--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Embodiment means we no longer say, I had…" description: "\"Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience; we say, I am this experience.\" — Sue Monk Kidd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png" --- # Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience… ![“Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience; we say, I am this experience.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png) > “Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience; we say, I am this experience.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reframes experience as identity, suggesting we embody what we feel rather than merely recount it. **In simple terms:** Experience becomes part of who we are. Key Takeaway Live your experiences fully. Themes identity mindfulness self‑awareness Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative work - leadership development Key Concepts embodiment subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does embodying an experience change your behavior? - Can this perspective lead to over‑identification? A Different Perspective It may blur line between feeling and factual recall. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ## Related quotes > [“They say experience is the best teacher, but I'll be damned if I know what it teaches you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smith/they-say-experience-is-the-best-teacher-but-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-know/) [Lee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smith/) > [To say that you can 'have experience,' means, for one thing, that your past plays into and affects your present, and that it defines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/to-say-that-you-can-have-experience-means-for-one-thing-that-your/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [My mom used to say, “You cannot experience what you cannot imagine ... yet you always experience what you do imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia/my-mom-used-to-say-you-cannot-experience-what-you-cannot-imagine-yet/) [Sonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia/) > [“And there was no way I could talk about it with Dad. Our version of "the talk" had been him clearing his throat awkwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/and-there-was-no-way-i-could-talk-about-it-with-dad-our-version-of/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [“He was not the type to say that experience is all to the good, that nothing is wasted in life, that everyone we meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-was-not-the-type-to-say-that-experience-is-all-to-the-good-that/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [When I write a song, it comes from the heart and is based on a specific experience. You can't really say that one experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/when-i-write-a-song-it-comes-from-the-heart-and-is-based-on-a/) [Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/) > [“Sufism is therefore not 'Do as I say and not as I do', or even 'Do as I do', but 'Experience and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-therefore-not-do-as-i-say-and-not-as-i-do-or-even-do-as-i/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“I am absolutely convinced that everything in my upbringing has prepared me for my abortion work. I say this because I believe what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-parker/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-everything-in-my-upbringing-has/) [Willie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-parker/) > [“As long as the firmament of the You is spread over me, the tempests of causality cower at my heels, and the whirl of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/as-long-as-the-firmament-of-the-you-is-spread-over-me-the-tempests-of/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [I experience God as the power of life, the power of love and the ground of being. I don't say that's what God is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-experience-god-as-the-power-of-life-the-power-of-love-and-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [You cannot say that all experience is of equal value for all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/you-cannot-say-that-all-experience-is-of-equal-value-for-all-people/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [No matter who tries to teach you about life.You won't understand it until you have to go through it,They say experience is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vboo/no-matter-who-tries-to-teach-you-about-life-you-won-t-understand-it/) [VBOo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vboo/) > [“turn towards nature, and try, like a First Man, to say what you see and experience and love and lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/turn-towards-nature-and-try-like-a-first-man-to-say-what-you-see-and/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“But it’s hard to say where experience ends and imagination begins. The story is by no means a true story. But the feelings in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-it-s-hard-to-say-where-experience-ends-and-imagination-begins-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I can speak to my experience and say that CalArts worked out very well for me. After CalArts, I went to Cartoon Network, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-hirsch/i-can-speak-to-my-experience-and-say-that-calarts-worked-out-very/) [Alex Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-hirsch/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Embodiment quotes > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The Hope, Love & Healing necklace is the perfect embodiment of what we are trying to bring to Haiti through safe and sustainable housing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/the-hope-love-healing-necklace-is-the-perfect-embodiment-of-what-we/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Law is the true embodiment of everything that's excellent; it has no kind of fault or flaw and I, my Lords, embody the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/the-law-is-the-true-embodiment-of-everything-that-s-excellent-it-has/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Greek is the embodiment of the fluent speech that runs or soars, the speech of a people which could not help giving winged feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/greek-is-the-embodiment-of-the-fluent-speech-that-runs-or-soars-the/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [No female - young, old, black or white - could ever play the knight-on-charger with meager experience. If she presented herself as the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/froma-harrop/no-female-young-old-black-or-white-could-ever-play-the-knight-on/) Froma Harrop > [The world is full of incredible people who are embodiments of compassion. Some of them have a spiritual path; some of them don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-world-is-full-of-incredible-people-who-are-embodiments-of/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [“When we contemplate the miracle of embodied life, we begin to partner with our bodies in a kinder way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/when-we-contemplate-the-miracle-of-embodied-life-we-begin-to-partner/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [Language is the most elementary aspect to our humanness, probably. In addition to that, it's the embodiment, it's the apotheosis of the human experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/language-is-the-most-elementary-aspect-to-our-humanness-probably-in/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Instead of "I love you," it would be better to say "I am love-I am the embodiment of Pure Love." Remove the I and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/instead-of-i-love-you-it-would-be-better-to-say-i-am-love-i-am-the/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [The point of departure for my creation was not primarily the destiny of the sixteen Carmelites of Compiègne but the figure of the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrud-von-le-fort/the-point-of-departure-for-my-creation-was-not-primarily-the-destiny/) [Gertrud von Le Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrud-von-le-fort/) > [The ‘I’ character in journalism is almost pure invention. Unlike the ‘I’ of autobiography, who is meant to be seen as a representation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-i-character-in-journalism-is-almost-pure-invention-unlike-the-i/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Favor comes because for a brief moment in the great space of human change and progress some general human purpose finds in him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/favor-comes-because-for-a-brief-moment-in-the-great-space-of-human/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The spread of democracy is a wonderful thing-it is a necessary foundation for peace-and it can happen. But it cannot be advanced by force,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-schell/the-spread-of-democracy-is-a-wonderful-thing-it-is-a-necessary/) [Jonathan Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-schell/) > [Comrades ! You have voluntarily accepted a mission that is the noblest that the human mind can conceive of. For the fulfillment of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhas-chandra-bose/comrades-you-have-voluntarily-accepted-a-mission-that-is-the-noblest/) [Subhas Chandra Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhas-chandra-bose/) Browse all 271 Embodiment quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience; we say, I am this experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Monk Kidd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had-this-experience-we-say-i-am/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Embodiment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had-this-experience-we-say-i-am/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/sue-monk-kidd-404_embodiment_embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had_2250407.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Embodiment means we no longer say, I had this experience; we say, I am this experience.” — Sue Monk Kidd", "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": "Sue Monk Kidd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Embodiment means we no longer say,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had-this-experience-we-say-i-am/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/embodiment-means-we-no-longer-say-i-had-this-experience-we-say-i-am/#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 } } ] } ```