---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At any moment solitude may put on the…"
description: "\"At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.\" — May Sarton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg"
---

#  At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.

![“At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg)

> “At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.”

[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.

Solitude can masquerade as loneliness, blurring the two experiences.

**In simple terms:** Solitude may feel like loneliness.

Key Takeaway

Recognize solitude’s value.

Themes

solitude loneliness selfreflection

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- creative work
- mental health
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you differentiate solitude from loneliness?
- What practices help embrace solitude?

A Different Perspective

Loneliness can arise even when alone is chosen.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [My music is very personal. I've created it in solitude. I face a white wall and beller. I like that sound - the expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-yoakam/my-music-is-very-personal-i-ve-created-it-in-solitude-i-face-a-white/)

[Dwight Yoakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-yoakam/)

> [Brace yourself, prepare yourself for the pain and the loneliness after breaking up, especially if you still have a soft corner for this person.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/brace-yourself-prepare-yourself-for-the-pain-and-the-loneliness-after/)

Pacifiersucker

> [Don't you understand? Listen carefully to what I'm saying. If you do, you'll get it. you can grasp this easily. In short...in short, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatsuhiko-takimoto/don-t-you-understand-listen-carefully-to-what-i-m-saying-if-you-do/)

[Tatsuhiko Takimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatsuhiko-takimoto/)

> [No matter how much we love our family and friends, a part of us needs the occasional moment of solitude as a plant needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-neagle/no-matter-how-much-we-love-our-family-and-friends-a-part-of-us-needs/)

[Anna Neagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-neagle/)

> [“Sometimes a moment of solitude is just a faded sorrow. You remember fringes of it, but forgot most of it. Moved on from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crestless-wave/sometimes-a-moment-of-solitude-is-just-a-faded-sorrow-you-remember/)

Crestless Wave

> [“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/)

> [There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-no-doubt-that-solitude-is-a-challenge-and-to-maintain/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [I simply adore being alone - I find it a consuming thirst - and when that thirst is slaked, then I am happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-simply-adore-being-alone-i-find-it-a-consuming-thirst-and-when-that/)

[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/)

> [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [“This was the difference, she thought, between solitude and isolation. And now she knew something about herself she hadn’t known before. It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/this-was-the-difference-she-thought-between-solitude-and-isolation/)

[James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/)

> [I've noticed that loneliness gets stronger when we try to face it down, but gets weaker when we simply ignore it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-noticed-that-loneliness-gets-stronger-when-we-try-to-face-it/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [People think being alone makes you LONELY, But I don't think thats true. Being surrounded by wrong people is the loneliest thing in World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-think-being-alone-makes-you-lonely-but-i-don-t-think-thats/)

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

> [I cannot keep quiet even when I am a lone voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-cannot-keep-quiet-even-when-i-am-a-lone-voice/)

[Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/)

> [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/)

## 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 Faces quotes

> [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/)

[Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/)

> [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/)

[Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/)

> [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

> [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/)

[Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/)

> [So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while." He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/)

[Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/)

[Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/)

> [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/)

[Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/)

[Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/)

> [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. There go the street lights bringing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/here-comes-old-rosie-she-s-looking-mighty-fine-here-comes-hot-nancy/)

[Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/)

> [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/)

[Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/)

> [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/)

[Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/)

> [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

[Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "May Sarton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-face-of-loneliness/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Faces"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-face-of-loneliness/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/may-sarton-897_faces_at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-fa_1304736.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“At any moment solitude may put on the face of loneliness.” — 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": "At any moment solitude may put...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-face-of-loneliness/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/at-any-moment-solitude-may-put-on-the-face-of-loneliness/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
