--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: and because what we learn in the dark…" description: "\"and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale knowledge, you'll come to yourself in a gl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg" --- # and because what we learn in the dark remains all our… ![“and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale knowledge, you'll come to yourself in a glimmer of rainfall or frost, the burnt smell of autumn, a meeting of parallel lines, and know you were someone else for the longest time, pretending…” quote by John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg) > “and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale knowledge, you'll come to yourself in a glimmer of rainfall or frost, the burnt smell of autumn, a meeting of parallel lines, and know you were someone else for the longest time, pretending you knew where you were, like a diffident tourist, lost on the one main square, and afraid to enquire.” [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning in darkness shapes lifelong perception, using natural metaphors to illustrate self-discovery amid uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Dark learning shapes us; nature metaphors reveal self. Key Takeaway Seek insight through unexpected, dark experiences. Themes self-discovery learning nature uncertainty identity Mood reflective poetic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal growth - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts Metaphorical reflection psychology of learning Questions to Reflect On - What hidden lessons have darkness revealed for you? - How do you navigate uncertainty? A Different Perspective Darkness can obscure clarity if not reflected upon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frost/) [Learn Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-dark-1153489/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noise/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Pale Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale-knowledge-4789771/) [Parallel lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parallel-lines/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) [Pretending Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending-knew-4789770/) [Rainfall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainfall/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Smell Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-autumn-3205686/) [Squares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squares/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tourists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourists/) ## Related quotes > [“Mary Walker rolled down her window, hoping the fresh October air would enliven her. 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How she loved the smell of road:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/the-night-was-aromatic-with-the-smell-of-autumn-and-the-steely/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [“If there is something, though, if there is...well, I believe in the things I love...the feel of a good horse under me, the blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/if-there-is-something-though-if-there-is-well-i-believe-in-the-things/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Light will blind us in time, but what we learn in the dark can see us through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/light-will-blind-us-in-time-but-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-can-see-us/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Showing just the dark side doesn't always work. The important thing is to show what we can learn from dark things, what good we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/showing-just-the-dark-side-doesn-t-always-work-the-important-thing-is/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [Things which sound like platitudes become vital, living and powerful when you have to learn them in dark tunnels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/things-which-sound-like-platitudes-become-vital-living-and-powerful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do I learn through dark providences, or simply seem relieved when they are over?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-b-ferguson/do-i-learn-through-dark-providences-or-simply-seem-relieved-when-they/) [Sinclair B. Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-b-ferguson/) > [And there is the headlight, shining far down the track, glinting off the steel rails that, like all parallel lines, will meet in infinity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/and-there-is-the-headlight-shining-far-down-the-track-glinting-off/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [ “Think of two parallel lines. \[…\] One is the life of Lee H. Oswald. One is the conspiracy to kill the President. What bridges… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/think-of-two-parallel-lines-one-is-the-life-of-lee-h-oswald-one-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“she had a tattoo on the inside: the letters SPQR, a crossed sword and torch, and under that, four parallel lines like score marks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/she-had-a-tattoo-on-the-inside-the-letters-spqr-a-crossed-sword-and/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“The river, tonally, does not recede, presenting the same lifeless grey near and far, a depthless plane upon which Schmitt’s dragging oars inscribe parallel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-river-tonally-does-not-recede-presenting-the-same-lifeless-grey/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“We were told that a strong attraction to a patient with a repeated history of failed treatment is a danger sign—like the fins on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/we-were-told-that-a-strong-attraction-to-a-patient-with-a-repeated/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Please give it up. Fear it no less than the sensual passion, because it, too, may take up all your time and deprive you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farkas-bolyai/please-give-it-up-fear-it-no-less-than-the-sensual-passion-because-it/) [Farkas Bolyai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farkas-bolyai/) > [“The best description of this book is found within the title. The full title of this book is: "This is the story my great-grandfather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-best-description-of-this-book-is-found-within-the-title-the-full/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Our lives may be separate, but they run in the same direction, like parallel lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/our-lives-may-be-separate-but-they-run-in-the-same-direction-like/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by John Burnside > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [The poem builds in my mind and sits there, as if in a register, until the poem, or a piece of a longer poem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-poem-builds-in-my-mind-and-sits-there-as-if-in-a-register-until/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [Usually, I would mistrust a book if it took that long to write. 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Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) [Kynna Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kynna-claire/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale knowledge, you'll come to yourself in a glimmer of rainfall or frost, the burnt smell of autumn, a meeting of parallel lines, and know you were someone else for the longest time, pretending you knew where you were, like a diffident tourist, lost on the one main square, and afraid to enquire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Burnside" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-remains-all-our-lives-a-noise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autumn" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-remains-all-our-lives-a-noise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/john-burnside-8167_autumn_and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-re_3005061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“and because what we learn in the dark remains all our lives, a noise like the sea, displacing the day's pale…” — John Burnside", "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": "John Burnside", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "and because what we learn in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-remains-all-our-lives-a-noise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/and-because-what-we-learn-in-the-dark-remains-all-our-lives-a-noise/#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 } } ] } ```