What is required of us is that we love the difficult and learn to deal with it. In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us. Right in the difficult we must have our joys, our happiness, our dreams: there against the depth of this background, they stand out, there for the first time we see how beautiful they are.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- We must love difficulty, for it contains the forces that shape us and reveals the beauty of our joys.
- In plain terms
- Embrace challenges; they bring growth and highlight happiness.
- What can you take from it?
- Find value in struggle and let it sharpen your appreciation of joy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How can we distinguish helpful difficulty from harmful stress?
- What practices help us love the difficult?
Another view
Not all difficulty leads to positive outcomes.
More from Rainer Maria Rilke
Not since Moses has anyone seen a mountain so greatly.
Permalink to quote #16 Extinguish my sight, and I can still see you; plug up my ears, and I can still hear; even without feet I can walk toward you, and without mouth I can still imp…
Permalink to quote #18 He [Cezanne] reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thin…
Permalink to quote #15
Related quotes
The man who is guided by concepts and abstractions only succeeds by such means in warding off misfortune, without ever gaining any happiness for himself from t…
Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche quote #36 Follow the voice of your heart, even if it leads you off the path of timid souls. Do not become hard and embittered, even if life tortures you at times. There …
Wilhelm ReichWilhelm Reich quote #55 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twi…
Joseph BrackettJoseph Brackett quote #1