--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As before, there is a great silence, with…" description: "\"As before, there is a great silence, with no end in sight. The writer surrenders, listening.\" — Jayne Anne Phillips" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/jayne-anne-phillips-20315_ends_as-before-there-is-a-great-silence-with_2610041.jpg" --- # As before, there is a great silence, with no end in sight… ![“As before, there is a great silence, with no end in sight. The writer surrenders, listening.” quote by Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/jayne-anne-phillips-20315_ends_as-before-there-is-a-great-silence-with_2610041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/jayne-anne-phillips-20315_ends_as-before-there-is-a-great-silence-with_2610041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/jayne-anne-phillips-20315_ends_as-before-there-is-a-great-silence-with_2610041.jpg) > “As before, there is a great silence, with no end in sight. The writer surrenders, listening.” [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer embraces silence, listening deeply, allowing the unknown to unfold without expectation. **In simple terms:** Listening in silence opens space for truth. Key Takeaway Embrace silence, listen fully. Themes silence listening creativity Mood contemplative quiet Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - writing - meditation - creative block - spiritual practice Key Concepts mindfulness presence acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How does silence shape your inner voice? - What does listening reveal about yourself? A Different Perspective Silence can become oppressive if not balanced with expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love or hatred calls for self-surrender. He cuts a fine figure, the warm-blooded, prosperous man, solidly entrenched in his well-being, who one fine day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/love-or-hatred-calls-for-self-surrender-he-cuts-a-fine-figure-the/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [America never formally surrenders, so we have to call surrender something else. In Vietnam, we called it Vietnamization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/america-never-formally-surrenders-so-we-have-to-call-surrender/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [“And if anyone asks, you don't know where Michael and I are." There was a moment of silence on the other end. "I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myra-mcentire/and-if-anyone-asks-you-don-t-know-where-michael-and-i-are-there-was-a/) [Myra McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myra-mcentire/) > [“The word is the beginning and silence the end. Between word and silence, we exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viorel-muha/the-word-is-the-beginning-and-silence-the-end-between-word-and/) [Viorel Muha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viorel-muha/) > [“Music comes out of silence and at the end it goes back to it. It's a journey. You see?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/music-comes-out-of-silence-and-at-the-end-it-goes-back-to-it-it-s-a/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“I AM THE SILENCE AT THE END OF THE SONG!" "Could you give me the 'dumb forest creature' version, maybe?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-chartrand/i-am-the-silence-at-the-end-of-the-song-could-you-give-me-the-dumb/) Nicole Chartrand > [“Another beat of silence on my end. If you wanted to win a negotiation, rule number one was to talk less. Show minimal interest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-shen/another-beat-of-silence-on-my-end-if-you-wanted-to-win-a-negotiation/) [L.J. Shen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-shen/) > [“The silence. End of all poetry, all romances. Earlier, frightened, you began to have some intimation of it: so many pages had been turned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-samatar/the-silence-end-of-all-poetry-all-romances-earlier-frightened-you/) [Sofia Samatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-samatar/) > [Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-soul-must-meet-the-morning-sun-the-new-sweet-earth-and-the-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a great space in which this moment takes place. There's a great silence that is listening to the thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/there-s-a-great-space-in-which-this-moment-takes-place-there-s-a/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [The Medicine Man, taking his music with him, is passing quietly into the Great Silence, where the old songs were "Received in Dreams" by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-densmore/the-medicine-man-taking-his-music-with-him-is-passing-quietly-into/) [Frances Densmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-densmore/) > [“Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great stillness because the King is asleep. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liturgy-of-the-hours/today-a-great-silence-reigns-on-earth-a-great-silence-and-a-great/) Liturgy of the Hours > [She would sit by herself in the middle of the old stoe amphitheatre, with the sky's starry vault overhead, and simply listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/she-would-sit-by-herself-in-the-middle-of-the-old-stoe-amphitheatre/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [Souls of prayer are souls of great silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/souls-of-prayer-are-souls-of-great-silence/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## More by Jayne Anne Phillips > [Then he's inside you, and your body remembers, each time, every man, even if you try to forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/then-he-s-inside-you-and-your-body-remembers-each-time-every-man-even/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I write line by line, by the sound and the weight and the music of the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-write-line-by-line-by-the-sound-and-the-weight-and-the-music-of-the/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I don't do much rewriting, because each paragraph is very carefully put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-don-t-do-much-rewriting-because-each-paragraph-is-very-carefully/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [Literature can teach us how to live before we live, and how to die before we die. I believe that writing is practice for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/literature-can-teach-us-how-to-live-before-we-live-and-how-to-die/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [Smoke veils the air like souls in drifting suspension, declining the war's insistence everyone move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/smoke-veils-the-air-like-souls-in-drifting-suspension-declining-the/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I think we really forget how connected we are to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-think-we-really-forget-how-connected-we-are-to-the-past/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [If all stories are fiction, fiction can be true -- not in detail or fact, but in some transformed version of feeling. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/if-all-stories-are-fiction-fiction-can-be-true-not-in-detail-or-fact/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [“The ragged cat drags its belly across where the grass is short and the stones are sharp, under the lilacs that have no flowers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/the-ragged-cat-drags-its-belly-across-where-the-grass-is-short-and/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [That whole business of having two homes, and that divided loyalty bind that kids get into. I mean, my parents were divorced - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/that-whole-business-of-having-two-homes-and-that-divided-loyalty-bind/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I wish I had more time to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-wish-i-had-more-time-to-write/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I work via the high-tension-wire method, which is maybe going for long periods without writing while the tension builds up - when am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-work-via-the-high-tension-wire-method-which-is-maybe-going-for-long/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I don't investigate things by writing about them, but let them build up inside of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-don-t-investigate-things-by-writing-about-them-but-let-them-build/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I don't outline; I listen to a kind of whisper inside the material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-don-t-outline-i-listen-to-a-kind-of-whisper-inside-the-material/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [If death is this brilliant slide, this high, fine music felt as pure vibration, this plunging float in wind and silence, it's not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/if-death-is-this-brilliant-slide-this-high-fine-music-felt-as-pure/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [I don't write a novel every two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/i-don-t-write-a-novel-every-two-years/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) [Explore all 31 Jayne Anne Phillips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) ## More Ends quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) Browse all 20,790 Ends quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As before, there is a great silence, with no end in sight. 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