--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: like trying to eject the darkness from a…" description: "\"“like trying to eject the darkness from a room without opening the shutters and letting in the light. “I cannot sweep the darkness out, but I can shine..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png" --- # like trying to eject the darkness from a room without… ![“like trying to eject the darkness from a room without opening the shutters and letting in the light. “I cannot sweep the darkness out, but I can shine it out,” said John Newton.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png) > ““like trying to eject the darkness from a room without opening the shutters and letting in the light. “I cannot sweep the darkness out, but I can shine it out,” said John Newton.”” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to remove darkness without allowing light is futile; one must invite light to dispel darkness. **In simple terms:** You can't eliminate darkness without letting light in. Key Takeaway Invite light to address problems. Themes light acceptance transformation Mood reflective inspirational Type aphilosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - conflict resolution - mental health - spiritual practice Key Concepts metaphor psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you create openings for insight? - What light can you bring to a dark situation? A Different Perspective Light may be blocked by external barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) ## Related quotes > [Many mothers make the mistake of forever looking for the bad in the child, trying to . . . uproot and drive it out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/many-mothers-make-the-mistake-of-forever-looking-for-the-bad-in-the/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“I chase the wind and get lost in the clouds. I'm sweep into darkness in my search for the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-kennon/i-chase-the-wind-and-get-lost-in-the-clouds-i-m-sweep-into-darkness/) [Sherman Kennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-kennon/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“The call to give thanks, not at the end, but in the midst, began to reverberate inside us. We may never arrive at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-wolf/the-call-to-give-thanks-not-at-the-end-but-in-the-midst-began-to/) Katherine Wolf > [“In short, I am a riddle to myself; a heap of inconsistence. John Newton1 My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-c-wilson/in-short-i-am-a-riddle-to-myself-a-heap-of-inconsistence-john-newton1/) [Jared C. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-c-wilson/) > [The truly changed, truly converted, truly Christian heart can say with John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/the-truly-changed-truly-converted-truly-christian-heart-can-say-with/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I wish to be. I am not what I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/john-newton-i-am-not-what-i-ought-to-be-i-am-not-what-i-wish-to-be-i/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > ['Amazing Grace' is about the man who wrote 'Amazing Grace,' John Newton. It's a really great show - I have been workshopping it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-young/amazing-grace-is-about-the-man-who-wrote-amazing-grace-john-newton-it/) [Josh Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-young/) > [“Christ has taken our nature into heaven to represent us, and has left us on earth with his nature to represent him." - John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/christ-has-taken-our-nature-into-heaven-to-represent-us-and-has-left/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [“Through Thomas, William met John Newton, nearly 70, a well-known Anglican churchman once from Olney. Newton had been a slave runner, his soul redeemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wellman/through-thomas-william-met-john-newton-nearly-70-a-well-known/) [Sam Wellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-wellman/) > [“May John Newton’s prayer for himself be our prayer to God for our churches: “I am not what I ought to be. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/may-john-newton-s-prayer-for-himself-be-our-prayer-to-god-for-our/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [In thinking of light, if we can think about what it can do, and what it is, by thinking about itself, not about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/in-thinking-of-light-if-we-can-think-about-what-it-can-do-and-what-it/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [“Had a long night last night on the other side of the world so he's having a hard time this morning letting his light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/had-a-long-night-last-night-on-the-other-side-of-the-world-so-he-s/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [“He stared up at the moon, which looked like a giant hole in the sky, letting light through to the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/he-stared-up-at-the-moon-which-looked-like-a-giant-hole-in-the-sky/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“The women did not know how he visited Englishmen in Calcutta during the day, only to be treated with contempt. Even a prominent clergyman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wellman/the-women-did-not-know-how-he-visited-englishmen-in-calcutta-during/) [Sam Wellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-wellman/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. The stream cannot rise higher than its fountainhead;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-tend-to-get-what-we-expect-and-if-we-expect-nothing-we-get-nothing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There never will be a trust in excellence or a combination in superiority. As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## 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": "“like trying to eject the darkness from a room without opening the shutters and letting in the light. “I cannot sweep the darkness out, but I can shine it out,” said John Newton.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orison Swett Marden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a-room-without-opening-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a-room-without-opening-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/orison-swett-marden-711_darkness_like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a_2175473.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“like trying to eject the darkness from a room without opening the shutters and letting in the light. “I…” — Orison Swett Marden", "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": "Orison Swett Marden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“like trying to eject the darkness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a-room-without-opening-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/like-trying-to-eject-the-darkness-from-a-room-without-opening-the/#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 } } ] } ```