--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am too alone in the world, and yet not…" description: "\"“I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough to make every moment holy. I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough just to lie before y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/rainer-maria-rilke-193_describe-myself_i-am-too-alone-in-the-world-and-yet-not_463893.jpg" --- # I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough to… ![“I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough to make every moment holy. I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough just to lie before you like a thing, shrewd and secretive. I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will, as it goes toward action; and in those quiet…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/rainer-maria-rilke-193_describe-myself_i-am-too-alone-in-the-world-and-yet-not_463893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/rainer-maria-rilke-193_describe-myself_i-am-too-alone-in-the-world-and-yet-not_463893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/rainer-maria-rilke-193_describe-myself_i-am-too-alone-in-the-world-and-yet-not_463893.jpg) > ““I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough to make every moment holy. I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough just to lie before you like a thing, shrewd and secretive. I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will, as it goes toward action; and in those quiet, sometimes hardly moving times, when something is coming near, I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone. I want to be a mirror for your whole body, and I never want to be blind, or to be too old to hold up your heavy and swaying picture. I want to unfold. I don’t want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie. and I want my grasp of things to be true before you. I want to describe myself like a painting that I looked at closely for a long time, like a saying that I finally understood, like the pitcher I use every day, like the face of my mother, like a ship that carried me through the wildest storm of all.”” [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 speaker longs for authentic existence, seeking self‑knowledge, honest expression, and deep connection while rejecting superficiality and concealment. **In simple terms:** Seek truth and genuine connection, not empty appearances. Key Takeaway Embrace honesty and purposeful action. Themes authenticity self‑knowledge connection expression truth Mood reflective introspective yearning Type poetic philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artistic creation - intimate relationships - self‑reflection - spiritual seeking Key Concepts existentialism personal identity creative metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal truth with social expectations? - What does it mean to be a “mirror” for another? A Different Perspective True self‑understanding may be painful and socially isolating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I want to unfold. I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie, and I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-want-to-unfold-i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i-2/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I want to unfold. I don’t want to be folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-want-to-unfold-i-don-t-want-to-be-folded-anywhere-because-where-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I’m too alone in the world, yet not alone enough to make each hour holy. I’m too small in the world, yet not small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-m-too-alone-in-the-world-yet-not-alone-enough-to-make-each-hour/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will, as it goes toward action. And in the silent, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-want-my-own-will-and-i-want-simply-to-be-with-my-will-as-it-goes/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I want to unfold. Let no place in me hold itself closed, for where I am closed, I am false...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-want-to-unfold-let-no-place-in-me-hold-itself-closed-for-where-i-am/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I want to unfold. I don’t want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-want-to-unfold-i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I don’t want to stand before you like a thing, shrewd, secretive. I want my own will, and I want simply to be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-don-t-want-to-stand-before-you-like-a-thing-shrewd-secretive-i-want/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [If I look in the mirror, my body is absolutely perfect. I think not enough women feel that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-gibbs/if-i-look-in-the-mirror-my-body-is-absolutely-perfect-i-think-not/) [Lauren Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-gibbs/) > [“Naked Girl and Mirror This is not I. I had no body once- only what served my need to laugh and run and stare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-a-wright/naked-girl-and-mirror-this-is-not-i-i-had-no-body-once-only-what/) Judith A. Wright > [I don't get dressed for other people. I get dressed for what I see in the mirror. My body isn't for other people's consumption.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-byer/i-don-t-get-dressed-for-other-people-i-get-dressed-for-what-i-see-in/) [Nicole Byer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-byer/) > [I think people come home, and they turn on the TV and don't necessarily want a mirror in their face. They want to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-cruz/i-think-people-come-home-and-they-turn-on-the-tv-and-don-t/) [Wilson Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-cruz/) > [“I want to mirror your image in its fullest perfection. Never be blind or too old to uphold your weighty wavering reflection”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-mirror-your-image-in-its-fullest-perfection-never-be-blind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But I have seen the best of you and the worst of you, and I choose both. I want to share every single one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/but-i-have-seen-the-best-of-you-and-the-worst-of-you-and-i-choose/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [“- What could a river want with a mirror? - That is a question for the river.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/what-could-a-river-want-with-a-mirror-that-is-a-question-for-the-river/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“Sometimes I feel like one of those sliding tile puzzles. I just get so dang close to what I want to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/sometimes-i-feel-like-one-of-those-sliding-tile-puzzles-i-just-get-so/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) ## 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. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“A complete sharing between two people is an impossibility and whenever it seems, nevertheless, to exist, it is a narrowing, a mutual agreement which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-complete-sharing-between-two-people-is-an-impossibility-and/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“But this is what ... people are so often and disastrously wrong in doing: they (who by their very nature are impatient) fling themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-this-is-what-people-are-so-often-and-disastrously-wrong-in-doing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“If there is nothing you can share with other people, try to be close to Things. 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 Describe myself quotes > [I'd happily describe myself as a TV presenter now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/i-d-happily-describe-myself-as-a-tv-presenter-now/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [If I had to describe myself in one word its annoying...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/if-i-had-to-describe-myself-in-one-word-its-annoying/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [Would I describe myself as new Labour? I'm Labour, organised Labour. I think labels have a limited use and that's where you really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-grady/would-i-describe-myself-as-new-labour-i-m-labour-organised-labour-i/) [Frances O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-grady/) > [Stubborn isn't a word I would use to describe myself; pigheaded is more appropriate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/stubborn-isn-t-a-word-i-would-use-to-describe-myself-pigheaded-is/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [I would describe myself as a very plain but very honest person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taeyang/i-would-describe-myself-as-a-very-plain-but-very-honest-person/) [Taeyang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taeyang/) > [I would describe myself as a tallish, shy, middle-aged man who equally loves his work and his freedom. And a good liar!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-cattelan/i-would-describe-myself-as-a-tallish-shy-middle-aged-man-who-equally/) [Maurizio Cattelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-cattelan/) > [I describe myself as someone who was always putting on a show, even when I was a little girl. I wanted to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ziskin/i-describe-myself-as-someone-who-was-always-putting-on-a-show-even/) [Laura Ziskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ziskin/) > [How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jackhammermercilessinsatiable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schrute/how-would-i-describe-myself-three-words-hard-working-alpha-male/) [Dwight Schrute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schrute/) > [“Here there comes a practical question which has often troubled me. Whenever I go into a foreign country or a prison or any similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/here-there-comes-a-practical-question-which-has-often-troubled-me/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I describe myself as a "spiritual sampler," raised Catholic, been Baptist, Methodist, and a Unity member.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-malveaux/i-describe-myself-as-a-spiritual-sampler-raised-catholic-been-baptist/) [Julianne Malveaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-malveaux/) > [I would describe myself as eclectic: Bohemian in thought and conservative in action - or maybe it's the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekta-kapoor/i-would-describe-myself-as-eclectic-bohemian-in-thought-and/) [Ekta Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ekta-kapoor/) > [I would describe myself as a filmmaker, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chika-anadu/i-would-describe-myself-as-a-filmmaker-period/) [Chika Anadu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chika-anadu/) > [I love the idea of God, but it's not stylistically in keeping with the way I function. I would describe myself as an enthusiastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-love-the-idea-of-god-but-it-s-not-stylistically-in-keeping-with-the/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I would not describe myself as a political writer except in the sense that the personal is political, which is something that I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-would-not-describe-myself-as-a-political-writer-except-in-the-sense/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I don't necessarily take issue with the label 'conservative journalist,' but I never particularly use that to describe myself. But I guess the values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-ngo/i-don-t-necessarily-take-issue-with-the-label-conservative-journalist/) [Andy Ngo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-ngo/) Browse all 139 Describe myself quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am too alone in the world, and yet not alone enough to make every moment holy. I am too tiny in this world, and not tiny enough just to lie before you like a thing, shrewd and secretive. I want my own will, and I want simply to be with my will, as it goes toward action; and in those quiet, sometimes hardly moving times, when something is coming near, I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone. I want to be a mirror for your whole body, and I never want to be blind, or to be too old to hold up your heavy and swaying picture. I want to unfold. 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