---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If only it were possible for us to see…"
description: "\"If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the outworks of our presentiment, perhaps we would ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg"
---

#  If only it were possible for us to see farther than our…

![“If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the outworks of our presentiment, perhaps we would bear our sadnesses with greater trust than we have in our joys.” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg)

> “If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the outworks of our presentiment, perhaps we would bear our sadnesses with greater trust than we have in our joys.”

[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.

If we could glimpse beyond current knowledge, we might trust our sorrows more than our joys.

**In simple terms:** Seeing beyond knowledge could increase trust in sadness.

Key Takeaway

Embrace uncertainty to balance emotions.

Themes

uncertainty trust emotion knowledge perspective

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- creative writing
- philosophical reflection
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

existentialism epistemology psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does expanding perspective change emotional balance?
- What does “greater trust” mean in sadness?

A Different Perspective

Our limited view may cause overconfidence in joy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/)

## Related quotes

> [“Perhaps many things inside you have been transformed; perhaps somewhere, someplace deep inside your being, you have undergone important changes while you were sad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/perhaps-many-things-inside-you-have-been-transformed-perhaps-2/)

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

> [Were it possible for us to see further than our knowledge reaches, and yet a little way beyond the outworks of our divinings, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/were-it-possible-for-us-to-see-further-than-our-knowledge-reaches-and/)

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

> [The greater the trust within the couple, the greater the opening to share in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-friend/the-greater-the-trust-within-the-couple-the-greater-the-opening-to/)

[John Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-friend/)

> [“The more equal a society, the greater the trust. And it is not just a question of income: where people have similar lives and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-more-equal-a-society-the-greater-the-trust-and-it-is-not-just-a/)

[Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/)

> [I feel a great desire to abandon myself with greater trust to the Divine Mercy and to place my hope in God alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/i-feel-a-great-desire-to-abandon-myself-with-greater-trust-to-the/)

[Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/)

> [In many situations involving service recovery - the problem itself became the catalyst for the creation of even greater trust as the companies took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/in-many-situations-involving-service-recovery-the-problem-itself/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [For future geopolitical stability and global prosperity, we need to build a culture of greater trust and understanding between China, America and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-schwarzman/for-future-geopolitical-stability-and-global-prosperity-we-need-to/)

[Stephen A. Schwarzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-schwarzman/)

> [“The greater your trust, the greater your spiritual growth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-rossini/the-greater-your-trust-the-greater-your-spiritual-growth/)

[Connie Rossini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-rossini/)

> [If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-anything-unhealthy-in-your-reactions-just-bear-in-mind/)

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

> [The farther you go...the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it's easy to fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/the-farther-you-go-the-harder-it-is-to-return-the-world-has-many/)

[Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/)

> [You can get farther with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/you-can-get-farther-with-a-kind-word-and-a-gun-than-with-a-kind-word/)

[Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/)

> [If you want to hit it farther, hit it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/if-you-want-to-hit-it-farther-hit-it-better/)

[Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/)

> [The work of deciding cases goes on every day in hundreds of courts throughout the land. Any judge, one might suppose, would find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-work-of-deciding-cases-goes-on-every-day-in-hundreds-of-courts/)

[Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/)

> [The truth is what I plan to find And I am getting closer every single day But from this world Im drifting farther away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil-maternick/the-truth-is-what-i-plan-to-find-and-i-am-getting-closer-every-single/)

Andrew Neil Maternick

> [The farther you enter the truth, the deeper it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-zenji/the-farther-you-enter-the-truth-the-deeper-it-is/)

Bankei Zenji

## 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 Bears quotes

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

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

> [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/)

[Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/)

[Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/)

> [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/)

[George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/)

> [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/)

[James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/)

> [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/)

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

> [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/)

[St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/)

[Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the outworks of our presentiment, perhaps we would bear our sadnesses with greater trust than we have in our joys.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rainer Maria Rilke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-farther-than-our-knowledge/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bears"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-farther-than-our-knowledge/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/rainer-maria-rilke-193_bears_if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-f_2448424.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If only it were possible for us to see farther than our knowledge reaches, and even a little beyond the…” — 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": "If only it were possible for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-farther-than-our-knowledge/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-only-it-were-possible-for-us-to-see-farther-than-our-knowledge/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
