--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should like to be the landscape which I…" description: "\"I should like to be the landscape which I am contemplating, I should like this sky, this quiet water to think themselves within me, that it might be I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/simone-de-beauvoir-407_bones_i-should-like-to-be-the-landscape-which_1650081.jpg" --- # I should like to be the landscape which I am… ![“I should like to be the landscape which I am contemplating, I should like this sky, this quiet water to think themselves within me, that it might be I whom they express in flesh and bone, and I remain at a distance. But it is also by this distance that the sky and the water exist before me. My…” quote by Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/simone-de-beauvoir-407_bones_i-should-like-to-be-the-landscape-which_1650081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/simone-de-beauvoir-407_bones_i-should-like-to-be-the-landscape-which_1650081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/simone-de-beauvoir-407_bones_i-should-like-to-be-the-landscape-which_1650081.jpg) > “I should like to be the landscape which I am contemplating, I should like this sky, this quiet water to think themselves within me, that it might be I whom they express in flesh and bone, and I remain at a distance. But it is also by this distance that the sky and the water exist before me. My contemplation is an excruciation only because it is also a joy. I can not appropriate the snow field where i slide. It remains foreign, forbidden, but I take delight in this very effort toward an impossible possession. I experience it as a triumph, not as a defeat.” [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker longs to merge with nature, feeling both yearning and pain, recognizing distance as essential to beauty and growth. **In simple terms:** Wanting to become nature brings joy and suffering; distance keeps it beautiful. Key Takeaway Embrace the longing, cherish the distance. Themes identity longing nature philosophy self knowledge Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type philosophical poetic inspirational When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal meditation - environmental appreciation - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology self-transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does distance teach you about desire? - How can you honor the unattainable without losing yourself? A Different Perspective The desire for total unity can become obsessive, neglecting practical limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“My contemplation is an excruciation only because it is also a joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/my-contemplation-is-an-excruciation-only-because-it-is-also-a-joy/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [One can not start by saying that our earthly destiny has or has not importance, for it depends upon us to give it importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-can-not-start-by-saying-that-our-earthly-destiny-has-or-has-not/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I'm honored when young people say they've gone to school on slide guitar with my records. 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