--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Absence becomes the greatest Presence." description: "\"Absence becomes the greatest Presence.\" — May Sarton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg" --- # Absence becomes the greatest Presence. ![“Absence becomes the greatest Presence.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg) > “Absence becomes the greatest Presence.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absence is felt most strongly when something once present is gone, making its memory vivid. **In simple terms:** Missing something makes it feel larger. Key Takeaway Cherish what you have before it's gone. Themes absence presence memory Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief - relationships - creative work - reflection Key Concepts psychology loss nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What presence do you take for granted? - How does absence shape your appreciation? A Different Perspective Absence can also create space for new experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Absence Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence-greatest-5125863/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest/) [Greatest Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-presence-5125862/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) ## Related quotes > [“Solitude itself is a way of waiting for the inaudible and the invisible to make itself felt. And that is why solitude is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/solitude-itself-is-a-way-of-waiting-for-the-inaudible-and-the/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [“When your absence is felt, your presence is the essence and it makes a difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-your-absence-is-felt-your-presence-is-the-essence-and-it-makes-a/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Victory is not the absence of problems, it is the presence of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/victory-is-not-the-absence-of-problems-it-is-the-presence-of-power/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [The presence of many does not and cannot replace the absence of one. That is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-zahara/the-presence-of-many-does-not-and-cannot-replace-the-absence-of-one/) [Rita Zahara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-zahara/) > [Many people believe that evil is the presence of something. I think it's the absence of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/many-people-believe-that-evil-is-the-presence-of-something-i-think-it/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“If they don't appreciate your presence, they may never recognize your absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najwa-zebian/if-they-don-t-appreciate-your-presence-they-may-never-recognize-your/) [Najwa Zebian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najwa-zebian/) > [“She felt it when she woke, not a presence but an absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/she-felt-it-when-she-woke-not-a-presence-but-an-absence/) [Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/) > [When you find inner peace, neither the presence nor absence of any person, place or thing, condition, circumstance, or situation can be the Creator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-find-inner-peace-neither-the-presence-nor-absence-of-any/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [When my absence doesnt alter your life, then my presence has no meaning in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-my-absence-doesnt-alter-your-life-then-my-presence-has-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The absence of the latter means nothing, though its presence may mean everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/the-absence-of-the-latter-means-nothing-though-its-presence-may-mean/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Not only strive to make your presence noticed, but also contribute to make your absence felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/not-only-strive-to-make-your-presence-noticed-but-also-contribute-to/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [We know that an object that is not consciously noticed at the time of a first visit can, by its absence during subsequent visits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/we-know-that-an-object-that-is-not-consciously-noticed-at-the-time-of/) [Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Absence becomes the greatest Presence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/may-sarton-897_absence_absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence-63_637626.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Absence becomes the greatest Presence.” — May Sarton", "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": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Absence becomes the greatest Presence.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/absence-becomes-the-greatest-presence/#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 } } ] } ```