--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living things don't all require light in…" description: "\"“Living things don't all require light in the same degree. Some of us make our own light: a silver leaf like a path no one can use, a shallow lake of s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg" --- # Living things don't all require light in the same degree… ![“Living things don't all require light in the same degree. Some of us make our own light: a silver leaf like a path no one can use, a shallow lake of silver in the darkness under the great maples. But you know this already. You and the others who think you live for truth and, by extension, love all…” quote by Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg) > ““Living things don't all require light in the same degree. Some of us make our own light: a silver leaf like a path no one can use, a shallow lake of silver in the darkness under the great maples. But you know this already. You and the others who think you live for truth and, by extension, love all that is cold.”” [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on the varied needs for light among living beings, suggesting some create their own inner illumination, while others seek truth and love in coldness. **In simple terms:** Some beings create their own light; others seek truth in coldness. Key Takeaway Recognize your own inner light. Themes self‑discovery inner illumination truth love coldness Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts Existentialism metaphor nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate your inner light? - What does “coldness” represent for you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be too abstract for practical application. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold hearted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-hearted/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Emotionless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotionless/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Leaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaf/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-degree-4988498/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Make Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-light-322893/) [Require Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/require-light-4988497/) ## Related quotes > [Don't make light of any man's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/don-t-make-light-of-any-man-s-pain/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [And make us a light from light you light the heavens and the earth O Lord of the Worlds O Most Merciful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdii/and-make-us-a-light-from-light-you-light-the-heavens-and-the-earth-o/) [Abdii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdii/) > [“self-deprecatory, to make light of their own situation by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shroder/self-deprecatory-to-make-light-of-their-own-situation-by/) [Tom Shroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shroder/) > [“The greatest gift I've ever received was the kiss of the sun on the days where I couldn't remember how to make my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-gift-i-ve-ever-received-was-the-kiss-of-the-sun-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a little-appreciated fact that most of the animals in our ocean make light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-widder/it-s-a-little-appreciated-fact-that-most-of-the-animals-in-our-ocean/) [Edith Widder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-widder/) > [“Remember, God didn't say, 'I'm gonna make light now,' he said, 'Let there be light.' His first act was to allow light in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-god-didn-t-say-i-m-gonna-make-light-now-he-said-let-there-be/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/stories-are-light-light-is-precious-in-a-world-so-dark-begin-at-the/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Darkness exists to make light truly count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/darkness-exists-to-make-light-truly-count/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God judges men according to the use they make of the light which He gives them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-judges-men-according-to-the-use-they-make-of-the-light-which-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/when-you-can-t-make-them-see-the-light-make-them-feel-the-heat/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Many handis make light warke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/many-handis-make-light-warke/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [“Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-s-another-way-to-put-it-you-re-here-to-be-light-bringing-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many hands make light work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/many-hands-make-light-work/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [You can make it dark, but I can't make it light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-make-it-dark-but-i-can-t-make-it-light/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“I do not like the darkness, but please don’t make the light too strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-ben-levi/i-do-not-like-the-darkness-but-please-don-t-make-the-light-too-strong/) [Raphael Ben Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-ben-levi/) ## More by Louise Glück > [The unsaid, for me, exerts great power...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/the-unsaid-for-me-exerts-great-power/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [Without thinking, I knelt in the grass, like someone meaning to pray. When I tried to stand again, I couldn't move, my legs were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/without-thinking-i-knelt-in-the-grass-like-someone-meaning-to-pray/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [What I responded to, on the page, was the way a poem could liberate, by means of a word's setting, through subtleties of timing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/what-i-responded-to-on-the-page-was-the-way-a-poem-could-liberate-by/) [Louise Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [“We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory. from Nostos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/we-look-at-the-world-once-in-childhood-the-rest-is-memory-from-nostos/) [Louise Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [He takes her in his arms He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you But he thinks this is a lie,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/he-takes-her-in-his-arms-he-wants-to-say-i-love-you-nothing-can-hurt/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [At first I saw you everywhere. Now only in certain things, at longer intervals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/at-first-i-saw-you-everywhere-now-only-in-certain-things-at-longer/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [Desire, loneliness, wind in the flowering almond— surely these are the great, the inexhaustible subjects to which my predecessors apprenticed themselves. I hear them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/desire-loneliness-wind-in-the-flowering-almond-surely-these-are-the/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [“They sat far apart deliberately, to experience, daily, the sweetness of seeing each other across great distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/they-sat-far-apart-deliberately-to-experience-daily-the-sweetness-of/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [Toward his critics, the artist harbors a defensive ace: knowledge that the future will erase the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/toward-his-critics-the-artist-harbors-a-defensive-ace-knowledge-that/) [Louise Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [I’m like the child who buries her head in the pillow so as not to see, the child who tells herself that light causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/i-m-like-the-child-who-buries-her-head-in-the-pillow-so-as-not-to-see/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [I am attracted to ellipsis, to the unsaid, to suggestion, to eloquent, deliberate silence. The unsaid, for me, exerts great power: often I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/i-am-attracted-to-ellipsis-to-the-unsaid-to-suggestion-to-eloquent/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [“Once I could imagine my soul I could imagine my death. When I imagined my death my soul died. This I remember clearly. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/once-i-could-imagine-my-soul-i-could-imagine-my-death-when-i-imagined/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [I caution you as I was never cautioned: You will never let go, you will never be satiated. You will be damaged and scarred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/i-caution-you-as-i-was-never-cautioned-you-will-never-let-go-you-will/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [As I saw it, all my mother's life, my father held her down, like lead strapped to her ankles. She was buoyant by nature;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/as-i-saw-it-all-my-mother-s-life-my-father-held-her-down-like-lead/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [I preferred the simplest vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/i-preferred-the-simplest-vocabulary/) [Louise Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) [Explore all 74 Louise Glück quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) [Luckybannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luckybannu/) > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Living things don't all require light in the same degree. Some of us make our own light: a silver leaf like a path no one can use, a shallow lake of silver in the darkness under the great maples. But you know this already. You and the others who think you live for truth and, by extension, love all that is cold.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louise Glück" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in-the-same-degree-some-of-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in-the-same-degree-some-of-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/louise-gl-ck-9177_alone_living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in_1413653.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Living things don't all require light in the same degree. Some of us make our own light: a silver leaf like…” — Louise Glück", "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": "Louise Glück", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Living things don't all require light...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in-the-same-degree-some-of-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/living-things-don-t-all-require-light-in-the-same-degree-some-of-us/#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 } } ] } ```