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150 Deep Dark Quotes About Life, Death, Pain & Love

150 Deep Dark Quotes About Life, Death, Pain & Love

Are you afraid of the dark? Well, these deep dark quotes will show you why you shouldn’t be!

Top 40 Deep Dark Quotes About Life

1. “Flowers grow out of dark moments.” — Corita Kent

Flowers grow out of dark moments.

2. “Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.” — August Wilson

3. “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” — Dante Alighieri

4. “Your soul is a dark forest. But the trees are of a particular species, they are genealogical trees.” — Marcel Proust

5. “Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.” — Maya Angelou

Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin.

6. “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” — Og Mandino

7. “Character like a photograph, develops in darkness.” — Yousuf Karsh

8. “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.” — Brené Brown

9. “The nearer the dawn the darker the night.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

10. “When you have nothing left to lose, it’s easy to dive deep into those deep, dark hidden places and write your truth. I’m there.” — Lori Lesko

When you have nothing left to lose, it's easy to dive deep into hidden places

11. “Put light against light – you have nothing. Put dark against dark – you have nothing. It’s the contrast of light and dark that each gives the other one meaning.” — Bob Ross

12. “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” — Carl Gustav Jung

13. “Creativity – like human life itself – begins in darkness.” — Julia Cameron

14. “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

15. “There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.” — Bram Stoker

There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

16. “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” — Haruki Murakami

17. “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust him in the dark, that is faith.” — Charles Spurgeon

18. “In a dark time, the eye begins to see.” — Cavett Robert

19. “When darkness falls, beauty is lit from within.” — Johnathan Jena

20. “The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.” — Shannon L. Alder

The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness

21. “Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light: I have loved the stars too fondly, to be fearful of the night.” — Sarah Williams

22. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman

23. “Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings – always darker, emptier and simpler.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

24. “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” — Plato

25. “The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.” — Agnes de Mille

The artist never entirely knows.

26. “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” — J. K. Rowling

27. “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” — Francis of Assisi

28. “The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.” — Rabindranath Tagore

29. “Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding.” — Tom Hardy as Bane, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

30. “A visionary is one who can find his way by moonlight and see the dawn before the rest of the world.” — Oscar Wilde

A visionary is one who can find his way by moonlight and see the dawn before the rest of the world.

31. “In the midst of darkness, light persists.” — Mahatma Gandhi

32. “Only the person who has experienced light and darkness, war and peace, rise and fall, only that person has truly experienced life.” — Stefan Zweig

33. “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Desiderius Erasmus

34. “Once you conquer your selfish self, all your darkness will change to light.” — Rumi

35. “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” — Allan Bloom

Education is the movement from darkness to light

36. “By night, beloved, tie your heart to mine and let them both in dreams defeat the darkness.” — Pablo Neruda

37. “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” — Carl Jung

38. “Don’t underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it.” — Klaus Mikaelson

39. “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” — Mark Twain

40. “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” — Edgar Allan Poe

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there

Deep Dark Quotes & Thoughts On Love, Life, & Death

Birth, life, love, and death – they are all part of the cycle. These deep dark quotes will help you accept what’s inevitable and get rid of the fear.

1. “Until we have seen someone’s darkness, we don’t really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone’s darkness, we don’t really know what love is.” — Marianne Williamson

Until we have seen someone's darkness, we don't really know who they are.

2. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. “The ones who love your dark are the only light you’ll ever need.” — Jenim Dibie

4. “Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.” — Oscar Wilde

5. “I think that light and shadow have exactly the same duality that exists between life and death.” — Manuel Alvarez Bravo

I think that light and shadow have exactly the same duality

6. “Before my birth there was infinite time, and after my death, inexhaustible time. I never thought of it before: I’d been living luminously between two eternities of darkness.” — Orhan Pamuk

7. “Faith is seeing light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.” — unknown

8. “If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, and hug it in mine arms.” — William Shakespeare

9. “Darkness is where the magic of moonlight lives.” — unknown

10. “People often believed they were safer in the light, thinking monsters only came out at night. But safety – like light – is a façade.” — C.J. Roberts

People often believed they were safer in the light

11. “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” — Carl Jung

12. “Where there is love, there is no darkness.” — Burundi proverb

13. “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” — Pablo Neruda

14. “The planet is always half light and half dark, and so are we.” — Jennifer Lynch

15. “You might want someone else to save you, or might want to save someone so badly. But no one else can save you, not really, not from yourself.” — Ava Dellaira

no one else can save you, not really, not from yourself

16. “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” — Walt Disney

17. “Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

18. “I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness.” — George Fox

19. “Love is to fear as light is to dark; in the presence of one, the other cannot exist. So wherever there is a place of fear in your life, think of one thing – even if it’s just a thought you can think-where you can generate love to cast out the fear.” — Marianne Williamson

20. “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” — Helen Keller

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

21. “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” ― Mary Oliver

22. “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.” — Sylvia Plath

23. “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad

24. “There is something to be said for the night. The darkness holds a sense of promise as if anything could happen.” — Meg Collett

25. “The dark and the light, they exist side by side. Sometimes overlapping, one explaining the other. The darkened path is as illuminated as the lightened…” — Raven Davies

The dark and the light, they exist side by side.

26. “When the road you walk is dark, may you always hear, even in your hour of sorrow, the gentle singing of the lark.” — unknown

27. “It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.” — Stephen King

28. “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.” — Swami Vivekananda

29. “To see a candle’s light one must take it into a dark place.” — Ursula K. Le Guin

30. “When it rains, look for rainbows. When it’s dark, look for stars.” — unknown

When it rains, look for rainbows. When it's dark, look for stars.

31. “The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.” — Felix Adler

32. “You must acknowledge how bad you can be and how horribly unloving you can behave. When you know how deep and dark your dark side is, it helps you stand a little taller in the light.” — Iyanla Vanzant

33. “Want to feel free and alive? Go to the forest and dance in the moonlight.” — unknown

34. “Your soul is the light that sees my dark, and loves me all the same.” — Angie Weiland- Crosby

35. “It takes more courage to dig deep in the dark corners of your own soul and the back alleys of your society than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield.” — William Butler Yeats

It takes more courage to dig deep in the dark corners of your own soul

36. “The rising sun can dispel the darkness of night, but it cannot banish the blackness of malice, hatred, bigotry, and selfishness from the hearts of humanity.” — David O. McKay

37. “Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.” — Erica Jong

38. “You can love someone who’s in despair without falling into their darkness.” — unknown

39. “There are those who are afraid of the dark, not just because it’s dark, but because of what’s inside the darkness.” — Timothy Long

40. “Deep into that darkness peering long, stood there wondering fearing to doubt.” — Edgar Allan Poe

41. “Fear can only grow in darkness. Once you face fear with light, you win.” — Steve Maraboli

42. “A good deed brightens the dark world.” — unknown

43. “When you spend so long trapped in darkness, you find that the darkness begins to stare back.” — Sarah J. Maas

44. “Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light. Try not to take it personally.” — Kamand Kojouri

45. “How terrible this darkness was, how bewildering, and yet mysteriously beautiful.” — Stefan Zweig

How terrible this darkness was

46. “Inner healing involves moving from darkness to the light. “Light” is a word that has different meanings yet is generally understood as love and understanding. Love nurtures the emotional body; understanding fills the voids created by pain.” — Deepak Chopra

47. “I say there is no darkness but ignorance.” — William Shakespeare

48. “Surrounded by darkness yet enfolded in light.” — Alan Brennert

49. “To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.” — unknown

50. “I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

I am a forest, and a night of dark trees

51. “We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened. But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen.” — Thomas Merton

52. “There is no denying that there is evil in this world but the light will always conquer the darkness.” — Idowu Koyenikan

53. “There is nothing in the dark that isn’t there when the lights are on.” — Rod Serling

54. “Character is what a man is in the dark.” — Dwight Moody

55. “Your path is illuminated by the light, yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.” — J.L.W. Brooks

Your path is illuminated by the light, yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.

56. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” — Kahlil Gibran

57. “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” — Rumi

Dark Deep Quotes About Pain

Nobody likes to feel pain, but in pain we find ourselves. Here are some powerful deep dark quotes about pain.

1. “The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.” — Anais Nin

The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.

2. “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” — Khalil Gibran

3. “What makes night within us may leave stars.” — Victor Hugo

4. “Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” — Madeline L’Engle

5. “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” — Kenji Miyazawa

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.

6. “What hurts you blesses you. Darkness is your candle. Your boundaries are your quest.” — Rumi

7. “Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” — Meister Eckhart

8. “The darkness that surrounds us cannot hurt us. It is the darkness in your own heart you should fear.” — Silvertris

9. “The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel a rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.” — Gustave Flaubert

10. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” — Rumi

The wound is the place where the Light enters you.

11. “No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.” — George Chakiris

12. “Every human being walks around with a certain kind of sadness. They may not wear it on their sleeves, but it’s there if you look deep.” — Taraji P. Henson

13. “When you’re sad, you’re not sad. You are merely oblivious to the good things in your life. There is always a crack of light in the darkness. Find it.” — Dianna Agron

14. “Sleep doesn’t help if it’s your soul that’s tired.” — unknown

15. “Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay

Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely.

16. “You don’t go through a deep personal transformation without some kind of dark night of the soul.” — Sam Keen

17. “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” — Carl Jung

18. “Solitude was my only consolation – deep, dark, deathlike solitude.” — Mary Shelley

19. “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” ― James Baldwin

20. “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.” — Jim Rohn

We must all suffer one of two things the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.

21. “When pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure.” — Jane Austen

22. “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.” ― Ernest Hemingway

23. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not, and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

24. “It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” ― Chuck Palahniuk

25. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ― Oprah Winfrey

Turn your wounds into wisdom.

26. “The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” — Jim Roh

27. “You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun.” — Shaun Hick

28. “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” — Lance Armstrong

29. “No matter how dark things feel right now, you will be happy again.” — unknown

30. “There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.” — Nicholas Sparks

There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock

31. “I think that any time of great pain is a time of transformation, a fertile time to plant new seeds.” — Debbie Ford

32. “Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become the greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” — Rumi

33. “Pain makes man think. The thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.” — John Patrick

34. “Pain is a good reminder that you’re alive.” — Chitra Divakaruni

35. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” — Khalil Gibran

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

36. “I don’t fear death so much as I fear its prologues: loneliness, decrepitude, pain, debilitation, depression, senility. After a few years of those, I imagine death presents like a holiday at the beach.” — Mary Roach

37. “One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.” — Walter Bagehot

38. “Pain and death are part of life. To reject them is to reject life itself.” — Havelock Ellis

39. “Joy always came after pain.” — Guillaume Apollinaire

40. “Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.” — Roy T. Bennett

letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.

41. “Pain is no evil unless it conquers us.” — Charles Kingsley

42. “After a while, it all started to fade. No more pain, no more unwanted thoughts, and no sound. Just darkness. I welcomed it. I was done.” — Ani San

43. “Who, except the gods, can live time through forever without any pain?” — Aeschylus

44. “The higher consciousness feel the most pain because they search for the darkness in order to bring it to the light and thus feel the most pleasure.” — Matthew Donnelly

45. “Love always, in one way or another, means pain as well as joy.” — Susan Glaspell

Love always, in one way or another, means pain as well as joy.

46. “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

47. “Healing comes from gathering wisdom from past actions and letting go of the pain that the education cost you.” — Caroline Myss

48. “There’s beauty and darkness in everything: Sorrow in joy, life in death, thorns on the roses. You can’t escape pain and torment anymore then you can give up joy and beauty …” — Cate Tiernan

49. “The pain will leave once it has finished teaching you.” — unknown

50. “Compassion is supposed to hurt. If you can’t feel the pain of those around you, it is you who has the problem – not them.” — Josh Brendan

Compassion is supposed to hurt.

51. “Real warriors are raised with pain.” — unknown

52. “Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” — Tony Robbins

53. “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” ― Samuel Butler

Final Words

You see, there’s nothing in the dark that should scare you!

I hope these deep dark quotes can give you answers and help you understand that darkness is not something to be afraid of.

We should embrace it, understand it, and feel it. And then we will transform and evolve.

Until next time!