-reese-maher/call-me-crazy-but-there-is-something-terribly-wrong-with-this-city/) [Nathan Reese Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-reese-maher/) > [“He found her utterly fascinating, a nameless, homeless, naked vampire, sleeping away the day in his bed, wanted by state and federal police.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-luedke/he-found-her-utterly-fascinating-a-nameless-homeless-naked-vampire/) [Travis Luedke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-luedke/) > [We are the United States of Amnesia, which is encouraged by a media that has no desire to tell us the truth about anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-are-the-united-states-of-amnesia-which-is-encouraged-by-a-media/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I'm helpless in post-round, hole-by-hole interviews. I can't take you through most of the holes of winning the Players Championship, the U.S. Amateur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-kuchar/i-m-helpless-in-post-round-hole-by-hole-interviews-i-can-t-take-you/) [Matt Kuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-kuchar/) [Browse all 248 Amnesia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's large. Step into the ocean or walk on Mount Tamalpais, and that kind of amnesia and self-centeredness isn't possible. Enter the natural world at all, you see existence emerge, ripen, fall and continue, and you can't help but feel more tender towards self and others. That summoning into the large and the shared is what poems exist also to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Hirshfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amnesia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jane-hirshfield-2649_amnesia_immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-ofte_460061.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own…” — Jane Hirshfield", "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": "Jane Hirshfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Immensity is always there, but we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/#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 } } ] } ```