--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything is meant to be lost, that the…" description: "\"Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness\" — Meister Eckhart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg" --- # Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in… ![“Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness” quote by Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg) > “Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness” [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss is necessary to free the soul, allowing it to experience pure, unbounded existence. **In simple terms:** Let go to find true freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace loss for spiritual growth. Themes spirituality detachment freedom Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - grief processing - creative work - life transitions Key Concepts mysticism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does "nothingness" mean to you? - How can loss become a catalyst for growth? A Different Perspective Total loss can lead to despair if not balanced with hope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Nothingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothingness/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [The young man knows that he is irretrievably lost. This is no town of cats, he finally realizes. It is the place where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-young-man-knows-that-he-is-irretrievably-lost-this-is-no-town-of/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“...as was true of all human effort, there was never advancement. Everything added meant something lost, and about as often as not the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/as-was-true-of-all-human-effort-there-was-never-advancement/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [What did dead mean, Ray wondered. It meant lost, it meant frozen, it meant gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/what-did-dead-mean-ray-wondered-it-meant-lost-it-meant-frozen-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There followed a time when everything was dull. The things that had meant something lost importance, though they were still there, like bruises on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/there-followed-a-time-when-everything-was-dull-the-things-that-had/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [Existence itself stands in need of nothing, for it lacks nothing, whereas everything else needs it, because outside of it there is nothing. Nothingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/existence-itself-stands-in-need-of-nothing-for-it-lacks-nothing/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The devil tryna rip out my soul. Lost my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/the-devil-tryna-rip-out-my-soul-lost-my-soul/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [“I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-seemed-to-have-lost-all-soul-or-sensation-but-for-this-one-pursuit/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“And a ride in a hearse tells us we’re all close to that final cruise . . . when the body dies and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mutti-clark/and-a-ride-in-a-hearse-tells-us-we-re-all-close-to-that-final-cruise/) [David Mutti Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mutti-clark/) > [“I have everything I prayed for. I know most would condemn me and think I've lost my soul, but I know in my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-g-henderson/i-have-everything-i-prayed-for-i-know-most-would-condemn-me-and-think/) Patty G. Henderson > [The death of a library, any library, suggests that the community has lost its soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-death-of-a-library-any-library-suggests-that-the-community-has/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Or maybe I’d lost my soul already. I doubted God let someone like me keep any gift from him. It was highly likely I’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/or-maybe-i-d-lost-my-soul-already-i-doubted-god-let-someone-like-me/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [The only test of possession is use. The talent that is buried is not owned. The napkin and the hole in the ground are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/the-only-test-of-possession-is-use-the-talent-that-is-buried-is-not/) [Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/) > [“I can always recognize another lost soul. Even if they're smiling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/i-can-always-recognize-another-lost-soul-even-if-they-re-smiling/) [Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/) > [Aye I'm not a bad kid I just lost my soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooly-justice/aye-i-m-not-a-bad-kid-i-just-lost-my-soul/) [Cooly Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooly-justice/) > [Tourism does not go to a city that has lost its soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-frommer/tourism-does-not-go-to-a-city-that-has-lost-its-soul/) [Arthur Frommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-frommer/) ## More by Meister Eckhart > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [When I think of God's Kingdom, I am compelled to be silent because of its immensity, because God's Kingdom is none other than God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/when-i-think-of-god-s-kingdom-i-am-compelled-to-be-silent-because-of/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Action and becoming are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/action-and-becoming-are-one/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Whoever wants to receive the body of our Lord does not need to scrutinize what they are feeling at the time or how great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/whoever-wants-to-receive-the-body-of-our-lord-does-not-need-to/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Nothing will be able to hinder us, if we desire and seek God alone, and take pleasure in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/nothing-will-be-able-to-hinder-us-if-we-desire-and-seek-god-alone-and/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [ \[W\]e must come into a transformed knowing, an unknowing which comes not from ignorance but from knowledge. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/w-e-must-come-into-a-transformed-knowing-an-unknowing-which-comes-not/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [I need to be silent for awhile, worlds are forming in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/i-need-to-be-silent-for-awhile-worlds-are-forming-in-my-heart/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [One person who has mastered life is better than a thousand persons who have mastered only the contents of books, but no one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/one-person-who-has-mastered-life-is-better-than-a-thousand-persons/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“But where is this true possession of God, whereby we really possess him, to be found? This real possession of God is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/but-where-is-this-true-possession-of-god-whereby-we-really-possess/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The most powerful prayer, one well-nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind. The quieter it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/the-most-powerful-prayer-one-well-nigh-omnipotent-and-the-worthiest/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [If we seek God for our own good and profit, we are not seeking God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/if-we-seek-god-for-our-own-good-and-profit-we-are-not-seeking-god/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Our bodily food is changed into us, but our spiritual food changes us into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/our-bodily-food-is-changed-into-us-but-our-spiritual-food-changes-us/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Concerning this desert, Jeremiah writes: ‘I will lead my beloved into the wilderness and will speak to her in her heart’ (Hosea 2:14) .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/concerning-this-desert-jeremiah-writes-i-will-lead-my-beloved-into/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [If the seal is pressed completely through the wax so that no wax remains without being impressed by the seal, then it becomes indistinguishably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/if-the-seal-is-pressed-completely-through-the-wax-so-that-no-wax/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Be ready at all times for the gifts of God, and always for new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/be-ready-at-all-times-for-the-gifts-of-god-and-always-for-new-ones/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) [Explore all 301 Meister Eckhart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## More Grieving quotes > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [... I think we grieve forever, but that goes for love too, fortunately for us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/i-think-we-grieve-forever-but-that-goes-for-love-too-fortunately-for/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [These are the intensities that one cannot live with, that he has to outgrow if he wants to survive. But who can help grieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/these-are-the-intensities-that-one-cannot-live-with-that-he-has-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Birth, life, death is a cycle. And they're all beautiful, you celebrate all of them. Animals do grieve, but they move on. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/birth-life-death-is-a-cycle-and-they-re-all-beautiful-you-celebrate/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-longer-i-live-the-more-it-grieves-me-to-see-man-who-occupies-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“There's always a last time. If you could remember every last time, you'd never stop grieving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/there-s-always-a-last-time-if-you-could-remember-every-last-time-you/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [I never could keep a promise. I do not blame myself for this weakness, because the fault must lie in my physical organization. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-could-keep-a-promise-i-do-not-blame-myself-for-this-weakness/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [In general satire, every man perceives A slight attack, yet neither fears nor grieves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/in-general-satire-every-man-perceives-a-slight-attack-yet-neither/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/or-maybe-a-person-is-just-made-up-of-a-lot-of-peoplemaybe-we-re/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Any kind of grieving that is not allowed causes a break. In our culture, grieving in public is not encouraged, but in other cultures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/any-kind-of-grieving-that-is-not-allowed-causes-a-break-in-our/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) > [It always grieves me to contemplate the initiation of children into the ways of life when they are scarcely more than infants. It checks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-always-grieves-me-to-contemplate-the-initiation-of-children-into/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Browse all 1,021 Grieving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Meister Eckhart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the-soul-may-stand-in-unhampered/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grieving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the-soul-may-stand-in-unhampered/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/meister-eckhart-1044_grieving_everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the_3104190.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness” — Meister Eckhart", "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": "Meister Eckhart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everything is meant to be lost,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the-soul-may-stand-in-unhampered/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/everything-is-meant-to-be-lost-that-the-soul-may-stand-in-unhampered/#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 } } ] } ```