---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was born from nothing and to nothing I…"
description: "\"I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And yet, when i say the word nothing, when i admit, at last, 'I am nothing,' i feel mysteriously ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png"
---

#  I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And…

![“I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And yet, when i say the word nothing, when i admit, at last, 'I am nothing,' i feel mysteriously like something again, ground zero, genesis, the pull of possibilities.” quote by Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png)

> “I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And yet, when i say the word nothing, when i admit, at last, 'I am nothing,' i feel mysteriously like something again, ground zero, genesis, the pull of possibilities.”

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Even when we feel nothing, acknowledging it can spark a sense of potential and rebirth.

**In simple terms:** Admitting emptiness can lead to feeling alive again.

Key Takeaway

Embrace emptiness to unlock possibilities.

Themes

identity existence potential

Mood

introspective hopeful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- grief
- creative block
- spiritual crisis
- career transition

Key Concepts

nihilism self‑realization

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “nothing” mean to you?
- How can you turn emptiness into growth?

A Different Perspective

Emptiness can also lead to despair if not balanced.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Genesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genesis/) [Ground zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ground-zero/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/)

## Related quotes

> [“Love. . . . You are born in it . . . you return to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/love-you-are-born-in-it-you-return-to-it/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [“Don’t be afraid, she tells us. Every end is a beginning. You lived before you were born to me and you will return here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-vasicek/don-t-be-afraid-she-tells-us-every-end-is-a-beginning-you-lived/)

Joe Vasicek

> [Admit it. You feel kind of like a badass speeding through those school zones in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/admit-it-you-feel-kind-of-like-a-badass-speeding-through-those-school/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Have to admit it, I feel a little vindicated in how I’ve lived my life because people can be the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/have-to-admit-it-i-feel-a-little-vindicated-in-how-i-ve-lived-my-life/)

[Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/)

> [I admit I feel funny when I use the word 'whom' as I'm talking to my diapered children, but I persist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-salie/i-admit-i-feel-funny-when-i-use-the-word-whom-as-i-m-talking-to-my/)

[Faith Salie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-salie/)

> [I don't know what to say to that, but I have to agree with Johnny that, yeah, we do touch upon things that most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-steele/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-to-that-but-i-have-to-agree-with-johnny-that/)

[Peter Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-steele/)

> [I will absolutely admit that the feel and smell of sea spray and wind on my face will be very welcome. I will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunita-williams/i-will-absolutely-admit-that-the-feel-and-smell-of-sea-spray-and-wind/)

[Sunita Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunita-williams/)

> [I love New York, but I have to admit that I feel very English, and I do miss that sense of history that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-cox/i-love-new-york-but-i-have-to-admit-that-i-feel-very-english-and-i-do/)

[Charlie Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-cox/)

> [It's no sin to admit that you feel vulnerable and lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-snow/it-s-no-sin-to-admit-that-you-feel-vulnerable-and-lost/)

[Phoebe Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-snow/)

> [“We deny more than we confess. We hide more than we reveal. We assume because it makes us feel exposed if we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/we-deny-more-than-we-confess-we-hide-more-than-we-reveal-we-assume/)

[Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/)

> [“I read what you leave in public spaces. The songs you reference. The quotes you quote. I know it’s about me. I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/i-read-what-you-leave-in-public-spaces-the-songs-you-reference-the/)

pleasefindthis

> [I don't feel like promising big things to my fans. I'm not thinking about victory at all. I'll do my best to get on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schumacher/i-don-t-feel-like-promising-big-things-to-my-fans-i-m-not-thinking/)

[Michael Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schumacher/)

> [“And as it turns out, as soon as we are willing to be the last, we actually become first. When we admit we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hatmaker/and-as-it-turns-out-as-soon-as-we-are-willing-to-be-the-last-we/)

Jennifer Hatmaker

> [“I read what you leave in public places. The songs you reference. The quotes you quote. I know it's about me. I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasefindthis/i-read-what-you-leave-in-public-places-the-songs-you-reference-the/)

pleasefindthis

> [I love design; to create stuff from ground zero is the best for me. I'm always so intense when I talk about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/i-love-design-to-create-stuff-from-ground-zero-is-the-best-for-me-i-m/)

[Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/)

## More by Lauren Slater

> [“When you die, there’s that much less breath to the world, and across continents someone supposedly separate gasps for air. When Marie, Joseph, peter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/when-you-die-there-s-that-much-less-breath-to-the-world-and-across/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“When I was a girl I loved fevers and flus and the muzzy feeling of a head cold, all these states carrying with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/when-i-was-a-girl-i-loved-fevers-and-flus-and-the-muzzy-feeling-of-a/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“Why doesn't passionate love last? how is it possible to see a person as beautiful on Monday, and 364 days later, on another Monday,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/why-doesn-t-passionate-love-last-how-is-it-possible-to-see-a-person/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“... instead of spelling stories you spread silence, which was outside the alphabet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/instead-of-spelling-stories-you-spread-silence-which-was-outside-the/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“Finally the dawn came, the sky fringed with pink, and the sun bright as a coin in a spill of rising red.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/finally-the-dawn-came-the-sky-fringed-with-pink-and-the-sun-bright-as/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“How do you describe emptiness? Is it the air inside a bubble, the darkness in a pocket, snow? I think, yes, I was six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/how-do-you-describe-emptiness-is-it-the-air-inside-a-bubble-the/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [Everyone knows that a lot of memoirs have made-up scenes; it's obvious. And everyone knows that half the time at least fictions contain literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/everyone-knows-that-a-lot-of-memoirs-have-made-up-scenes-it-s-obvious/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [Are psychiatric crises so overwhelming to the mind that they inhibit the presence of ethics? Is depression at root an amoral phenomenon, its focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/are-psychiatric-crises-so-overwhelming-to-the-mind-that-they-inhibit/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“I had lived my life by these kinds of banners, only now, searching the sentence, I found little in it that resonated deep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-had-lived-my-life-by-these-kinds-of-banners-only-now-searching-the/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [Much has been said about the meanings we make of illness, but what about the meanings we make out of cure? Cure is complex,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/much-has-been-said-about-the-meanings-we-make-of-illness-but-what/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“I believe my strength has something to do with memory, with that concept of fluid time. For while I recall with clarity the terror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-believe-my-strength-has-something-to-do-with-memory-with-that/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“I couldn’t reach her. I was never able to reach her. Maybe she moved at a pace too fast. Maybe she was too sad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-couldn-t-reach-her-i-was-never-able-to-reach-her-maybe-she-moved-at/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“They cleared swiftly, dramatically, like a stage set or a movie; we went from black to stunning blue, the day emerging at once wet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/they-cleared-swiftly-dramatically-like-a-stage-set-or-a-movie-we-went/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [Depression is a death within, a knowledge - terrifying - that you cannot resurrect yourself. Depression is loss of the vision that lets leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/depression-is-a-death-within-a-knowledge-terrifying-that-you-cannot/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

> [“Bless those people, for they are a part of my faith’s firmness. Bless the stories my foster mother read to me, the stories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/bless-those-people-for-they-are-a-part-of-my-faith-s-firmness-bless/)

[Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

[Explore all 60 Lauren Slater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/)

## More Born quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/)

[Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/)

> [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/)

[Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [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'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/)

[Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/)

Browse all 11,606 Born quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And yet, when i say the word nothing, when i admit, at last, 'I am nothing,' i feel mysteriously like something again, ground zero, genesis, the pull of possibilities.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lauren Slater"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i-will-return-and-yet-when-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Born"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i-will-return-and-yet-when-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/lauren-slater-11238_born_i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i_633018.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I was born from nothing and to nothing I will return. And yet, when i say the word nothing, when i admit, at…” — Lauren Slater",
                "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": "Lauren Slater",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I was born from nothing and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i-will-return-and-yet-when-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-was-born-from-nothing-and-to-nothing-i-will-return-and-yet-when-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
