--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The heart that breaks open can contain…" description: "\"The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.\" — Joanna Macy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg" --- # The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe. ![“The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.” quote by Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg) > “The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.” [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that through deep emotional pain, one can access a vast, expansive sense of existence and possibility. **In simple terms:** Pain can open us to boundless possibilities. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability to expand awareness. Themes growth vulnerability expansion Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - creative writing - mindfulness practice - trauma healing Key Concepts existentialism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform personal suffering into broader understanding? - What practices help you stay grounded during emotional upheaval? A Different Perspective Pain alone does not guarantee insight; it may also overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Contain Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contain-universe-439292/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-breaks/) [Open Contain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-contain-6128481/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [“The heart tht breaks open can contain the whole universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-tht-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [You contain a universe inside yourself. There's no end to it - your conscious, your subconscious. There is no limit to what's inside you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-shulgin/you-contain-a-universe-inside-yourself-there-s-no-end-to-it-your/) [Ann Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-shulgin/) > [Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too, The world's heart breaks beneath its wars,All things are changed, save in the east,The faithful beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/years-go-dreams-go-and-youth-goes-too-the-world-s-heart-breaks/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [God is with the broken-hearted. When your heart breaks, it’s a good thing – the breaking of the heart is what opens it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-is-with-the-broken-hearted-when-your-heart-breaks-it-s-a-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. 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Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-sin/) > [I had a bad break up at university - you know, when your heart breaks for the very first time, and you think, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisling-bea/i-had-a-bad-break-up-at-university-you-know-when-your-heart-breaks/) [Aisling Bea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisling-bea/) > [“Because once you give your body to a guy, there's no taking it back. And once you've done that it opens up feelings, emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/because-once-you-give-your-body-to-a-guy-there-s-no-taking-it-back/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [“...between two rapid beats of my heart, someone else's breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-williams/between-two-rapid-beats-of-my-heart-someone-else-s-breaks/) [Sandy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-williams/) > [This goes out to someone that was Once the most important person in my life I didn't realize it at the time I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aviation/this-goes-out-to-someone-that-was-once-the-most-important-person-in/) [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aviation/) ## More by Joanna Macy > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [When you look at what is happening to our world-and it is hard to look at what's happening to our water, our air, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/when-you-look-at-what-is-happening-to-our-world-and-it-is-hard-to/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. 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Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/this-is-a-dark-time-filled-with-suffering-and-uncertainty-like-living/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Future generations, if there is a livable world for them, will look back at the epochal transition we are making to a life-sustaining society.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/future-generations-if-there-is-a-livable-world-for-them-will-look/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Because the relationship between self and world is reciprocal, it is not a matter of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/because-the-relationship-between-self-and-world-is-reciprocal-it-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [It’s walking the razor’s edge of the sacred moment where you don’t know, you can’t count on, and comfort yourself with any sure hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/it-s-walking-the-razor-s-edge-of-the-sacred-moment-where-you-don-t/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) [Explore all 44 Joanna Macy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) ## More Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) [Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanna Macy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/joanna-macy-15005_break_the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-t_3233765.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.” — Joanna Macy", "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": "Joanna Macy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The heart that breaks open can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe/#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 } } ] } ```