--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a full moon in the starless…" description: "\"“There was a full moon in the starless sky. I thought how rarely I had noticed such things. Some deep failure of the soul perhaps. An inherited emptine..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/josephine-hart-17041_emptiness_there-was-a-full-moon-in-the-starless-sk_1116686.jpg" --- # There was a full moon in the starless sky. I thought how… ![“There was a full moon in the starless sky. I thought how rarely I had noticed such things. Some deep failure of the soul perhaps. An inherited emptiness. A nothingness passed from generation to generation. A flaw in the psyche, discovered only by those who suffer by it.” quote by Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/josephine-hart-17041_emptiness_there-was-a-full-moon-in-the-starless-sk_1116686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/josephine-hart-17041_emptiness_there-was-a-full-moon-in-the-starless-sk_1116686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/josephine-hart-17041_emptiness_there-was-a-full-moon-in-the-starless-sk_1116686.jpg) > ““There was a full moon in the starless sky. I thought how rarely I had noticed such things. Some deep failure of the soul perhaps. An inherited emptiness. A nothingness passed from generation to generation. A flaw in the psyche, discovered only by those who suffer by it.”” [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes an inherited existential emptiness passed through generations, hinting at deep psychological wounds. **In simple terms:** Generational emotional void can affect many. Key Takeaway Seek healing and break the cycle. Themes family trauma existential angst psychological inheritance Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family therapy - personal reflection - storytelling - mental health support Key Concepts intergenerational trauma psychic void emotional neglect Questions to Reflect On - What inherited patterns affect you? - How can you foster emotional resilience? A Different Perspective Addressing trauma requires confronting painful memories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Full moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-moon/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) ## Related quotes > [I began to think that if you're a stutterer, it's about inhabiting silence, emptiness, and nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hooper/i-began-to-think-that-if-you-re-a-stutterer-it-s-about-inhabiting/) [Tom Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hooper/) > [Healthy mysticism praises acts of letting go, of being emptied, of getting in touch with the space inside and expanding this until it merges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/healthy-mysticism-praises-acts-of-letting-go-of-being-emptied-of/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [“No, emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is a type of existence. You must use this existential emptiness to fill yourself.” His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/no-emptiness-is-not-nothingness-emptiness-is-a-type-of-existence-you/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [“Man must be an emptiness, a nothingness, which is not a pure nothingness (reines Nichts), but something that is to the extent that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-kojeve/man-must-be-an-emptiness-a-nothingness-which-is-not-a-pure/) [Alexandre Kojève](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-kojeve/) > [“The emptiness is so intense, that anything which enters it leaves a trace, something of it remains in space: in the silence, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-darrieussecq/the-emptiness-is-so-intense-that-anything-which-enters-it-leaves-a/) [Marie Darrieussecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-darrieussecq/) > [“What happens to the drop of wine That you pour into the sea? Does it remain itself, unchanged? It is as if it never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacopone-da-todi/what-happens-to-the-drop-of-wine-that-you-pour-into-the-sea-does-it/) Jacopone Da Todi > [“Breath (from the book Blue Bridge) Whispering to myself With every step I take, Trying out names, for I know There is something yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/breath-from-the-book-blue-bridge-whispering-to-myself-with-every-step/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-the-silence-of-the-heart-god-speaks-if-you-face-god-in-prayer-and/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/it-is-only-when-you-realize-your-nothingness-your-emptiness-that-god/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Meditation,” said his teacher, “hasn’t got a damn thing to do with anything, ‘cause all it has to do with is nothing. Nothingness. Okay?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/meditation-said-his-teacher-hasn-t-got-a-damn-thing-to-do-with/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Our bodies are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamamoto-tsunetomo/our-bodies-are-given-life-from-the-midst-of-nothingness-existing/) [Yamamoto Tsunetomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamamoto-tsunetomo/) > [As if to build a fence around the fatal emptiness inside her, she had to create a sunny person that she became. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/as-if-to-build-a-fence-around-the-fatal-emptiness-inside-her-she-had/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/emptiness-which-is-conceptually-liable-to-be-mistaken-for-sheer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) ## More by Josephine Hart > [Time, for a man who has never truly felt a second of it, it not a great sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/time-for-a-man-who-has-never-truly-felt-a-second-of-it-it-not-a-great/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [We do have choice, but not without some agony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/we-do-have-choice-but-not-without-some-agony/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [A concealed truth, that's all a lie is. Either by omission or commission we never do more than obscure. The truth stays in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/a-concealed-truth-that-s-all-a-lie-is-either-by-omission-or/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [Poetry contains almost all you need to know about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/poetry-contains-almost-all-you-need-to-know-about-life/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [“What really makes us is beyond grasping. It's way beyond knowing. We give in to love... because it gives us some sense of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/what-really-makes-us-is-beyond-grasping-it-s-way-beyond-knowing-we/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [“She was the split-second experience that changes everything.; the car smash; the letter we shouldn't have opened; the lump in the breast or groin;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/she-was-the-split-second-experience-that-changes-everything-the-car/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [“There is an internal landscape, a geography of the soul: we search for its outlines all over our lives. Those who are lucky enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/there-is-an-internal-landscape-a-geography-of-the-soul-we-search-for/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [We say that life is sweet, its satisfactions deep. All this we say, as we sleepwalk our time through years of days and nights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/we-say-that-life-is-sweet-its-satisfactions-deep-all-this-we-say-as/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [There is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outline all our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/there-is-an-eternal-landscape-a-geography-of-the-soul-we-search-for/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [Lucky people should hide. Pray the days of wrath do not visit their home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/lucky-people-should-hide-pray-the-days-of-wrath-do-not-visit-their/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [Our sanity depends essentially on a narrowness of vision--the ability to select the elements vital to survival, while ignoring the great truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/our-sanity-depends-essentially-on-a-narrowness-of-vision-the-ability/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [“We learn from tragedy. Slowly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/we-learn-from-tragedy-slowly/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [We are here to add to the sum of human goodness. To prove the thing exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/we-are-here-to-add-to-the-sum-of-human-goodness-to-prove-the-thing/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [Those who do not have imaginary conversations do not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/those-who-do-not-have-imaginary-conversations-do-not-love/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) > [Very odd, old age. Always knew it would happen, if I was lucky. I just didn't expect it so soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/very-odd-old-age-always-knew-it-would-happen-if-i-was-lucky-i-just/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) [Explore all 38 Josephine Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was a full moon in the starless sky. I thought how rarely I had noticed such things. Some deep failure of the soul perhaps. An inherited emptiness. A nothingness passed from generation to generation. 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