---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I…"
description: "\"Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if I can receive it means it comes from somewhere outside of me, if it comes from outside of me ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg"
---

#  Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if…

![“Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if I can receive it means it comes from somewhere outside of me, if it comes from outside of me I'm not alone! I cannot bear this loneliness. Above all it is loneliness.” quote by Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg)

> “Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if I can receive it means it comes from somewhere outside of me, if it comes from outside of me I'm not alone! I cannot bear this loneliness. Above all it is loneliness.”

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker seeks emptiness to become receptive, suggesting that openness invites external connection and alleviates loneliness.

**In simple terms:** Being empty allows receiving from others.

Key Takeaway

Open yourself to receive and reduce isolation.

Themes

loneliness receptivity connection spiritual yearning

Mood

introspective melancholic

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal therapy
- meditation practice
- creative collaboration
- spiritual counseling

Key Concepts

Existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What does true openness look like?
- Can emptiness coexist with self-identity?

A Different Perspective

Total emptiness may lead to loss of identity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Not alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-alone/)

## Related quotes

> [You cannot be receptive when you are too full of yourself. The less you are, the more you receive. The more you are, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/you-cannot-be-receptive-when-you-are-too-full-of-yourself-the-less/)

[Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/)

> [How is it that some celebrities, whom the average person would believe to have all the popularity a human being could want, still admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/how-is-it-that-some-celebrities-whom-the-average-person-would-believe/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [But, visiting Sea, your love doth press / And reach in further than you know, / And fills all these; and, when you go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-meynell/but-visiting-sea-your-love-doth-press-and-reach-in-further-than-you/)

[Alice Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-meynell/)

> [People cannot win against their loneliness because loneliness is this world’s worst kind of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-cannot-win-against-their-loneliness-because-loneliness-is-this/)

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

> [...and my loneliness, always my loneliness - that airless bubble of despair that is slowing stifling me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/and-my-loneliness-always-my-loneliness-that-airless-bubble-of-despair/)

[Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/)

> [“Loss and loneliness, loneliness being the sadder and grayer of the two. Loss means that someone beloved is irretrievable, and as bad as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-m-goeglein/loss-and-loneliness-loneliness-being-the-sadder-and-grayer-of-the-two/)

[T.M. Goeglein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-m-goeglein/)

> [“He stood and watched his friend hobble around the house, felt the cold claw of loneliness reach out and touch him with icy fingers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/he-stood-and-watched-his-friend-hobble-around-the-house-felt-the-cold/)

[Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/)

> [You may not enjoy loneliness, because loneliness is sad. But solitude is something else; solitude is what you look forward to when you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/you-may-not-enjoy-loneliness-because-loneliness-is-sad-but-solitude/)

[Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/)

> [“Friendship is not a remedy for loneliness. Loneliness is part of our experience, and if we are looking for relief from loneliness in friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/friendship-is-not-a-remedy-for-loneliness-loneliness-is-part-of-our/)

[Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/)

> [“There I sat, probably looking so dreadful that nothing had the courage to stand by me; not even the candle, which I had just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/there-i-sat-probably-looking-so-dreadful-that-nothing-had-the-courage/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [Well nothing could be sadder than a glass of wine, all alone. Loneliness, loneliness, it's such a waiste of time. Oh-oh yeah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mambo-all-stars/well-nothing-could-be-sadder-than-a-glass-of-wine-all-alone/)

[Mambo All Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mambo-all-stars/)

> [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/)

[Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/)

> [Birth is the start of loneliness and loneliness the start of poetry...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/birth-is-the-start-of-loneliness-and-loneliness-the-start-of-poetry/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [So if you feel as if you feel too much, well then you are not alone. May these words find you like a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-tworkowski/so-if-you-feel-as-if-you-feel-too-much-well-then-you-are-not-alone/)

[Jamie Tworkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-tworkowski/)

> [I'm not alone, but I am lonely without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-alone-but-i-am-lonely-without-you/)

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

## More by Leonard Cohen

> [The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold and it's overturned the order of the soul...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-blizzard-of-the-world-has-crossed-the-threshold-and-it-s/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [“Don't matter if you're rich and strong Don't matter if you're weak Don't matter if you write a song The nightingales repeat Don't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/don-t-matter-if-you-re-rich-and-strong-don-t-matter-if-you-re-weak/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [“You don't know me from the wind you never will, you never did I'm the little jew who wrote the Bible. I've seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/you-don-t-know-me-from-the-wind-you-never-will-you-never-did-i-m-the/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [“This is it I’m not coming after you I’m going to lie down for half an hour This is it I’m not going down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/this-is-it-i-m-not-coming-after-you-i-m-going-to-lie-down-for-half-an/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [My sense of proprietorship has been so weak that actually I didn't pay attention and I lost the copyrights on a lot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/my-sense-of-proprietorship-has-been-so-weak-that-actually-i-didn-t/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can... reconcile and embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/this-world-is-full-of-conflicts-and-full-of-things-that-cannot-be/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [ I would say the hummingbird really deserves the royalties on \[some of my songs\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-would-say-the-hummingbird-really-deserves-the-royalties-on-some-of/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [One is given to self-dramatization from time to time. I intend to live forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/one-is-given-to-self-dramatization-from-time-to-time-i-intend-to-live/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [The basic function of popular music is to create an environment for courting, lovemaking, and doing the dishes. It's useful because it addresses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/the-basic-function-of-popular-music-is-to-create-an-environment-for/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [“Blessed are you, embrace of the falling, foundation of the light, master of the human accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/blessed-are-you-embrace-of-the-falling-foundation-of-the-light-master/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [I continually blacken pages and scribble away, so I always have a number of songs that are half-finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-continually-blacken-pages-and-scribble-away-so-i-always-have-a/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. She is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-have-nothing-against-the-queen-of-england-even-in-my-heart-i-never/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [I loved you when you opened like a lily to the heat; you see I’m just another snowman standing in the rain and sleet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-loved-you-when-you-opened-like-a-lily-to-the-heat-you-see-i-m-just/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [It's time that we began to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/it-s-time-that-we-began-to-laugh-and-cry-and-cry-and-laugh-about-it/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

> [“I followed the course From chaos to art Desire the horse Depression the cart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-followed-the-course-from-chaos-to-art-desire-the-horse-depression/)

[Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

[Explore all 543 Leonard Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/)

## More Bears quotes

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

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

> [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/)

[Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/)

[Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/)

> [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/)

[George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/)

> [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/)

[James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/)

> [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/)

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

> [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/)

[St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/)

[Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if I can receive it means it comes from somewhere outside of me, if it comes from outside of me I'm not alone! I cannot bear this loneliness. Above all it is loneliness.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Leonard Cohen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i-can-receive-if-i-can-receive/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bears"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i-can-receive-if-i-can-receive/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/leonard-cohen-448_bears_please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i_1961563.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Please make me empty, if I'm empty then I can receive, if I can receive it means it comes from somewhere…” — Leonard Cohen",
                "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": "Leonard Cohen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Please make me empty, if I'm...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i-can-receive-if-i-can-receive/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/please-make-me-empty-if-i-m-empty-then-i-can-receive-if-i-can-receive/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
