--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the whole, the longing for solitude is…" description: "\"On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of what spirit there is.\" — Soren Kierkegaard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg" --- # On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that… ![“On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of what spirit there is.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg) > “On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of what spirit there is.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Solitude reflects inner spirit; longing for alone time shows a living soul. **In simple terms:** Solitude shows a living spirit. Key Takeaway Value time alone to nurture spirit. Themes solitude spirit self‑reflection Mood contemplative philosophical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - creative work - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude fuel you? - When is solitude harmful? A Different Perspective Too much isolation can hinder connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-solitude-856329/) [Measure Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-spirit-2628703/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Solitude Sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude-sign-2628702/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirit Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-person-853781/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Decisive moment: the one when you will be really alone. And it is perhaps this that makes her hesitate: not the void, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/decisive-moment-the-one-when-you-will-be-really-alone-and-it-is/) [Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [That is why I write - to try to turn sadness into longing, solitude into remembrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/that-is-why-i-write-to-try-to-turn-sadness-into-longing-solitude-into/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Weeks of longing and solitude: twin muses of creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/weeks-of-longing-and-solitude-twin-muses-of-creation/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I write to try to turn sadness into longing, solitude into remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-to-try-to-turn-sadness-into-longing-solitude-into-remembrance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are at least four distinct lines of proof in the Bible that the Holy Spirit is a person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-reuben-archer-torrey/there-are-at-least-four-distinct-lines-of-proof-in-the-bible-that-the/) [R. A. (Reuben Archer) Torrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-reuben-archer-torrey/) > [As an actor, I've always wanted to do characters that would help me find my connection with others and connect all of us together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/as-an-actor-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-characters-that-would-help-me/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [A person can be big, because of spirit. A person can be big because of their position in the family, the hierarchy in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phylicia-rashad/a-person-can-be-big-because-of-spirit-a-person-can-be-big-because-of/) [Phylicia Rashad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phylicia-rashad/) > [There's the physical life and the voice, but at some point you abandon all of that, you know what the spirit of the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-frears/there-s-the-physical-life-and-the-voice-but-at-some-point-you-abandon/) [Stephen Frears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-frears/) > [It is the spirit of a person that hangs above him like a star in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/it-is-the-spirit-of-a-person-that-hangs-above-him-like-a-star-in-the/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) > [The spirit of a person's life is ever shedding some power, just as a flower is steadily bestowing fragrance upon the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-starr-king/the-spirit-of-a-person-s-life-is-ever-shedding-some-power-just-as-a/) [Thomas Starr King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-starr-king/) > [I've always wanted to do characters that would help me find my connection with others and connect all of us together. You always want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-characters-that-would-help-me-find-my/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [Spirit is not a mystic concept. The spirit of a person is manifest in her aliveness, brightness of his eyes, in the resonance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/spirit-is-not-a-mystic-concept-the-spirit-of-a-person-is-manifest-in/) [Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/) > [“It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of experience that we know the Holy Spirit as a person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-of-the-highest-importance-from-the-standpoint-of-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No book worth reading ever fails to be steeped with the spirit of the person who wrote it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-leicester-ford/no-book-worth-reading-ever-fails-to-be-steeped-with-the-spirit-of-the/) [Paul Leicester Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-leicester-ford/) > [As an actor, I've always wanted to do characters that would help me find my connection with others and connect all of us together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/as-an-actor-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-characters-that-would-help-me-2/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Longing quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She pretended not to notice the look of longing in his eyes. It didn’t mean anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-brien/she-pretended-not-to-notice-the-look-of-longing-in-his-eyes-it-didn-t/) [Kevin O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-brien/) > [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/) > [“My only enemy is the miles of distance that's there between us, my favorite place is the road that leads me to you -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/my-only-enemy-is-the-miles-of-distance-that-s-there-between-us-my/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-the-kind-of-things-that-come-from-the-heart-when-you-do-you-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And how do you really feel? Like I'll never recover. Like I'll never draw another breath without half of it being a wish for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seville/and-how-do-you-really-feel-like-i-ll-never-recover-like-i-ll-never/) [Jane Seville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seville/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The greatest tales, well told, awaken the fears and longings of the listeners. Each man hears a different story. Each is touched by it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/the-greatest-tales-well-told-awaken-the-fears-and-longings-of-the/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) [Browse all 2,553 Longing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of what spirit there is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is-a-sign-that-there-still-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Longing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is-a-sign-that-there-still-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/soren-kierkegaard-578_longing_on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is_1065866.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the whole, the longing for solitude is a sign that there still is spirit in a person and is a measure of…” — Soren Kierkegaard", "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": "Soren Kierkegaard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the whole, the longing for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is-a-sign-that-there-still-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/on-the-whole-the-longing-for-solitude-is-a-sign-that-there-still-is/#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 } } ] } ```