--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no amount of darkness that can…" description: "\"There is no amount of darkness that can extinguish the inner light. The important thing is not to spend our lives trying to control the environment aro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/joan-d-chittister-2635_amount_there-is-no-amount-of-darkness-that-can_2138546.png" --- # There is no amount of darkness that can extinguish the… ![“There is no amount of darkness that can extinguish the inner light. The important thing is not to spend our lives trying to control the environment around us. The task is to control the environment within us.” quote by Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/joan-d-chittister-2635_amount_there-is-no-amount-of-darkness-that-can_2138546.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/joan-d-chittister-2635_amount_there-is-no-amount-of-darkness-that-can_2138546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/joan-d-chittister-2635_amount_there-is-no-amount-of-darkness-that-can_2138546.png) > “There is no amount of darkness that can extinguish the inner light. The important thing is not to spend our lives trying to control the environment around us. The task is to control the environment within us.” [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inner light persists despite external darkness; true control comes from mastering inner thoughts and emotions, not external circumstances **In simple terms:** Control yourself, not the world Key Takeaway Cultivate inner resilience Themes spirituality psychology self‑mastery resilience mindset Mood hopeful inspirational Type spiritual self‑help When to use this quote - therapy - personal development - mindfulness practice Key Concepts Inner light self‑regulation inner peace Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between internal and external control? - What habits strengthen inner light? A Different Perspective Neglecting external factors can lead to isolation or denial of real challenges ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Extinguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-extinguish-567224/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Inner light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-light/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-important-971669/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [No degree of worldly darkness can extinguish the glow of a soul's inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/no-degree-of-worldly-darkness-can-extinguish-the-glow-of-a-soul-s/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [The time we spend together was just a flash of light and important part of my life too because that few seconds brightness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhisek-thapa/the-time-we-spend-together-was-just-a-flash-of-light-and-important/) [Abhisek Thapa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhisek-thapa/) > [Light is the most important person in the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/light-is-the-most-important-person-in-the-picture/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [In all my works, light is an important controlling factor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/in-all-my-works-light-is-an-important-controlling-factor/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [Light is more important than the lantern, The poem more important than the notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nizar-qabbani/light-is-more-important-than-the-lantern-the-poem-more-important-than/) [Nizar Qabbani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nizar-qabbani/) > [Playing with light is something that is very important, especially when you want cinematography in your game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cage/playing-with-light-is-something-that-is-very-important-especially/) [David Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cage/) > [Light is important to us humans. It influences our moods, our perceptions, our energy levels. A face glimpsed among trees, dappled by the shadows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/light-is-important-to-us-humans-it-influences-our-moods-our/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [Light is one of the most important factors in photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-gilpin/light-is-one-of-the-most-important-factors-in-photography/) [Laura Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-gilpin/) > [He that succeeds makes an important thing of the immediate task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/he-that-succeeds-makes-an-important-thing-of-the-immediate-task/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [Modern statisticians are familiar with the notion that any finite body of data contains only a limited amount of information on any point under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/modern-statisticians-are-familiar-with-the-notion-that-any-finite/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [I think the reason I like making movies sometimes more than doing TV is that you have one task, you only have a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-slate/i-think-the-reason-i-like-making-movies-sometimes-more-than-doing-tv/) [Jenny Slate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-slate/) > [The teacher's task is not a small easy one! She has to prepare a huge amount of knowledge to satisfy the child's mental hunger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-teacher-s-task-is-not-a-small-easy-one-she-has-to-prepare-a-huge/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Enlightenment is the inner light of wisdom that is permanently free from all mistaken appearance, and whose function is to bestow mental peace upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/enlightenment-is-the-inner-light-of-wisdom-that-is-permanently-free/) [Geshe Kelsang Gyatso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/) > [Being stylish is about enjoying your life and expressing yourself and your inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/being-stylish-is-about-enjoying-your-life-and-expressing-yourself-and/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) ## More by Joan D. Chittister > [A hard heart makes for hard judgments; a compassionate heart understands the humanity of the one we presume to judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/a-hard-heart-makes-for-hard-judgments-a-compassionate-heart/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [To be enlightened is to know that heaven is not "coming." Heaven is here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/to-be-enlightened-is-to-know-that-heaven-is-not-coming-heaven-is-here/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [We don't change as we get older - we just get to be more of what we've always been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-don-t-change-as-we-get-older-we-just-get-to-be-more-of-what-we-ve/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [We may well be the ones Proverbs warns when it reminds us: "Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-may-well-be-the-ones-proverbs-warns-when-it-reminds-us-kings-take/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Today we live in a world that judges its achievements by speed and busyness. Â… We are so busy making things happen that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/today-we-live-in-a-world-that-judges-its-achievements-by-speed-and/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [My limitations make space for the gifts of other people. Without the grace of our limitations we would be isolated, dry, and insufferable creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/my-limitations-make-space-for-the-gifts-of-other-people-without-the/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Humility is authenticity. It comes from the Latin word humus, meaning "earth." As the church has taught, we're made of dust, and unto dust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/humility-is-authenticity-it-comes-from-the-latin-word-humus-meaning/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate to human community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/compassion-makes-no-distinction-between-friends-and-enemies-neighbors/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Prophets are so dangerous because they cry in season and out of season, politely and impolitely, loud and long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/prophets-are-so-dangerous-because-they-cry-in-season-and-out-of/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“We don't change as we get older - we just get to be ore of what we've always been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-don-t-change-as-we-get-older-we-just-get-to-be-ore-of-what-we-ve/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“What happens to the spiritual life of a young girl who is made to understand, consciously or subconsciously, that she has no place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/what-happens-to-the-spiritual-life-of-a-young-girl-who-is-made-to/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Old age tells us that we ourselves have failed often, have never really done anything completely right, have never truly been perfect - anad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/old-age-tells-us-that-we-ourselves-have-failed-often-have-never/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [But we are here to depart from this world as finished as we can possibly become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/but-we-are-here-to-depart-from-this-world-as-finished-as-we-can/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“Whatever happens to the body, what toll age takes on the physical, the spirit does not grow old. In our dreams, in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/whatever-happens-to-the-body-what-toll-age-takes-on-the-physical-the/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Two ideas militate against our consciously contributing to a better world. The idea that we can do everything or the conclusion that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/two-ideas-militate-against-our-consciously-contributing-to-a-better/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) [Explore all 156 Joan D. Chittister quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) ## More Amount quotes > [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/) > [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 human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. 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