---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Should we say the self, once perceived…"
description: "\"Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?\" — Theodore Roethke"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg"
---

#  Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?

![“Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?” quote by Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg)

> “Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?”

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Perceiving the self transforms it into a soul, suggesting identity evolves through awareness.

**In simple terms:** Awareness turns self into soul.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate self‑awareness.

Themes

identity philosophy spirituality

Mood

contemplative introspective

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- meditation
- therapy
- creative writing

Key Concepts

self‑realization consciousness

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “self” mean to you?
- How does awareness change identity?

A Different Perspective

Self‑perception may be limited by bias.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Perceived Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceived-soul-5004593/) [Say Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-self-783662/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Self Perceived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-perceived-1320503/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/)

## Related quotes

> [It always comes back to our insecurities, as we say, "Oh, I'm not as good as you." So instead of accepting that perhaps I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-always-comes-back-to-our-insecurities-as-we-say-oh-i-m-not-as-good/)

[Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/)

> [At the end of the day, we all look in the mirror and tend to see our own self-perceived flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gracey/at-the-end-of-the-day-we-all-look-in-the-mirror-and-tend-to-see-our/)

[Michael Gracey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gracey/)

> [“The essential Not-self could be perceived very clearly in things and in living creatures on the hither side of good and evil. In human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-essential-not-self-could-be-perceived-very-clearly-in-things-and/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [“Such Excessive Preoccupation With The Faults Of Others Only Manages To Bring The Spotlight To Shine Bright On Whatever It Is You May Have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcie-leeper/such-excessive-preoccupation-with-the-faults-of-others-only-manages/)

[Marcie Leeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcie-leeper/)

> [Seriously, I do not think I am fit for the Presidency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/seriously-i-do-not-think-i-am-fit-for-the-presidency/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-love-yourself-as-if-you-were-a-rainbow-with-gold-at-both-ends/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just bein' me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/i-don-t-feel-like-my-money-or-my-success-defines-me-i-ve-always-been/)

[Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/)

> [I have always regarded myself as the pillar of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-have-always-regarded-myself-as-the-pillar-of-my-life/)

[Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/)

> [Self-esteem is made up primarily of two things: feeling lovable and feeling capable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/self-esteem-is-made-up-primarily-of-two-things-feeling-lovable-and/)

[Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/)

> [Believe in yourself and what you feel. Your power will come from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-etheridge/believe-in-yourself-and-what-you-feel-your-power-will-come-from-that/)

[Melissa Etheridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-etheridge/)

> [The highest in God's esteem are the lowest in their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/the-highest-in-god-s-esteem-are-the-lowest-in-their-own/)

[Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/)

> [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own esteem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities-2/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/there-is-no-magic-cure-no-making-it-all-go-away-forever-there-are/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/)

[Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/)

> [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/)

[Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/)

## More by Theodore Roethke

> [I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-wake-to-sleep-and-take-my-waking-slow-i-feel-my-fate-in-what-i/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/those-who-are-willing-to-be-vulnerable-move-among-mysteries/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [A lively understandable spirit Once entertained you. It will come again. Be still. Wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-lively-understandable-spirit-once-entertained-you-it-will-come/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [I came to love, I came into my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-came-to-love-i-came-into-my-own/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [I bleed my bones, their marrow to bestowUpon that God who knows what I would know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-bleed-my-bones-their-marrow-to-bestowupon-that-god-who-knows-what-i/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [All finite things reveal infinitude: The mountain with its singular bright shade Like the blue shine on freshly frozen snow, The after-light upon ice-burdened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/all-finite-things-reveal-infinitude-the-mountain-with-its-singular/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [We think by feeling. What is there to know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/we-think-by-feeling-what-is-there-to-know/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-can-hear-underground-that-sucking-and-sobbing-in-my-veins-in-my/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/over-every-mountain-there-is-a-path-although-it-may-not-be-seen-from/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [(I measure time by how a body sways.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-measure-time-by-how-a-body-sways/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/to-follow-the-drops-sliding-from-a-lifting-oar-head-up-while-the/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [Any fool can take a bad line out of a poem; it takes a real pro to throw out a good line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/any-fool-can-take-a-bad-line-out-of-a-poem-it-takes-a-real-pro-to/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [Love begets love. This torment is my joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/love-begets-love-this-torment-is-my-joy/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [“I Knew a Woman" I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-knew-a-woman-i-knew-a-woman-lovely-in-her-bones-when-small-birds/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

> [A mind too active is no mind at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-mind-too-active-is-no-mind-at-all/)

[Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

[Explore all 116 Theodore Roethke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/)

## More Esteem quotes

> [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/nothing-is-better-for-self-esteem-than-survival/)

[Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/)

> [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/)

[Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/)

> [So I went to a club the other day, which is timely because my self esteem had been hovering right around 'normal' and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/so-i-went-to-a-club-the-other-day-which-is-timely-because-my-self/)

[Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/)

> [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/)

[Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/)

> [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/)

[Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/)

> [Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/don-t-worry-so-much-about-your-self-esteem-worry-more-about-your/)

[Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/)

> [Spina bifida affects every single aspect of your life, from your child's self-esteem to your ability to sleep at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-ari-parker/spina-bifida-affects-every-single-aspect-of-your-life-from-your-child/)

[Nicole Ari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-ari-parker/)

> [You never exist quite so much as when you are not thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-never-exist-quite-so-much-as-when-you-are-not-thinking/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Never let the opinion of another affect your opinion of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/never-let-the-opinion-of-another-affect-your-opinion-of-yourself/)

[Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/)

> [You'd be surprised how addicting high self-esteem is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergie/you-d-be-surprised-how-addicting-high-self-esteem-is/)

[Fergie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergie/)

> [The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calipari/the-only-thing-i-pay-attention-to-with-free-throws-is-what-a-guy-does/)

[John Calipari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calipari/)

> [When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/when-one-is-a-stranger-to-oneself-then-one-is-estranged-from-others/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

[Browse all 1,681 Esteem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Theodore Roethke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-becomes-the-soul/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Esteem"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-becomes-the-soul/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/theodore-roethke-4077_esteem_should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-be_3039766.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Should we say the self, once perceived, becomes the soul?” — Theodore Roethke",
                "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": "Theodore Roethke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Should we say the self, once...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-becomes-the-soul/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/should-we-say-the-self-once-perceived-becomes-the-soul/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
