--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Often to understand, we have to look into…" description: "\"Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness.\" — Michelangelo Antonioni" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png" --- # Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness. ![“Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness.” quote by Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png) > “Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness.” [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding often requires confronting emptiness and the unknown. **In simple terms:** Look into emptiness to gain insight. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty for deeper understanding. Themes philosophy art existence Mood introspective enigmatic Type cinematic philosophical When to use this quote - creative process - meditation - critical analysis Key Concepts emptiness perception meaning Questions to Reflect On - What does emptiness reveal to you? - How can you sit with uncertainty? A Different Perspective Emptiness can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ## Related quotes > [If you wish to know yourself observe how others act. If you wish to understand others look into your own heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/if-you-wish-to-know-yourself-observe-how-others-act-if-you-wish-to/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [“Manuel, when faced with a problem you do not understand, do any part of it you do understand, then look at it again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/manuel-when-faced-with-a-problem-you-do-not-understand-do-any-part-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“As you get older you'll understand that it's not about what you look like or what you own, it's all about the person you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/as-you-get-older-you-ll-understand-that-it-s-not-about-what-you-look/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [I don't get straight people, but I understand what they look like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-don-t-get-straight-people-but-i-understand-what-they-look-like/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [I don't understand that if you look wonderful, does that make you less important, less powerful, less serious?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wintour/i-don-t-understand-that-if-you-look-wonderful-does-that-make-you-less/) [Anna Wintour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wintour/) > [All my life I've been waiting to understand. Look what God has done for me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-my-life-i-ve-been-waiting-to-understand-look-what-god-has-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At the end of the day, women must understand how they look is important, but not all-important; that there are different ideas of beauty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-king/at-the-end-of-the-day-women-must-understand-how-they-look-is/) Poppy King > [I do understand that you can look into someone’s eyes,” I heard myself saying, “and suddenly know that life will be impossible without them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/i-do-understand-that-you-can-look-into-someone-s-eyes-i-heard-myself/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [when faced with a problem you do not understand, do any part of it you do understand, then look at it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-faced-with-a-problem-you-do-not-understand-do-any-part-of-it-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [“You understand how much you know about a subject the moment you give explanations to someone who doesn't know anything about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigina-sgarro/you-understand-how-much-you-know-about-a-subject-the-moment-you-give/) [Luigina Sgarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigina-sgarro/) > [Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-understand-and-not-only-will-you/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [I'm sure you think that I don't understand what you're going through, but I do. It's just that sometimes, our future is dictated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-m-sure-you-think-that-i-don-t-understand-what-you-re-going-through/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) ## More by Michelangelo Antonioni > [When you work on a character, you form in your mind an image of what he ought to look like. Then you go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/when-you-work-on-a-character-you-form-in-your-mind-an-image-of-what/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I can't imagine love without a sexual charge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-can-t-imagine-love-without-a-sexual-charge/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I am neither a sociologist nor a politician. All I can do is imagine for myself what the future will be like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-am-neither-a-sociologist-nor-a-politician-all-i-can-do-is-imagine/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [We know that behind every image revealed there is another image more faithful to reality, and in the back of that image there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/we-know-that-behind-every-image-revealed-there-is-another-image-more/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [My films always leave me unsatisfied, since I've always worked under fairly disastrous conditions economically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/my-films-always-leave-me-unsatisfied-since-i-ve-always-worked-under/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [All I know is that we are loaded down with old and stale stuff - habits, customs, old attitudes already dead and gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/all-i-know-is-that-we-are-loaded-down-with-old-and-stale-stuff-habits/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I'm not rich and maybe I'll never be rich. Money is useful - yes - but I don't worship it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-m-not-rich-and-maybe-i-ll-never-be-rich-money-is-useful-yes-but-i/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I believe in the autobiographical concept only to the degree that I am able to put onto film all that's passing through my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-believe-in-the-autobiographical-concept-only-to-the-degree-that-i/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [Life should be taken ironically; otherwise, it becomes a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/life-should-be-taken-ironically-otherwise-it-becomes-a-tragedy/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [Normally, however, I try to avoid repetitions of any shot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/normally-however-i-try-to-avoid-repetitions-of-any-shot/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [You can't go to an LSD or pot party unless you take it yourself. If I want to go, I must take drugs myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/you-can-t-go-to-an-lsd-or-pot-party-unless-you-take-it-yourself-if-i/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I want an actor to try to give me what I ask in the best and most exact way possible. He mustn't try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-want-an-actor-to-try-to-give-me-what-i-ask-in-the-best-and-most/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [We live in a society that compels us to go on using these concepts, and we no longer know what they mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/we-live-in-a-society-that-compels-us-to-go-on-using-these-concepts/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [When I see a good film, it's like a whiplash. I run away, in order not to be influenced. Thus, the films I liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/when-i-see-a-good-film-it-s-like-a-whiplash-i-run-away-in-order-not/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [My work is like digging, it's archaeological research among the arid materials of our times. That's how I understand my first films, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/my-work-is-like-digging-it-s-archaeological-research-among-the-arid/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) [Explore all 106 Michelangelo Antonioni quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelangelo Antonioni" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into-emptiness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into-emptiness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7b/michelangelo-antonioni-4776_emptiness_often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into_2940159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Often to understand, we have to look into emptiness.” — Michelangelo Antonioni", "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": "Michelangelo Antonioni", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Often to understand, we have to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into-emptiness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/often-to-understand-we-have-to-look-into-emptiness/#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 } } ] } ```