I can never drive my car over a bridge without thinking of suicide. I can never look at a lake or an ocean without thinking of suicide.
Charles BukowskiRead
I sit here drunk now. I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here without committing murder or being murdered; without having ended up in the madhouse. as I drink alone again tonight my soul despite all the past agony thanks all the gods who were not there for me then.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the struggles and triumphs of life, highlighting resilience in the face of adversity.
Charles Bukowski's quote paints a vivid portrait of a tumultuous life filled with both small victories and significant defeats. The speaker expresses a sense of amazement at their survival amidst chaos, acknowledging the pain and struggles faced along the way while simultaneously showing gratitude for the unseen forces that have allowed them to endure. It illustrates the complexity of existence, where moments of despair are intertwined with a sense of accomplishment, leading to a profound appreciation for life despite its challenges.
Themes
ResilienceStruggleGratitudeLifeSurvival
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a motivational talk to inspire those facing challenges.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
Charles BukowskiRead
The masses are always wrong...Wisdom is doing everything the crowd does not do. All you do is reverse the totality of their learning and you have the heaven they're looking for.
Charles BukowskiRead
I'm going to open another vottle. not a vottle, but a bottle. you open it and I'll drink it. and you try to write as much as I did without falling off of your chair.
Charles BukowskiRead
To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, can’t sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
Charles BukowskiRead
I lapsed into my pathetic cut-off period. Often with humans, both good and bad, my senses simply shut off, they get tired, I give up. I am polite. I nod. I pretend to understand because I don’t want anybody to be hurt. That is the one weakness that has lead me into the most trouble. Trying to be kind to others I often get my soul shredded into a kind of spiritual pasta. No matter. My brain shuts off. I listen. I respond. And they are too dumb to know that I am not there.
Charles BukowskiRead
Similar quotes
The end is simply the beginning of an even longer story.
Zadie SmithRead
I don't think I'll ever act again. I have so many wonderful memories, but those days are over.
Sean ConneryRead
...the only continuity possible in life, as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom. The only real security is... living in the present and accepting it as it is now.
Anne Morrow LindberghRead
Well I was born a rambler friends, and I intend to die that way. It could be twenty years from now it could be most any day. But if there ain't no whiskey and wimen lord behind those heavenly doors, I'm gonna take my chances down below and of that you can be sure.
Townes Van ZandtRead
I'm just trying to wake up - I'm so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying - I want to wake up first. I wouldn't care if it was just for an hour, as long as I was properly alive and awake.
Philip PullmanRead
I'm not a bit changed - not really. I'm only just pruned down and branched out. The real me - back here - is just the same.
Lucy Maud MontgomeryRead