CURATED COLLECTION

The Soul's Longing for Meaning

Beneath every human restlessness is the same question — what am I here for?

50 quotes found

“
Let your soul yearn for the divine, like a thirsty traveler yearns for water.

—Aisha al-BaunniyyaPoet, Scholar & Author

Medieval ERA • MENA

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The bird of the soul sings for love, whether imprisoned or free.

—Farid ud-Din AttarPoet & Mystic

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

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My longing reaches the sky, but I remain rooted in earth.

—Ka'b ibn ZuhayrPoet

Medieval ERA • MENA

“
Love is the finest chain by which the soul is bound.

—Torquato TassoPoet

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

“
Home is where the soul finds its language.

—Kofi AwoonorPoet, Novelist & Diplomat

Late Modern ERA • West Africa

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If I find in myself desires which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

—C.S. LewisWriter & Theologian

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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My God, my soul, my love, my longing, my comfort, my eternal good!

—Mechthild of MagdeburgMystic, Writer & Author

Medieval ERA • Western Europe

“
The forest breathes, and in its breath, you can hear the ancient heart of Russia.

—Boris PilnyakNovelist

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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A human being is never complete until the moment of death.

—Tierno BokarMystic, Scholar & Sage

Early Modern ERA • West Africa

“
I am the mirror of your face; look at me if you wish to see yourself.

—Bibi HayatiPoet

Industrial Age ERA • MENA

“
Soy la boca que bebió en la fuente. Soy la sed.

—Delmira AgustiniPoet

Early Modern ERA • Latin America

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Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.

—Jalal ad-Din RumiPoet & Scholar

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

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The whole world is looking for love, and it's looking for a way to express it.

—Sade AduScholar & Thinker

Late Modern ERA • West Africa

“
My soul is a nightingale, trapped in a cage, yearning for its rose garden.

—Zeynep HatunPoet

Renaissance ERA • MENA

“
To my lover I say: You are my heart’s desire, and my soul's refuge.

—Wallada bint al-MustakfiPoet & Caliph

Medieval ERA • MENA

“
My soul is like a river, flowing towards the ocean of divine love.

—Bahinabai ChaudhariPoet

Early Modern ERA • South Asia

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I believe in the human spirit. A human being is a spirit, a soul, a body.

—Assata ShakurActivist

Late Modern ERA • North America

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Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.

—AristotlePhilosopher & Scientist

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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Only when you lose yourself completely, do you begin to find your true Self.

—JamiPoet & Scholar

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

“
Love is a fire that burns away all but God. The true lover sees only the Beloved.

—Nizami GanjaviEpic Poet

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

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