--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve figured it out, something that was…" description: "\"“I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of the world deeper and deeper into our inner ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg" --- # I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me… ![“I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of the world deeper and deeper into our inner world, and why birds cast such a spell on this path into us. The bird’s nest is, in effect, an outer womb given by nature; the bird only furnishes…” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg) > ““I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of the world deeper and deeper into our inner world, and why birds cast such a spell on this path into us. The bird’s nest is, in effect, an outer womb given by nature; the bird only furnishes it and covers it rather than containing the whole thing inside itself. As a result, birds are the animals whose feelings have a very special, intimate familiarity with the outer world; they know that they share with nature their innermost mystery. That is why the bird sings its songs into the world as though it were singing into it inner self, that’s why we take a birdsong into our own inner selves so easily, it seems to us that we translate it fully, with no remainder, into our feelings; a birdsong can even, for a moment, make the whole world into a sky within us, because we feel that the bird does not distinguish between its heart and the world’s.”” [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 quote explores how birds bridge external nature and inner feeling, suggesting their songs translate outer world into inner emotional landscape. **In simple terms:** Birdsong connects outer nature with inner feelings. Key Takeaway Listen to nature to deepen self‑awareness. Themes nature emotion music connection Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - nature walks - therapy Key Concepts transcendence symbolism embodiment Questions to Reflect On - How does nature influence your inner life? - Can you hear your own ‘song’ in everyday sounds? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑romanticize animal experience, ignoring scientific perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bird Sings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird-sings-632809/) [Birdsong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birdsong/) [Birdsong Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birdsong-inner-5998096/) [Feelings Birdsong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-birdsong-5998098/) [Inner self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-self/) [Inner world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-world/) [Self Birdsong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-birdsong-5998097/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [A birdsong can even, for a moment, make the whole world into a sky within us, because we feel that the bird does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-birdsong-can-even-for-a-moment-make-the-whole-world-into-a-sky/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Faith is the bird that sings while it is yet dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/faith-is-the-bird-that-sings-while-it-is-yet-dark/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,- When he beats his bars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laurence-dunbar/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-ah-me-when-his-wing-is-bruised-and-2/) [Paul Laurence Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laurence-dunbar/) > [There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-s-a-story-a-legend-about-a-bird-that-sings-just-once-in-its/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, his shadow shouts on a nighttime scream. —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-warner/but-a-caged-bird-stands-on-the-grave-of-dreams-his-shadow-shouts-on-a-2/) [Colin Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-warner/) > [“But what after all is one night? A short space, especially when the darkness dims so soon, and so soon a bird sings, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-what-after-all-is-one-night-a-short-space-especially-when-the-3/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [the bird sings as if to say that delight is easy, for those who desire it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/the-bird-sings-as-if-to-say-that-delight-is-easy-for-those-who-desire/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, when his wing is bruised and his bosom sore; when he beats his bars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laurence-dunbar/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-ah-me-when-his-wing-is-bruised-and/) [Paul Laurence Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laurence-dunbar/) > [“ Caged Bird A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/caged-bird-a-free-bird-leaps-on-the-back-of-the-wind-and-floats/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I would like to paint the way a bird sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-would-like-to-paint-the-way-a-bird-sings/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [“And while he waited in the castle court, The voice of Enid, Yniol's daughter, rang Clear through the open casement of the hall, Singing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tennyson/and-while-he-waited-in-the-castle-court-the-voice-of-enid-yniol-s/) [Alfred Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tennyson/) > [A bird sings, a child prattles, but it is the same hymn; hymn indistinct, inarticulate, but full of profound meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-bird-sings-a-child-prattles-but-it-is-the-same-hymn-hymn-indistinct/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The true self is not aware that it is a self. A bird, as it sings, sings itself. But not according to a picture.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-true-self-is-not-aware-that-it-is-a-self-a-bird-as-it-sings-sings/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“A bird sings in the morning, an owl hoots at night...it's still a bloody bird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-reed/a-bird-sings-in-the-morning-an-owl-hoots-at-night-it-s-still-a-bloody/) [Oliver Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-reed/) > [“A bird that sings too much will only lose its voice, but a bird that does not sing at all will lose its symphonies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-bird-that-sings-too-much-will-only-lose-its-voice-but-a-bird-that/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) ## 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 Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of the world deeper and deeper into our inner world, and why birds cast such a spell on this path into us. The bird’s nest is, in effect, an outer womb given by nature; the bird only furnishes it and covers it rather than containing the whole thing inside itself. As a result, birds are the animals whose feelings have a very special, intimate familiarity with the outer world; they know that they share with nature their innermost mystery. That is why the bird sings its songs into the world as though it were singing into it inner self, that’s why we take a birdsong into our own inner selves so easily, it seems to us that we translate it fully, with no remainder, into our feelings; a birdsong can even, for a moment, make the whole world into a sky within us, because we feel that the bird does not distinguish between its heart and the world’s.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rainer Maria Rilke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-never-clear-to-me-before-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-never-clear-to-me-before-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3a/rainer-maria-rilke-193_inner-self_i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-n_777608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve figured it out, something that was never clear to me before–how all creation transposes itself out of…” — 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’ve figured it out, something that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-never-clear-to-me-before-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-ve-figured-it-out-something-that-was-never-clear-to-me-before-how/#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 } } ] } ```