--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Slowly I learn the importance of…" description: "\"Slowly I learn the importance of powerlessness. I experience it in my own life and I live with it in my work. The secret is not to be afraid of it—not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/sheila-cassidy-36041_asks_slowly-i-learn-the-importance-of-powerle_2027164.jpg" --- # Slowly I learn the importance of powerlessness. I… ![“Slowly I learn the importance of powerlessness. I experience it in my own life and I live with it in my work. The secret is not to be afraid of it—not to run away. The dying know that we are not God… All they ask is that we do not desert them.” quote by Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/sheila-cassidy-36041_asks_slowly-i-learn-the-importance-of-powerle_2027164.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/sheila-cassidy-36041_asks_slowly-i-learn-the-importance-of-powerle_2027164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/sheila-cassidy-36041_asks_slowly-i-learn-the-importance-of-powerle_2027164.jpg) > “Slowly I learn the importance of powerlessness. I experience it in my own life and I live with it in my work. The secret is not to be afraid of it—not to run away. The dying know that we are not God… All they ask is that we do not desert them.” [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She acknowledges the power of accepting powerlessness, seeing it as a source of humility and compassion toward the dying. **In simple terms:** Accepting lack of control brings compassion. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability. Themes humility compassion powerlessness acceptance life death Mood reflective serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - working with terminal patients - personal reflection - mindfulness practice - supporting caregivers Key Concepts existential humility ethical care Questions to Reflect On - What does powerlessness teach you about responsibility? - How can you act compassionately despite feeling powerless? A Different Perspective Powerlessness can feel paralyzing if not balanced with agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Dying Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-know-992820/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Importance Powerlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance-powerlessness-3703864/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [My own life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own-life/) [Powerlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerlessness/) [Powerlessness Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerlessness-experience-3703865/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-away/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [It's not like I'm afraid of dying. I know what it's like on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bushwick-bill/it-s-not-like-i-m-afraid-of-dying-i-know-what-it-s-like-on-the-other/) [Bushwick Bill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bushwick-bill/) > [Dying to know. but afraid to find out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dying-to-know-but-afraid-to-find-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm dying to know, is it killing you like it's killing me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-m-dying-to-know-is-it-killing-you-like-it-s-killing-me/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [If someone can find the happy-medium here, I am dying to know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alla/if-someone-can-find-the-happy-medium-here-i-am-dying-to-know-it/) [Alla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alla/) > [“Backed by a long, proud history of not-dying, I know when someone's serious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/backed-by-a-long-proud-history-of-not-dying-i-know-when-someone-s/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Naruto: I bet you're dying to know my name! Gaara: I couldn't care less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masashi-kishimoto/naruto-i-bet-you-re-dying-to-know-my-name-gaara-i-couldn-t-care-less/) [Masashi Kishimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masashi-kishimoto/) > [I sit with people who are dying. I'm one of those unusual types that enjoys being with someone when they're dying because I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/i-sit-with-people-who-are-dying-i-m-one-of-those-unusual-types-that/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [“(she told me her name, though she might have seen, I am sure, that I was simply dying not to know it)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-findlater/she-told-me-her-name-though-she-might-have-seen-i-am-sure-that-i-was/) [Mary Findlater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-findlater/) > [Dying to know, afraid to find out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dying-to-know-afraid-to-find-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The thing I most connect with is the idea of not giving up. And that's a thing I have in my own life. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-thorne/the-thing-i-most-connect-with-is-the-idea-of-not-giving-up-and-that-s/) [Callie Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-thorne/) > [I spend my jollity on stage, so there is less in my own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-brigstocke/i-spend-my-jollity-on-stage-so-there-is-less-in-my-own-life/) [Marcus Brigstocke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-brigstocke/) > [God has spoken very boldly about his desire to be a presence in our lives. If I want to heal the ache and loneliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hansel/god-has-spoken-very-boldly-about-his-desire-to-be-a-presence-in-our/) [Tim Hansel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hansel/) > [I understood…that in my own life I represented a whole period of American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/i-understood-that-in-my-own-life-i-represented-a-whole-period-of/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [I just needed to get out on my own, live my own life. And I did, and it's great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-just-needed-to-get-out-on-my-own-live-my-own-life-and-i-did-and-it/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) ## More by Sheila Cassidy > [This conversion into prayer of our everyday joys, sorrows, hopes and desires is at first a conscious labor, but after a while it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/this-conversion-into-prayer-of-our-everyday-joys-sorrows-hopes-and/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [When one is in very great pain and fear, it is extremely difficult to pray coherently, and I could only raise my mind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/when-one-is-in-very-great-pain-and-fear-it-is-extremely-difficult-to/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [We only deliberately waste time with those we love -- it is the purest sign that we love someone if we choose to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/we-only-deliberately-waste-time-with-those-we-love-it-is-the-purest/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [The world is not divided into the strong who care and the weak who are cared for. We must each in turn care and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/the-world-is-not-divided-into-the-strong-who-care-and-the-weak-who/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [“As I write this it sounds rather negative and hard but I do not mean it to be so. Happiness grounded in reality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/as-i-write-this-it-sounds-rather-negative-and-hard-but-i-do-not-mean/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [Prayer, even more than eating or sleeping, is not a luxury but a necessity, and we are only fully human when we remember this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/prayer-even-more-than-eating-or-sleeping-is-not-a-luxury-but-a/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [“Much of our understanding of God's action in outlying is achieved in hindsight. When a particular crisis or event in our life has passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/much-of-our-understanding-of-god-s-action-in-outlying-is-achieved-in/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [What we feel at prayer is God's business, not ours, and we must strive to be totally abandoned to the presence of 'consolation' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/what-we-feel-at-prayer-is-god-s-business-not-ours-and-we-must-strive/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [More than anything I have learned that we are all frail people, vulnerable and wounded; it is just that some of us are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/more-than-anything-i-have-learned-that-we-are-all-frail-people/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [The tension between the call to the desert and to the market place arises not from the greater presence of God in one or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/the-tension-between-the-call-to-the-desert-and-to-the-market-place/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [Much of our understanding of God's action in our lives in achieved in hindsight. When a particular crisis or event in our life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/much-of-our-understanding-of-god-s-action-in-our-lives-in-achieved-in/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) > [It is precisely because we cannot see God that we can only know that our prayer is valid by the effect it has upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/it-is-precisely-because-we-cannot-see-god-that-we-can-only-know-that/) [Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) [Explore all 13 Sheila Cassidy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Slowly I learn the importance of powerlessness. 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