--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every human society has its lights and…" description: "\"Every human society has its lights and its shadows. That's the reality of existence.\" — Sebastian Lelio" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/sebastian-lelio-12337_existence_every-human-society-has-its-lights-and-i_2420501.jpg" --- # Every human society has its lights and its shadows. That's… ![“Every human society has its lights and its shadows. That's the reality of existence.” quote by Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/sebastian-lelio-12337_existence_every-human-society-has-its-lights-and-i_2420501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/sebastian-lelio-12337_existence_every-human-society-has-its-lights-and-i_2420501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/sebastian-lelio-12337_existence_every-human-society-has-its-lights-and-i_2420501.jpg) > “Every human society has its lights and its shadows. That's the reality of existence.” [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies contain both positive and negative aspects, reflecting the dual nature of existence. **In simple terms:** Societies have good and bad parts. Key Takeaway Recognize and address both light and shadow. Themes duality society existence Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - policy making - community building - conflict resolution - cultural analysis Key Concepts philosophy social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance optimism and realism? - What shadows in your community need attention? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on shadows can breed cynicism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [Shadows are in reality, when the sun is shining, the most conspicuous thing in a landscape, next to the highest lights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/shadows-are-in-reality-when-the-sun-is-shining-the-most-conspicuous/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“In my photographic work I was always especially entranced, said Austerlitz, by the moment when the shadows of reality, so to speak, emerge out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/in-my-photographic-work-i-was-always-especially-entranced-said/) [W.G. 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Union is the true reality of existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/we-are-all-the-same-being-union-is-the-true-reality-of-existence/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [We see the one light, the one unified reality that we see in others, is the same reality that is within ourselves. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-see-the-one-light-the-one-unified-reality-that-we-see-in-others-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Surrealism also refuses the representation of reality: reality can only be; its existence proves its reality. Fiction thereby becomes impossible or is, by definition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-also-refuses-the-representation-of-reality-reality-can/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“In a futule effort to find the underlying truth of existence, we peer into the farthest reaches of the universe and split subatomic particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/in-a-futule-effort-to-find-the-underlying-truth-of-existence-we-peer/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [“For eighty-eight years, the world revolved around Ivy. That which she could see and touch was real to her, everything else a mere figment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-cameron/for-eighty-eight-years-the-world-revolved-around-ivy-that-which-she/) Graeme Cameron > [History is no easy science; its subject, human society, is inifinitely complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/history-is-no-easy-science-its-subject-human-society-is-inifinitely/) [Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/numa-denis-fustel-de-coulanges/) ## More by Sebastian Lelio > [We all have a potential revolutionary energy inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/we-all-have-a-potential-revolutionary-energy-inside/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [The idea behind 'Gloria' was to take a secondary character - the aunt, the mother - and stay with her as she becomes our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/the-idea-behind-gloria-was-to-take-a-secondary-character-the-aunt-the/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [Cinema is empathy machinery, and we multiply our life experience through cinema. When it is good cinema, it almost counts as a personal experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/cinema-is-empathy-machinery-and-we-multiply-our-life-experience/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [There's something about using the cinematic device as a tool to connect with dimensions of the world that you don't know too well, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/there-s-something-about-using-the-cinematic-device-as-a-tool-to/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [Chilean society is conservative, but U.S. society is puritanical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/chilean-society-is-conservative-but-u-s-society-is-puritanical/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [I was writing when I was very young, and then I became interested in everything - I wanted to do photography. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-was-writing-when-i-was-very-young-and-then-i-became-interested-in/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [I wanted to be a poet. I wrote from ages 15 to 22, but I left it because I discovered, and fell in love with, cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-wanted-to-be-a-poet-i-wrote-from-ages-15-to-22-but-i-left-it/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [I don't come from a rich family, but my parents are professionals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-don-t-come-from-a-rich-family-but-my-parents-are-professionals/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [Fashion is totally political, the icon of a political system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/fashion-is-totally-political-the-icon-of-a-political-system/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [I have never been religious, but I've seen the strength of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-have-never-been-religious-but-i-ve-seen-the-strength-of-it/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [When you're filming, not everything is rational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/when-you-re-filming-not-everything-is-rational/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [In Latin America, cinema has always been a bourgeois activity, I guess, as it is everywhere. It's just a stupidly expensive art form, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/in-latin-america-cinema-has-always-been-a-bourgeois-activity-i-guess/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [To me, there was something moving about the idea of telling the story of a lady who is, in a way, a forgotten character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/to-me-there-was-something-moving-about-the-idea-of-telling-the-story/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [This idea of walls, segregation, labels, and 'You against us' and 'We are superior and you are inferior.' Which people are legitimate? Which relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/this-idea-of-walls-segregation-labels-and-you-against-us-and-we-are/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [I grew up surrounded by strong women, and that was a very strong influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-grew-up-surrounded-by-strong-women-and-that-was-a-very-strong/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) [Explore all 55 Sebastian Lelio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every human society has its lights and its shadows. 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