The Great Secret of Death

"The great secret of death, and perhaps its deepest connection with us, is this: that, in taking from us a being we have loved and venerated, death does not wound us without, at the same time, lifting us toward a more perfect understanding of this being and of ourselves."

Rainer Maria Rilke; translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows, in Letter to Countess Margot Sizzo-Noris-Crouty, January 23, 1924