--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Such is the grasping tendency of the…" description: "\"Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without the substitution of a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/thomas-chalmers-14874_clinging_such-is-the-grasping-tendency-of-the-hum_1377381.jpg" --- # Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it… ![“Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system…. The heart must have…” quote by Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/thomas-chalmers-14874_clinging_such-is-the-grasping-tendency-of-the-hum_1377381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/thomas-chalmers-14874_clinging_such-is-the-grasping-tendency-of-the-hum_1377381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/thomas-chalmers-14874_clinging_such-is-the-grasping-tendency-of-the-hum_1377381.jpg) > “Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system…. The heart must have something to cling to…” [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings constantly seek something to fill emotional emptiness; without a replacement, loss creates deep psychological pain similar to hunger. **In simple terms:** People need emotional anchors; loss causes pain. Key Takeaway Find healthy substitutes for lost attachments. Themes psychology human nature loss attachment meaning spirituality Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - Therapy - spiritual counseling - personal development Key Concepts existential void grief addiction purpose seeking Questions to Reflect On - What truly fulfills the human heart? - Can material pursuits replace deeper emotional needs? A Different Perspective Replacing one attachment with another may not address underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [Pain is what I feed from when nothing else will nourish the noxious fury in my heart. It’s what I cling to when everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/pain-is-what-i-feed-from-when-nothing-else-will-nourish-the-noxious/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [“Let not thy heart cling to the things which for so short a time deck out thy life. Let him who has, learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-von-schiller/let-not-thy-heart-cling-to-the-things-which-for-so-short-a-time-deck/) [Friedrich von Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-von-schiller/) > [“If in our heart we still cling to anger or anxiety or possessions—anything at all—then we cannot be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/if-in-our-heart-we-still-cling-to-anger-or-anxiety-or-possessions/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [The substitution of meaning accounts for the grasping of misers as well as the extravagance of spendthrifts. Karl Marx well understood this peculiar transformation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-substitution-of-meaning-accounts-for-the-grasping-of-misers-as/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [“The vacancy in your heart doesn't connotes that nobody is seeking for the job of servicing your feelings, but because the employee must first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-vacancy-in-your-heart-doesn-t-connotes-that-nobody-is-seeking-for/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Redd Towers Apartments, whose advertising slogan, 'If you lived here, you'd be home by now,' did little to fill vacancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-beddor/redd-towers-apartments-whose-advertising-slogan-if-you-lived-here-you/) [Frank Beddor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-beddor/) > [A proud man is one who waits for a vacancy in the Trinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-proud-man-is-one-who-waits-for-a-vacancy-in-the-trinity/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Art as an aesthetic principle was supported by thousands of years of discernment and psychic rewards, but art as a commodity was held up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/art-as-an-aesthetic-principle-was-supported-by-thousands-of-years-of/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The closer you get to Number 10 the more you see what a back-breaking job that is, the pressure is absolutely constant and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/the-closer-you-get-to-number-10-the-more-you-see-what-a-back-breaking/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [Action is transitory, a step, a blow, The motion of a muscle, this way or that, 'Tis done--And in the after-vacancy, We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/action-is-transitory-a-step-a-blow-the-motion-of-a-muscle-this-way-or/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [It infuriated him to think that there were still people in the state who believed in a loving and merciful God. There are mystics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/it-infuriated-him-to-think-that-there-were-still-people-in-the-state/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The infinity of this vacancy, the pervasive pain, the longing for some spirit, some lightness, some joy - that's all that is left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/the-infinity-of-this-vacancy-the-pervasive-pain-the-longing-for-some/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [I felt I had to take the Celtic opportunity. You quickly learn that any managerial vacancy attracts up to 60 or 70 applicants, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-felt-i-had-to-take-the-celtic-opportunity-you-quickly-learn-that/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-is-filled-by-mere-killing-of/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [“This…hole in the world, man-shaped. Me-shaped. A vacancy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/this-hole-in-the-world-man-shaped-me-shaped-a-vacancy/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) ## More by Thomas Chalmers > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [O Heavenly Father, convert my religion from a name to a principle! Bring all my thoughts and movements into an habitual reference to Thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/o-heavenly-father-convert-my-religion-from-a-name-to-a-principle/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It has been said that there is nothing more uncommon than common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-has-been-said-that-there-is-nothing-more-uncommon-than-common-sense/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Enthusiasm is a virtue rarely to be met with in seasons of calm and unruffled prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/enthusiasm-is-a-virtue-rarely-to-be-met-with-in-seasons-of-calm-and/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The human mind feels restless and dissatisfied under the anxieties of ignorance. It longs for the repose of conviction; and to gain this repose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/the-human-mind-feels-restless-and-dissatisfied-under-the-anxieties-of/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Infidelity gives nothing in return for what it takes away. What, then, is it worth? Everything valuable as a compensating power. Not a blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-gives-nothing-in-return-for-what-it-takes-away-what-then/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Acts of virtue ripen into habits; and the goodly and permanent result is the formation or establishment of a virtuous character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/acts-of-virtue-ripen-into-habits-and-the-goodly-and-permanent-result/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Shakespeare is an intellectual miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/shakespeare-is-an-intellectual-miracle/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [I want to feel my own nothingness, I want to give myself up in absolute resignation to God, to lie prostrate and passive at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/i-want-to-feel-my-own-nothingness-i-want-to-give-myself-up-in/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Not till we come to a simple reliance on the blood and mediation of the Saviour, shall we know what it is either to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/not-till-we-come-to-a-simple-reliance-on-the-blood-and-mediation-of/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/the-sum-and-substance-of-the-preparation-needed-for-a-coming-eternity/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [By the very constitution of our nature moral evil is its own curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/by-the-very-constitution-of-our-nature-moral-evil-is-its-own-curse/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It is in those times of hopeless chaos when the sovereign hand of God is most likely to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-is-in-those-times-of-hopeless-chaos-when-the-sovereign-hand-of-god/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It is not scholarship alone, but scholarship impregnated with religion, that tells on the great mass of society. We have no faith in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-is-not-scholarship-alone-but-scholarship-impregnated-with-religion/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Infidelity is one of those coinages,-a mass of base money that won't pass current with any heart that loves truly, or any head that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-is-one-of-those-coinages-a-mass-of-base-money-that-won-t/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) [Explore all 45 Thomas Chalmers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## More Clinging quotes > [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/) [Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/) > [I hate to see prudence clinging to the green suckers of youth; 'tis like ivy round a sapling, and spoils the growth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/i-hate-to-see-prudence-clinging-to-the-green-suckers-of-youth-tis/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I don't think people ever were free of fear of death, but clinging to life and being so unprepared for it is a modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-butler/i-don-t-think-people-ever-were-free-of-fear-of-death-but-clinging-to/) [Katy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-butler/) > [Blaming mother is just a negative way of clinging to her still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/blaming-mother-is-just-a-negative-way-of-clinging-to-her-still/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Jobs are a centuries-old concept created during the Industrial Revolution. Despite the reality that we're now deep in the Information Age, many people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/jobs-are-a-centuries-old-concept-created-during-the-industrial/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose Once there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-afraid-to-love-you-but-more-afraid-to-loose-clinging-to-a-past/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/if-conservatives-don-t-want-to-be-seen-as-bitter-people-who-cling-to/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Sam, clinging to Frodo's arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. 'Poor old Bill!' he said in a choking voice. 'Poor old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-clinging-to-frodo-s-arm-collapsed-on-a-step-in-the-black-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And one fine day the goddess of the wind kisses the foot of man, that mistreated, scorned foot, and from that kiss the soccer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/and-one-fine-day-the-goddess-of-the-wind-kisses-the-foot-of-man-that/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/i-am-tired-of-clinging-though-i-cannot-see-it-with-my-eyes-i-trust/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-mutable-are-our-feelings-and-how-strange-is-that-clinging-love-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we cling to belief in God, we cannot likewise have faith, since faith is not clinging but letting go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-cling-to-belief-in-god-we-cannot-likewise-have-faith-since/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not saying that you should renounce things, that you should escape from your home and renounce the marketplace. No, don't misunderstand my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/i-am-not-saying-that-you-should-renounce-things-that-you-should/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stalker/augustine-says-that-we-may-out-of-our-dead-sins-make-stepping-stones/) [James Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stalker/) Browse all 336 Clinging quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system…. 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