--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tom shut his eyes again, because when his…" description: "\"“Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut, he could tell himself that there was light.”\" — N.D. Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png" --- # Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut… ![“Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut, he could tell himself that there was light.” quote by N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png) > ““Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut, he could tell himself that there was light.”” [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Closing one's eyes can create an inner vision of light, offering comfort amidst darkness. **In simple terms:** Imagining light eases fear. Key Takeaway Use imagination to find hope in tough times. Themes imagination hope comfort mental resilience Mood inspirational contemplative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - stressful situations - grief - nighttime anxiety - creative writing Key Concepts visualization psychology inner light Questions to Reflect On - What inner images help you during hardship? - How can you balance imagination with action? A Different Perspective Imagining may not replace real solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Eyes Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-shut/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Shut Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut-eyes/) [Tell Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-light-1601699/) [Tom Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tom-shut-5357846/) ## Related quotes > [“...one of the roles of man is to shut his eyes and keep them shut to see if he can continue into the night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/machado-de-assis/one-of-the-roles-of-man-is-to-shut-his-eyes-and-keep-them-shut-to-see/) [Machado de Assis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/machado-de-assis/) > [The trouble is you can shut your eyes but you can’t shut your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-trouble-is-you-can-shut-your-eyes-but-you-can-t-shut-your-mind/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-while-the-tale-of-how-we-suffer-and-how-we-are-delighted-and-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hey little mam.a Ain't gotta ask me if I want to. Tell me, can I get a light? Roll you up and let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/hey-little-mam-a-ain-t-gotta-ask-me-if-i-want-to-tell-me-can-i-get-a/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [“I cannot tell you what the light is, but I can tell you what it is not.… What is the motive of the light?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-cannot-tell-you-what-the-light-is-but-i-can-tell-you-what-it-is-not/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [With all your science can you tell me how it is, and when it is, that light comes into the soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/with-all-your-science-can-you-tell-me-how-it-is-and-when-it-is-that/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If she/he loves you it will show you shouldnt have to tell them it should be a light switch that comes on when yall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/if-she-he-loves-you-it-will-show-you-shouldnt-have-to-tell-them-it/) [Frenchqueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenchqueen/) > [“I feel more for you than ever have for anyone, and anything we do together isn’t me using you!” He squeezes his eyes shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-ferrera/i-feel-more-for-you-than-ever-have-for-anyone-and-anything-we-do/) [Mila Ferrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-ferrera/) > [“Martha said, "Do you have any idea of the kind of surprise your brothers are in for sooner or later? Or are you doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-o-connell/martha-said-do-you-have-any-idea-of-the-kind-of-surprise-your/) [Ellen O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-o-connell/) > [“And I'm here to tell you that, as long as you keep your eyes shut, it's really not that bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/and-i-m-here-to-tell-you-that-as-long-as-you-keep-your-eyes-shut-it-s/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“Sometimes life holds more than people allow themselves to see. Such individuals may continue to live as though they are blind for eternities before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-herr/sometimes-life-holds-more-than-people-allow-themselves-to-see-such/) [Emily Herr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-herr/) > [“Of course I remember you." My voice is a strangled whisper. I squeeze my eyes shut. "You were the only one who ever looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/of-course-i-remember-you-my-voice-is-a-strangled-whisper-i-squeeze-my/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [We are all too much inclined, I think, to walk through life with our eyes shut. There are things all round us and right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/we-are-all-too-much-inclined-i-think-to-walk-through-life-with-our/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [I think if you're going on thinking oh, I can do this with my eyes shut, then it's probably not the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-think-if-you-re-going-on-thinking-oh-i-can-do-this-with-my-eyes/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [“Travis clenched his eyes shut, and a sinking feeling settled over me. It was agonizing seeing him suffer, knowing that not only was I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/travis-clenched-his-eyes-shut-and-a-sinking-feeling-settled-over-me/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) ## More by N.D. Wilson > [“But if that was going to happen, it was going to happen whether or not he worried about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/but-if-that-was-going-to-happen-it-was-going-to-happen-whether-or-not/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [“We haven't stopped running, but we are getting slower. We have little people running with us now. We have passed others. Our own people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/we-haven-t-stopped-running-but-we-are-getting-slower-we-have-little/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [Plato, the first true pope of philosophy (sorry, Socrates), argued for a World of Forms above the reality-a transcendent plane of perfect essences, pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/plato-the-first-true-pope-of-philosophy-sorry-socrates-argued-for-a/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [“He was a man with eyebrows, or maybe they were eyebrows with a man. Ownership would have been hard to establish, and Cyrus couldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/he-was-a-man-with-eyebrows-or-maybe-they-were-eyebrows-with-a-man/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [After three years down here, I've not learned too much. But one thing I do know is that our bellies aren't big enough for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-three-years-down-here-i-ve-not-learned-too-much-but-one-thing-i/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [Drink your wine. Laugh from your gut. Burden your moments with thankfulness. Be as empty as you can be when that clock winds down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/drink-your-wine-laugh-from-your-gut-burden-your-moments-with/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [If God gives you (or makes you) a joke, what are you meant to do in response? (Receive it. Laugh.) If God gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/if-god-gives-you-or-makes-you-a-joke-what-are-you-meant-to-do-in/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [“Infinite goes all the way up and all the way down; and at every level, with equal attention, He creates with the full dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/infinite-goes-all-the-way-up-and-all-the-way-down-and-at-every-level/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [God is a God of galaxies, of storms, of roaring seas and boiling thunder, but He is also the God of bread baking, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/god-is-a-god-of-galaxies-of-storms-of-roaring-seas-and-boiling/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [The moon was up, painting the world silver, making things look just a little more alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/the-moon-was-up-painting-the-world-silver-making-things-look-just-a/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [The world is R-rated, and no one's checking IDs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/the-world-is-r-rated-and-no-one-s-checking-ids/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [We are narrative creatures, and we need narrative nourishment-nar rative catechisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/we-are-narrative-creatures-and-we-need-narrative-nourishment-nar/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [In Bright Shadow: C.S. Lewis on the Imagination for Theology and Discipleship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/in-bright-shadow-c-s-lewis-on-the-imagination-for-theology-and/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) [Explore all 160 N.D. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [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/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [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/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut, he could tell himself that there was light.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.D. Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his-eyes-were-shut-he-could-tell/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his-eyes-were-shut-he-could-tell/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/n-d-wilson-2571_darkness_tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his_675961.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tom shut his eyes again, because when his eyes were shut, he could tell himself that there was light.” — N.D. Wilson", "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": "N.D. Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Tom shut his eyes again, because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his-eyes-were-shut-he-could-tell/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/tom-shut-his-eyes-again-because-when-his-eyes-were-shut-he-could-tell/#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 } } ] } ```