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I am NOT nothing! A vaporous phosphorescence on a damp meadow, a miserable worm that crawls and loves, that shouts and talks about wings for an hour or two until his mouth is blocked with earth. The dark powers give no other answer. But within me a deathless Cry, superior to me, continues to shout. For whether I want to or not, I am also, without doubt, a part of the visible and the invisible Universe. We are one.

Nikos Kazantzakis#37

SpiritDeathUnitySelfIdentityUniverse

About this quote

What does it mean?
Despite physical insignificance, the speaker claims a divine connection and unity with the universe through an internal eternal voice.
In plain terms
I am small and will die but I feel part of the whole universe inside me.
What can you take from it?
Accept your smallness while recognizing your connection to the whole.

Where it applies

  • existential crisis
  • self-reflection
  • spiritual practice

Putting it to work

  • find inner voice
  • accept mortality
  • seek connection

Questions to consider

  • Do you feel part of something bigger?
  • What makes you feel alive?

Another view

It relies on an internal feeling that lacks external verification.

More from Nikos Kazantzakis

  1. 'Love responsibility. Say: 'It is my duty, and mine alone, to save the earth. If it is not saved, then I alone am to blame.' 'Love each man according to his co…

    Permalink to quote #36
  2. I am not alone in my fear, nor alone in my hope, nor alone in my shouting. A tremendous host, an onrush of the Universe fears, hopes, and shouts with me. I am …

    Permalink to quote #38
  3. The Cry within me is a call to arms. It shouts: 'I, the Cry, am the Lord your God! I am not an asylum. I am not hope and a home. I am not the Father nor the So…

    Permalink to quote #35

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