--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As the arrow endures the string, and in…" description: "\"As the arrow endures the string, and in the gathering momentum becomes more than itself. Because to stay is to be nowhere.\" — Rainer Maria Rilke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/rainer-maria-rilke-193_arrow_as-the-arrow-endures-the-string-and-in-t_434600.jpg" --- # As the arrow endures the string, and in the gathering… ![“As the arrow endures the string, and in the gathering momentum becomes more than itself. Because to stay is to be nowhere.” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/rainer-maria-rilke-193_arrow_as-the-arrow-endures-the-string-and-in-t_434600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/rainer-maria-rilke-193_arrow_as-the-arrow-endures-the-string-and-in-t_434600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/rainer-maria-rilke-193_arrow_as-the-arrow-endures-the-string-and-in-t_434600.jpg) > “As the arrow endures the string, and in the gathering momentum becomes more than itself. Because to stay is to be nowhere.” [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring tension creates greater force; staying still leads to emptiness. **In simple terms:** Holding tension builds power; stillness is emptiness. Key Takeaway Embrace tension, avoid stagnation. Themes growth energy paradox Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - creative work - personal development - sports training - relationship dynamics Key Concepts tension momentum existence Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel tension into productive energy? - What does “being nowhere” mean to you? A Different Perspective Stagnation can also be a source of reflection, not just emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Momentum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/momentum/) ## Related quotes > [The only figure in history who endures is Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/the-only-figure-in-history-who-endures-is-jesus/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Love that endures, from life that disappears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/love-that-endures-from-life-that-disappears/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“...the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/the-work-goes-on-the-cause-endures-the-hope-still-lives-and-the-dream/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [Hardness shatters; strength endures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/hardness-shatters-strength-endures/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [That which endures is not one or another association of living forms, but the process of which the cosmos is the product, and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/that-which-endures-is-not-one-or-another-association-of-living-forms/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“ENDURANCE I don't know you, But I love you, Just as God loves me and you. The sun and the moon Are opposing forces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/endurance-i-don-t-know-you-but-i-love-you-just-as-god-loves-me-and/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“They're working hard and persisting through difficulties because of their internal desire to control their lives, learn about their world, and accomplish something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/they-re-working-hard-and-persisting-through-difficulties-because-of/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [...The beauty one can find in art is one of the pitifully few real and lasting products of human endeavour. The beauty endures. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/the-beauty-one-can-find-in-art-is-one-of-the-pitifully-few-real-and/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [He Who Conquers Endures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-conquers-endures/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think, that love endures, but that it isn't everything, and it isn't ever what we want it to be...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/i-think-that-love-endures-but-that-it-isn-t-everything-and-it-isn-t/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [All my life I still have found, and I will forget it never; Every sorrow hath its bound, and no cross endures forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gerhardt/all-my-life-i-still-have-found-and-i-will-forget-it-never-every/) Paul Gerhardt > [Nothing endures but personal qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/nothing-endures-but-personal-qualities/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [At the end of the day, our work is what endures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/at-the-end-of-the-day-our-work-is-what-endures/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slow, endures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/that-which-grows-fast-withers-as-rapidly-that-which-grows-slow-endures/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Nothing endures but change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/nothing-endures-but-change/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) ## More by Rainer Maria Rilke > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. 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Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/have-patience-with-everything-that-remains-unsolved-in-your-heart-try/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) [Explore all 861 Rainer Maria Rilke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More Arrow quotes > [I'll get that arrow, pretty boy, and I'll do it with my shirt \*on\*. -Yao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mulan/i-ll-get-that-arrow-pretty-boy-and-i-ll-do-it-with-my-shirt-on-yao/) [Mulan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mulan/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [The main thing is to have strings to your bow. 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It gives out every now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/took-an-arrow-in-the-knee-on-my-way-through-the-eld-three-summers-ago/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [My Band, Pierce the Arrow, is my other passion along with acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-sandoval/my-band-pierce-the-arrow-is-my-other-passion-along-with-acting/) [Tom Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-sandoval/) > [If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high... Hooray for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-corey/if-you-shoot-an-arrow-and-it-goes-real-high-hooray-for-you/) [Dorian Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-corey/) > [You can learn from an ordinary bamboo leaf what ought to happen. It bends lower and lower under the weight of snow. Suddenly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugen-herrigel/you-can-learn-from-an-ordinary-bamboo-leaf-what-ought-to-happen-it/) [Eugen Herrigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugen-herrigel/) > [“It was chosen by the archer and though it is a long way off, we cannot blame it when we fail to hit it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-was-chosen-by-the-archer-and-though-it-is-a-long-way-off-we-cannot/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Follow your arrow / Wherever it points,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/follow-your-arrow-wherever-it-points/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [If the work is high and far, You must not only aim aright, But draw the bow with all your might.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-the-work-is-high-and-far-you-must-not-only-aim-aright-but-draw-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“How did you kill the Ashman in the forest last year?” “I shot him with an arrow.” “What kind of arrow?” “A sharp one.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/how-did-you-kill-the-ashman-in-the-forest-last-year-i-shot-him-with/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) > [If someone comes along and shoots an arrow into your heart, it’s fruitless to stand there and yell at the person. 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