--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can't escape the shadow, so the best…" description: "\"We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is notice the light and be open to it.\" — Maggie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg" --- # We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is… ![“We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is notice the light and be open to it.” quote by Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg) > “We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is notice the light and be open to it.” [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging that darkness is inevitable, we should focus on the light and stay receptive. **In simple terms:** Notice and accept positivity despite darkness. Key Takeaway Stay open to hope. Themes hope resilience mindfulness light Mood optimistic calm encouraging Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - daily life - mental health - crisis management Key Concepts psychology philosophy wellbeing Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice noticing light? - What obstacles block openness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [Howard Chaykin was one of the few who dared to make mainstream comics different back in the eighties; it was guys like him, Alan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-ennis/howard-chaykin-was-one-of-the-few-who-dared-to-make-mainstream-comics/) [Garth Ennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-ennis/) > [“But it is better to follow even the shadow of the best than to remain content with the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/but-it-is-better-to-follow-even-the-shadow-of-the-best-than-to-remain/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [Open wide the windows of our spirits and fill us full of light; open wide the door of our hearts, that we may receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/open-wide-the-windows-of-our-spirits-and-fill-us-full-of-light-open/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [No one lights a lamp in order to hide it behind the door: the purpose of light is to create more light, to open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/no-one-lights-a-lamp-in-order-to-hide-it-behind-the-door-the-purpose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Every time you do a good deed you shine the light a little farther into the dark. 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LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-lafevers/) > [There is a shadow on every page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-ormandy/there-is-a-shadow-on-every-page/) [Eugene Ormandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-ormandy/) > [Evil is the shadow of angel. Just as there are angels of light, support, guidance, healing and defense, so we have experiences of shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/evil-is-the-shadow-of-angel-just-as-there-are-angels-of-light-support/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/between-the-idea-and-the-reality-between-the-motion-and-the-act-falls/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sun was trembling on the brink of the world, the shadows at their longest, and they still had several kilometers to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/the-sun-was-trembling-on-the-brink-of-the-world-the-shadows-at-their/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) ## More by Maggie Smith > [If someone is going to talk about the process of making a film, it should be the director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/if-someone-is-going-to-talk-about-the-process-of-making-a-film-it/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [There were male colleges, and there were very few female colleges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/there-were-male-colleges-and-there-were-very-few-female-colleges/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Try not to cry too much because it can be pretty heart-breaking and pretty hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/try-not-to-cry-too-much-because-it-can-be-pretty-heart-breaking-and/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [There's a difference between solitude and loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/there-s-a-difference-between-solitude-and-loneliness/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [I know there is something out there and like most people, I tend to believe in it more when things go bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/i-know-there-is-something-out-there-and-like-most-people-i-tend-to/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [When you get into the granny era, you're lucky to get anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/when-you-get-into-the-granny-era-you-re-lucky-to-get-anything/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Sort of what you do in drama school when asked to play something way out of your reach. 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I know lots of them who are, and some who aren't of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/i-think-lots-of-actors-are-very-nervous-and-shy-i-know-lots-of-them/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Little girls, I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the crème de la crème.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/little-girls-i-am-in-the-business-of-putting-old-heads-on-young/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [The drama school was in Oxford - and it's funny to think of it, but in those days when I started out the University…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/the-drama-school-was-in-oxford-and-it-s-funny-to-think-of-it-but-in/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [“Life is short, though I keep this from my children. 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This has never happened to me before because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/i-find-it-very-difficult-to-do-anything-on-my-own-now-because-people/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [I just did adore Daniel - Daniel Radcliffe, who I had worked with before "Harry Potter" and spent a long time telling all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/i-just-did-adore-daniel-daniel-radcliffe-who-i-had-worked-with-before/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) > [Which is strange - I've always thought of myself as someone who writes out of difficulty. And I did do that, but I came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/which-is-strange-i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-someone-who-writes/) [Maggie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) [Explore all 81 Maggie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/) ## More Light quotes > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Light it up, bitch.' 'Light it up, asshole,' ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/light-it-up-bitch-light-it-up-asshole/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [The morning breez and dew are still cold until they get hot by the sun,don't be deceive is morning wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakre-basit-babatunde/the-morning-breez-and-dew-are-still-cold-until-they-get-hot-by-the/) [Bakre Basit Babatunde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakre-basit-babatunde/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Love is like light, you see it but you can't keep it all the times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-light-you-see-it-but-you-can-t-keep-it-all-the-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 20,782 Light quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is notice the light and be open to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-notice-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Light" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-notice-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/maggie-smith-8377_light_we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-t_654162.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can't escape the shadow, so the best thing we can do is notice the light and be open to it.” — Maggie Smith", "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": "Maggie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can't escape the shadow, so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-notice-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-smith/we-can-t-escape-the-shadow-so-the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-notice-the/#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 } } ] } ```