--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This means, in a way, that true light is…" description: "\"This means, in a way, that true light is dependent on the presence of other lights. Take the others away and darkness results. Yet the reverse is not t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/n-k-jemisin-1466_darkness_this-means-in-a-way-that-true-light-is-d_1726747.jpg" --- # This means, in a way, that true light is dependent on the… ![“This means, in a way, that true light is dependent on the presence of other lights. Take the others away and darkness results. Yet the reverse is not true: take away darkness and there is only more darkness. Darkness can exist by itself. Light cannot.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/n-k-jemisin-1466_darkness_this-means-in-a-way-that-true-light-is-d_1726747.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/n-k-jemisin-1466_darkness_this-means-in-a-way-that-true-light-is-d_1726747.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/n-k-jemisin-1466_darkness_this-means-in-a-way-that-true-light-is-d_1726747.jpg) > “This means, in a way, that true light is dependent on the presence of other lights. Take the others away and darkness results. Yet the reverse is not true: take away darkness and there is only more darkness. Darkness can exist by itself. Light cannot.” [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Light depends on other lights to exist; darkness can exist alone, but removing darkness only creates more darkness. **In simple terms:** Light needs other lights; darkness can exist alone. Key Takeaway Understand interdependence of illumination. Themes philosophy light darkness dependence existence Mood contemplative poetic philosophical Type metaphorical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - psychology - spiritual practice - artistic design Key Concepts metaphor for community ontological concepts contrast self‑sufficiency Questions to Reflect On - How does community affect individual identity? - Can darkness be productive? A Different Perspective May oversimplify physical properties of light. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) ## Related quotes > [The more you try to turn away from darkness, the more darkness is right against your back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/the-more-you-try-to-turn-away-from-darkness-the-more-darkness-is/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [“Light and Darkness. One cannot exist without the other. There is no true Master, without the power of balance. ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/light-and-darkness-one-cannot-exist-without-the-other-there-is-no/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [“No matter how much darkness life brings, fight, because darkness can't exist without lights. As long as we're alive and trying, we'll get through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-e-larsen/no-matter-how-much-darkness-life-brings-fight-because-darkness-can-t/) Jessica E. Larsen > [You can't have good without bad and bad without good. In every bad situation there is a gleam of light and in every good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden/you-can-t-have-good-without-bad-and-bad-without-good-in-every-bad/) [Isaiah Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden/) > [Life would be impossible on such a planet. It wouldn't get enough heat and light, and if it rotated there would be total darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/life-would-be-impossible-on-such-a-planet-it-wouldn-t-get-enough-heat/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“But you know, there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark... That doesn't also exist in the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/una/but-you-know-there-is-nothing-to-be-afraid-of-in-the-dark-that-doesn/) Una > [“Just remember, a dark shadow need light to exist but light doesn't need darkness to be luminous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-hayes/just-remember-a-dark-shadow-need-light-to-exist-but-light-doesn-t/) [Gwen Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-hayes/) > [Have I turned you to stone? Do we still exist out there? A light we both know, a light we both share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-craig/have-i-turned-you-to-stone-do-we-still-exist-out-there-a-light-we/) [Jonny Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-craig/) > [“Shadows can only exist where there is light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehya-sky/shadows-can-only-exist-where-there-is-light/) [Tehya Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehya-sky/) > [Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star. It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/sometimes-when-i-look-at-you-i-feel-i-m-gazing-at-a-distant-star-it-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Maybe the star doesnt even exist any more.Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/maybe-the-star-doesnt-even-exist-any-more-yet-sometimes-that-light/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I can’t afford to live in reaction to darkness. If I do, darkness has had a role in setting the agenda for my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-can-t-afford-to-live-in-reaction-to-darkness-if-i-do-darkness-has/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [“Less now to me is that darkness than my own darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/less-now-to-me-is-that-darkness-than-my-own-darkness/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [I've always said I was born in the storm. I just had to find a way out of it, find the clearing, and believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-pedersen/i-ve-always-said-i-was-born-in-the-storm-i-just-had-to-find-a-way-out/) [Aaron Pedersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-pedersen/) > [“It’s like you have all this light inside of you, but you can’t see it. It chases away the darkness in people and draws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-scardoni/it-s-like-you-have-all-this-light-inside-of-you-but-you-can-t-see-it/) [Bianca Scardoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-scardoni/) ## More by N.K. Jemisin > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What can orogeny do against something like that? Keep her breathing, maybe. But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-can-orogeny-do-against-something-like-that-keep-her-breathing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What the rust do you matter? Who cares about you? Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Once, you did have people who cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-the-rust-do-you-matter-who-cares-about-you-well-that-s-the-thing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) [Explore all 225 N.K. Jemisin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## 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 [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This means, in a way, that true light is dependent on the presence of other lights. Take the others away and darkness results. Yet the reverse is not true: take away darkness and there is only more darkness. Darkness can exist by itself. Light cannot.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.K. 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