--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the gift of humanity: that it is…" description: "\"“This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we claim it for ourselves. But nothing can stop ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg" --- # This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the… ![“This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we claim it for ourselves. But nothing can stop that claiming - not the eight million gods nor the spirits nor ghosts. Nothing but ourselves, anyway. And our lives become the poems we were born to…” quote by Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg) > ““This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we claim it for ourselves. But nothing can stop that claiming - not the eight million gods nor the spirits nor ghosts. Nothing but ourselves, anyway. And our lives become the poems we were born to tell.”” [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity’s essence is claimed through self‑recognition; our lives become poetic expressions of that claim, despite external forces. **In simple terms:** Self‑recognition defines humanity; our lives become poetry. Key Takeaway Own your identity and let it shape your story. Themes identity self‑recognition poetry Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choice - artistic creation - personal growth - social activism Key Concepts Existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to claim yourself? - How does your life become a poem? A Different Perspective External validation can hinder authentic self‑claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't find fault in your self, Because each and every human being have it in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishal-shah-mann/don-t-find-fault-in-your-self-because-each-and-every-human-being-have/) Mishal Shah ManN > [“i may understand it's easy to cheat loved one i may understand it's easy to be betrayed Loved one But i do not understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/i-may-understand-it-s-easy-to-cheat-loved-one-i-may-understand-it-s/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [The more one forgets one’s own self, the more human the person becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/the-more-one-forgets-one-s-own-self-the-more-human-the-person-becomes/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Just as the self of the human being is the centerpoint of the plurality of manifestations of his life of soul, so is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentin-tomberg/just-as-the-self-of-the-human-being-is-the-centerpoint-of-the/) Valentin Tomberg > [The inner self of every human waits patiently until we are ready to discover it; then it extends an invitation to enter the luminous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-inner-self-of-every-human-waits-patiently-until-we-are-ready-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Storytelling is a great gift because humanity is a great gift, something God himself delights in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-cosper/storytelling-is-a-great-gift-because-humanity-is-a-great-gift/) [Mike Cosper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-cosper/) > [“I had to be the kind of person who showed the world that goodness prevails, because the alternative was too bleak to bear. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mah-tippetts/i-had-to-be-the-kind-of-person-who-showed-the-world-that-goodness/) [Emily Mah Tippetts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mah-tippetts/) > [“My grandmother used to say that flaws are God's greatest gift to humanity, because they give us the opportunity to learn from ourselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jarzab/my-grandmother-used-to-say-that-flaws-are-god-s-greatest-gift-to/) [Anna Jarzab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-jarzab/) > [Science is a beautiful gift to humanity; we should not distort it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/science-is-a-beautiful-gift-to-humanity-we-should-not-distort-it/) [A. P. J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/) > [Every human being was born with an inherent gift, and that gift is their gift to humanity; they are supposed to serve humanity in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/every-human-being-was-born-with-an-inherent-gift-and-that-gift-is/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Freedom is not our gift to the world it is God's gift to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/freedom-is-not-our-gift-to-the-world-it-is-god-s-gift-to-humanity/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Human emotions are a gift from our animal ancestors. Cruelty is a gift humanity has given itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/human-emotions-are-a-gift-from-our-animal-ancestors-cruelty-is-a-gift/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [“The greatest gift we can ever give to humanity is to...inspire it's children!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/the-greatest-gift-we-can-ever-give-to-humanity-is-to-inspire-it-s/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“ I often think I should just abandon the whole thing. I really do. Time travel could be a gift to humanity. Whoever controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/i-often-think-i-should-just-abandon-the-whole-thing-i-really-do-time/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [Every child comes into this world as a gift to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/every-child-comes-into-this-world-as-a-gift-to-humanity/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) ## More by Kij Johnson > [“Humans assign words to things and pretend the words are adequate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/humans-assign-words-to-things-and-pretend-the-words-are-adequate/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“The soul often hangs in a balance of some sort. Tonight do I lie down in the high fields with Dirk Tanner or not?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/the-soul-often-hangs-in-a-balance-of-some-sort-tonight-do-i-lie-down/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“in the end she had not wanted a life spent treading water in his story. She still did not—and yet she regarded herself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/in-the-end-she-had-not-wanted-a-life-spent-treading-water-in-his/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Waiting required a future to wait for: a falsehood. I know now that there is only now. I remember things that happened months (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/waiting-required-a-future-to-wait-for-a-falsehood-i-know-now-that/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“There was for everything a possibility, an invisible pattern that could be made manifest given work and the right materials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/there-was-for-everything-a-possibility-an-invisible-pattern-that/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Happiness is the pleasantest of emotions; because of this, it is the most dangerous. Having once felt happiness, one will do anything to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/happiness-is-the-pleasantest-of-emotions-because-of-this-it-is-the/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“She would never have a day that she did not see something and hear a voice in her mind say, “Remember this and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/she-would-never-have-a-day-that-she-did-not-see-something-and-hear-a/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“There would be sadness and nightmares. And there would be lovemaking and the holding close of children and friends and dogs -- affirmations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/there-would-be-sadness-and-nightmares-and-there-would-be-lovemaking/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“As a young woman, when she had been beautiful and had worn her hair short and her clothes loose to conceal that fact, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/as-a-young-woman-when-she-had-been-beautiful-and-had-worn-her-hair/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“Love and memory and thought and dream ~ My favorite poems have never been written in words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/love-and-memory-and-thought-and-dream-my-favorite-poems-have-never/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“He loved who he was: Randolph Carter, master dreamer, adventurer. To him, she had been landscape, an articulate crag he could ascend, a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/he-loved-who-he-was-randolph-carter-master-dreamer-adventurer-to-him/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Because if something does go wrong, you'll need what you're feeling to matter, to someone somewhere, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/because-if-something-does-go-wrong-you-ll-need-what-you-re-feeling-to/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“That night and for years afterward, she had envisioned another dream land, built from the imaginings of powerful women dreamers. Perhaps it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/that-night-and-for-years-afterward-she-had-envisioned-another-dream/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“That's not a goal," Kit said. "Why? Because it's not yours? Which is better, Kit Meinem of Atyar? A single great victory, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/that-s-not-a-goal-kit-said-why-because-it-s-not-yours-which-is-better/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“Some people change the world. And some people change the people who change the world, and that's you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/some-people-change-the-world-and-some-people-change-the-people-who/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) [Explore all 30 Kij Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) Gabriel Tarde > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we claim it for ourselves. But nothing can stop that claiming - not the eight million gods nor the spirits nor ghosts. Nothing but ourselves, anyway. And our lives become the poems we were born to tell.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kij Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is-claimed-by-the-self-none-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is-claimed-by-the-self-none-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/kij-johnson-19953_identity_this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is_1877202.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we…” — Kij Johnson", "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": "Kij Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is the gift of humanity:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is-claimed-by-the-self-none-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is-claimed-by-the-self-none-of/#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 } } ] } ```