--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Transcendence or detachment, leaving the…" description: "\"Transcendence or detachment, leaving the body, pure love, lack of jealousy-that's the vision we are given in our culture, generally, when we think of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-bly-3269_aim_transcendence-or-detachment-leaving-the_1643864.jpg" --- # Transcendence or detachment, leaving the body, pure love… ![“Transcendence or detachment, leaving the body, pure love, lack of jealousy-that's the vision we are given in our culture, generally, when we think of the highest thing. . . . Another way to look at it is that the aim of the person is not to be detached, but to be more attached-to be attached to…” quote by Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-bly-3269_aim_transcendence-or-detachment-leaving-the_1643864.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-bly-3269_aim_transcendence-or-detachment-leaving-the_1643864.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-bly-3269_aim_transcendence-or-detachment-leaving-the_1643864.jpg) > “Transcendence or detachment, leaving the body, pure love, lack of jealousy-that's the vision we are given in our culture, generally, when we think of the highest thing. . . . Another way to look at it is that the aim of the person is not to be detached, but to be more attached-to be attached to working; to be attached to making chairs or something that helps everyone; to be attached to beauty; to be attached to music.” [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from loving work and creation, not from detached idealism; attachment to purposeful activity is essential. **In simple terms:** Work and love give meaning. Key Takeaway Engage in meaningful work. Themes purpose attachment creativity love detachment Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - craftsmanship - volunteering - artistic creation Key Concepts existentialism humanism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What work makes you feel most alive? - How can you balance attachment and freedom? A Different Perspective Detachment can be misinterpreted as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Another way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Attached](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-attached-591464/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Chairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chairs/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Detached](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detached/) [Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detachment/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Pure love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure-love/) [Think Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-highest-591465/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence/) [Transcendence Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence-detachment-591463/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [That balance between involvement and detachment is what novelists do. It's the ideal relationship between a novelist and a character, I think, total involvement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/that-balance-between-involvement-and-detachment-is-what-novelists-do/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [The perfection of yoga is to become detached. And the perfection of detachment is to become completely attached, attached to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/the-perfection-of-yoga-is-to-become-detached-and-the-perfection-of/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [“Scientific advancement carries risk,” Kohler argued. “It always has. Space programs, genetic research, medicine—they all make mistakes. Science needs to survive its own blunders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/scientific-advancement-carries-risk-kohler-argued-it-always-has-space/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“But over the years I came to realize that living in a detached way is, in fact, a withdrawal from life, an estrangement not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/but-over-the-years-i-came-to-realize-that-living-in-a-detached-way-is/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [You could be attached to merely a description of a plant or a flower. Or a narrative of an event. Or rage at injustice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stern/you-could-be-attached-to-merely-a-description-of-a-plant-or-a-flower/) [Gerald Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stern/) > [If you try too much to change the outside, that shows that you are still attached. If a man tries to be detached, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/if-you-try-too-much-to-change-the-outside-that-shows-that-you-are/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Surrendering means cleansing yourself completely, getting completely detached. Detachment is the only way you can rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/surrendering-means-cleansing-yourself-completely-getting-completely/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [I don't really identify with America, I don't really feel like an American or part of the American experience, and I don't really feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-don-t-really-identify-with-america-i-don-t-really-feel-like-an/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Detachment from things does not mean setting up a contradiction between 'things' and 'God' as if God were another thing and as if creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/detachment-from-things-does-not-mean-setting-up-a-contradiction/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Let us realize that engagement and detachment aren't opposite-the more engaged we become, the more detached we will have to be..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/let-us-realize-that-engagement-and-detachment-aren-t-opposite-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Think of this as the highest paying job you never applied for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-w-marshall/think-of-this-as-the-highest-paying-job-you-never-applied-for/) [D.W. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-w-marshall/) > [If you do not raise your eyes you will think that you are the highest point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/if-you-do-not-raise-your-eyes-you-will-think-that-you-are-the-highest/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [I think the highest and lowest points are the important ones. Anything else is just...in between. I want the freedom to try everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-think-the-highest-and-lowest-points-are-the-important-ones-anything/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I think the highest and lowest points are the important ones. Anything else is just...in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-think-the-highest-and-lowest-points-are-the-important-ones-anything-2/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Those that know the least of others think the highest of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/those-that-know-the-least-of-others-think-the-highest-of-themselves/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More by Robert Bly > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I got about half the time I wanted to write poetry. I got about half the time I needed to be a father. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-got-about-half-the-time-i-wanted-to-write-poetry-i-got-about-half/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, I want to tie the two arms together, And walk out of the bank carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-noon-as-the-clock-hands-arrive-at-twelve-i-want-to-tie-the-two/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Rumi is astounding, fertile, abundant, almost more an excitable library of poetry than a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/rumi-is-astounding-fertile-abundant-almost-more-an-excitable-library/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One could say the higher the spirit goes, the more deeply the soul sinks down into the waters of melancholy and tragedy. Drowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-could-say-the-higher-the-spirit-goes-the-more-deeply-the-soul/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/don-t-go-outside-your-house-to-see-flowers-my-friend-don-t-bother/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I have spent many years trying to recover a common language, one that can cross the distance between people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-have-spent-many-years-trying-to-recover-a-common-language-one-that/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One out of three black men are in the criminal justice system in some form. Their despair is beginning to resonate through the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-out-of-three-black-men-are-in-the-criminal-justice-system-in-some/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Sociological prose is generally written without images in an exact form for an academic audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/sociological-prose-is-generally-written-without-images-in-an-exact/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [We spend our life until we’re twenty deciding what parts of ourself to put into the bag, and we spend the rest of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/we-spend-our-life-until-we-re-twenty-deciding-what-parts-of-ourself/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every modern male has, lying at the bottom of his psyche, a large, primitive being covered with hair down to his feet. Making contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-modern-male-has-lying-at-the-bottom-of-his-psyche-a-large/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/my-feeling-is-that-poetry-is-also-a-healing-process-and-then-when-a/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The ancestors are very much invested in the children, because the children are the ones who are going to continue the world that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-ancestors-are-very-much-invested-in-the-children-because-the/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) [Explore all 135 Robert Bly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 3,047 Aim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Transcendence or detachment, leaving the body, pure love, lack of jealousy-that's the vision we are given in our culture, generally, when we think of the highest thing. . . . 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