--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But now that so much is changing, isn't…" description: "\"“But now that so much is changing, isn't it time for us to change? Couldn't we try to gradually develop and slowly take upon ourselves, little by littl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/rainer-maria-rilke-193_beginnings_but-now-that-so-much-is-changing-isn-t-i_2248276.jpg" --- # But now that so much is changing, isn't it time for us to… ![“But now that so much is changing, isn't it time for us to change? Couldn't we try to gradually develop and slowly take upon ourselves, little by little, our part in the great task of love? We have been spared all its trouble, and that is why it has slipped in among our distractions, as a piece of…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/rainer-maria-rilke-193_beginnings_but-now-that-so-much-is-changing-isn-t-i_2248276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/rainer-maria-rilke-193_beginnings_but-now-that-so-much-is-changing-isn-t-i_2248276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe6/rainer-maria-rilke-193_beginnings_but-now-that-so-much-is-changing-isn-t-i_2248276.jpg) > ““But now that so much is changing, isn't it time for us to change? Couldn't we try to gradually develop and slowly take upon ourselves, little by little, our part in the great task of love? We have been spared all its trouble, and that is why it has slipped in among our distractions, as a piece of real lace will sometimes fall into a child's toy-box and please him and no longer please him, and finally it lies there among the broken and dismembered toys, more wretched than any of them. We have been spoiled by superficial pleasures like dilettantes, and are looked upon as masters. But what if we despised our successes? What if we started from the very outset to learn the task of love, which has always been done for us? What if we went ahead and became beginners, now that much is changing?”” [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. The passage urges a personal awakening to love, urging gradual, conscious effort rather than complacent indulgence in superficial comforts. **In simple terms:** Love requires active, incremental learning and humility. Key Takeaway Begin anew, practice love step by step. Themes love self‑growth humility change spirituality Mood reflective hopeful serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily relationships - community service - personal reflection - creative pursuits Key Concepts existentialism personal development mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate small acts of love into everyday life? - What distractions prevent you from deeper connection? A Different Perspective Progress may be hindered by entrenched habits and societal distraction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Changing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing/) [Changing Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-isn-5125092/) [Gradually Develop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gradually-develop-5125093/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little by little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-by-little/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Superficial Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial-pleasures-5125091/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Someone who remains satisfied with the superficial pleasures of life is ignorant of the agitation deep within the mind. He is under the illusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hart/someone-who-remains-satisfied-with-the-superficial-pleasures-of-life/) [William Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hart/) > [“Pleasure is a false god. Research shows that people who focus their energy on superficial pleasures end up more anxious, more emotionally unstable, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/pleasure-is-a-false-god-research-shows-that-people-who-focus-their/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [I think everyone probably starts out sounding like someone else, but gradually you develop your own sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/i-think-everyone-probably-starts-out-sounding-like-someone-else-but/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [Feelings of right and wrong that at first have their locus within the family gradually develop into a pattern for the tribe or city,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/feelings-of-right-and-wrong-that-at-first-have-their-locus-within-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. But if you were to say that the beginnings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/there-are-not-many-beginnings-but-there-is-a-single-beginning-prior/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [“January 20th,2021 Blow the trumpets loud, Salute the National Guard in the crowd, New beginnings, A new day has dawned, No need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/january-20th-2021-blow-the-trumpets-loud-salute-the-national-guard-in/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. 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I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [“God is going to send you someone that will rescue you. Then one day you will rescue them in return and together your story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-is-going-to-send-you-someone-that-will-rescue-you-then-one-day/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) ## 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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Things will not abandon you. The nights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-nothing-you-can-share-with-other-people-try-to-be-close/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Sin is the most wonderfully roundabout path to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/sin-is-the-most-wonderfully-roundabout-path-to-god/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Swells, Marina? we ocean, depths, Marina? we sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/swells-marina-we-ocean-depths-marina-we-sky/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [You life will find its own paths... and that they be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-life-will-find-its-own-paths-and-that-they-be-good-rich-and-wide/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-do-not-want-to-be-folded-for-where-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-the-sadness-passes-the-new-presence-inside-us-the/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. 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 Beginnings quotes > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“God is going to send you someone that will rescue you. Then one day you will rescue them in return and together your story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-is-going-to-send-you-someone-that-will-rescue-you-then-one-day/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [My little notebooks were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There are no beginnings, not even to stories. There are only places where you make an entrance into someone else's life and either stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/there-are-no-beginnings-not-even-to-stories-there-are-only-places/) [Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/) > [“Our beginnings never know our ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/our-beginnings-never-know-our-ends/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. My beginnings here made me pay attention to where the sun is, where the winds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/my-beginnings-in-the-southwest-are-clear-and-palpable-my-beginnings/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“January 20th,2021 Blow the trumpets loud, Salute the National Guard in the crowd, New beginnings, A new day has dawned, No need to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/january-20th-2021-blow-the-trumpets-loud-salute-the-national-guard-in/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. 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Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“You see the bird and you see its flight. You can not see through its eyes. Therefore, you don't know its plight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/you-see-the-bird-and-you-see-its-flight-you-can-not-see-through-its/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) [Browse all 401 Beginnings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But now that so much is changing, isn't it time for us to change? Couldn't we try to gradually develop and slowly take upon ourselves, little by little, our part in the great task of love? 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