---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't want to stay folded anywhere…"
description: "\"I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.\" — Rainer Maria Rilke"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg"
---

#  I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am…

![“I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg)

> “I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.”

[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.

Refusing to conform or be folded, as it would be a betrayal of true self.

**In simple terms:** Avoid being folded; stay authentic.

Key Takeaway

Live authentically, reject false roles.

Themes

authenticity integrity self‑identity

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- social expectations
- personal growth

Key Concepts

folding lie self‑acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- What parts of yourself do you feel folded?
- How can you honor your true self daily?

A Different Perspective

Societal pressures can make authenticity difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/)

## Related quotes

> [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 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/)

> [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/)

> [“Everywhere I am folded, there I am a lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/everywhere-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/)

[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/)

> [“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/)

> [Why do I write? I write to entertain my friends and to exasperate our enemies. To unfold the folded lie, to record to truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/why-do-i-write-i-write-to-entertain-my-friends-and-to-exasperate-our/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [All I have is a voice to undo the folded lie, the romantic lie in the brain of the sensual man-in-the-street and the lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-i-have-is-a-voice-to-undo-the-folded-lie-the-romantic-lie-in-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“and I wan, in those silent, somehow faltering times, to be with someone who knows, or else alone. I want to reflect everything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/and-i-wan-in-those-silent-somehow-faltering-times-to-be-with-someone/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [Books are carefully folded forests/void of autumn/bound from the sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/books-are-carefully-folded-forests-void-of-autumn-bound-from-the-sun/)

[Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/)

> [A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-rose-with-all-its-sweetest-leaves-yet-folded/)

[Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/)

> [“Folded arms can’t fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-barnes-sr/folded-arms-can-t-fly/)

[Seth Barnes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-barnes-sr/)

> [“It may have been just another night to all the people I saw rushing past my left and my right... but my hand was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/it-may-have-been-just-another-night-to-all-the-people-i-saw-rushing/)

[Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/)

> [My first course came and I put down my book, and I just happened to put up my hand to scratch my head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jacobi/my-first-course-came-and-i-put-down-my-book-and-i-just-happened-to/)

[Derek Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jacobi/)

## 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 Folded quotes

> [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/)

> [“It may have been just another night to all the people I saw rushing past my left and my right... but my hand was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/it-may-have-been-just-another-night-to-all-the-people-i-saw-rushing/)

[Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/)

> [“Folded arms can’t fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-barnes-sr/folded-arms-can-t-fly/)

[Seth Barnes, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-barnes-sr/)

> [“Everywhere I am folded, there I am a lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/everywhere-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [My first course came and I put down my book, and I just happened to put up my hand to scratch my head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jacobi/my-first-course-came-and-i-put-down-my-book-and-i-just-happened-to/)

[Derek Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jacobi/)

> [A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-rose-with-all-its-sweetest-leaves-yet-folded/)

[Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/)

> [Books are carefully folded forests/void of autumn/bound from the sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/books-are-carefully-folded-forests-void-of-autumn-bound-from-the-sun/)

[Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/)

> [Nobody pays attention to the way a person's shirt folds around his shoulder when they sit down, but if that shirt folded in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/nobody-pays-attention-to-the-way-a-person-s-shirt-folds-around-his/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [There is something in me maybe someday to be written; now it is folded, and folded, and folded, like a note in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-is-something-in-me-maybe-someday-to-be-written-now-it-is-folded/)

[Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/)

> [“The paper was folded twice without a speck on it and bore a note in his handwriting: I cannot go on any longer. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/the-paper-was-folded-twice-without-a-speck-on-it-and-bore-a-note-in/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [I remember going to L.A. and doing shows, and people would just stand there with their arms folded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pimp-c/i-remember-going-to-l-a-and-doing-shows-and-people-would-just-stand/)

[Pimp C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pimp-c/)

> [Alzheimer's disease starts when a protein that should be folded up properly misfolds into a kind of demented origami.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-petsko/alzheimer-s-disease-starts-when-a-protein-that-should-be-folded-up/)

[Gregory Petsko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-petsko/)

> [When I travel, I always take my Winsor &amp; Newton watercolor kit, which is the size of a pack of cigarettes when folded up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/when-i-travel-i-always-take-my-winsor-newton-watercolor-kit-which-is/)

[Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/)

> [When I'm looking at shirts in the clothes section of a store, I unfold them. Since I've never known how to fold them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guardian/when-i-m-looking-at-shirts-in-the-clothes-section-of-a-store-i-unfold/)

Guardian

> [“How could I not be in love with a man who folded something after strangling me with it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-castle/how-could-i-not-be-in-love-with-a-man-who-folded-something-after/)

[Nicole Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-castle/)

Browse all 53 Folded quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rainer Maria Rilke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i-am-folded-there/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Folded"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i-am-folded-there/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inspirational_i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-bec_1749623.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie.” — Rainer Maria Rilke",
                "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": "Rainer Maria Rilke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't want to stay folded...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i-am-folded-there/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-don-t-want-to-stay-folded-anywhere-because-where-i-am-folded-there/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
