--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we…" description: "\"“Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we truly are, not all that we see is beautiful and attractive. This is undoubtedly part of the reason we flee si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/m-basil-pennington-111097_love_unfortunately-in-seeing-ourselves-as-we_1877870.jpg" --- # Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we truly are, not… ![“Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we truly are, not all that we see is beautiful and attractive. This is undoubtedly part of the reason we flee silence. We do not want to be confronted with our hypocrisy, our phoniness. We see how false and fragile is the false self we project. We have to go…” quote by M. Basil Pennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/m-basil-pennington-111097_love_unfortunately-in-seeing-ourselves-as-we_1877870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/m-basil-pennington-111097_love_unfortunately-in-seeing-ourselves-as-we_1877870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/m-basil-pennington-111097_love_unfortunately-in-seeing-ourselves-as-we_1877870.jpg) > ““Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we truly are, not all that we see is beautiful and attractive. This is undoubtedly part of the reason we flee silence. We do not want to be confronted with our hypocrisy, our phoniness. We see how false and fragile is the false self we project. We have to go through this painful experience to come to our true self. It is a harrowing journey, a death to self – the false self – and no one wants to die. But it is the only path to life, to freedom, to peace, to true love. And it begins with silence. We cannot give ourselves in love if we do not know and possess ourselves. This is the great value of silence. It is the pathway to all we truly want.”” M. Basil Pennington ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence reveals the false self; confronting it leads to true self, freedom, peace, and love. **In simple terms:** Silence exposes pretensions; confronting reveals true self and peace. Key Takeaway Embrace silence to discover authentic self. Themes self‑discovery silence spiritual growth freedom peace Mood peaceful introspective Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - retreats - personal therapy Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your self‑image? - What fears arise when confronting the false self? A Different Perspective May be too spiritual for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Silence love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-love/) [True self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-self/) ## Related quotes > [“Your True Self is who you objectively are from the beginning, in the mind and heart of God, "the face you had before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/your-true-self-is-who-you-objectively-are-from-the-beginning-in-the/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“Since having a strong core self relies on acceptance of feelings, being out of touch with the emotional side puts a person out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/since-having-a-strong-core-self-relies-on-acceptance-of-feelings/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Unfortunately, in seeing ourselves as we truly are, not all that we see is beautiful and attractive. 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Your true self doesn't go up or down, it's constant - it's a rock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/your-false-self-is-always-that-which-is-passing-away-your-true-self/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [He watched her retreat, his eyes lazy, and his body unmoving. A trickle of blood seeped slowly from the corner of his mouth. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/he-watched-her-retreat-his-eyes-lazy-and-his-body-unmoving-a-trickle/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [...it was necessary to love silence, but before you could love silence you had to have noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-necessary-to-love-silence-but-before-you-could-love-silence/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Listen with your body, your heart, your eyes, your energy, your total presence. Listen in silence, without interrupting. Fill any spaces of silence between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-brady/listen-with-your-body-your-heart-your-eyes-your-energy-your-total/) Mark Brady > [“The silence from someone you love is the loudest noise that could ever fill your head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/the-silence-from-someone-you-love-is-the-loudest-noise-that-could/) [Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/) > [Never be silence on love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-donkor/never-be-silence-on-love/) [James Donkor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-donkor/) > [When a heart is true, there's no need for words cause even in silence, love can be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-heart-is-true-there-s-no-need-for-words-cause-even-in-silence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/silence-the-angry-man-with-love-silence-the-ill-natured-man-with/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [True joy doth need no song to praise it, silence for love's delight is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-geibel/true-joy-doth-need-no-song-to-praise-it-silence-for-love-s-delight-is/) Emanuel Geibel ## More by M. Basil Pennington > [“The pilgrims continue to come. Only God knows what each one of us brings, and with what kind of heart. We come mystically to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-basil-pennington/the-pilgrims-continue-to-come-only-god-knows-what-each-one-of-us/) M. Basil Pennington Explore all 2 M. Basil Pennington quotes ## More Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. 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