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
there is a loneliness in this world so great that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the profound sense of loneliness that can feel palpable and intense in one's life.
Charles Bukowski's quote speaks to the deep, often unacknowledged loneliness that pervades human existence. It suggests that this feeling can be so overwhelming that it manifests in the world around us, even in the mundane, slow passage of time indicated by the ticking of a clock. This perspective invites reflection on the internal struggles many face, revealing how loneliness can permeate daily life and alter oneβs perception of time.
Themes
LonelinessTimeHuman ExperienceExistenceSolitude
In practice
Example use cases
Reflecting on my solitude during a speech about mental health awareness.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes βwhen I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
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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.
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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.
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To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, canβt sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
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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 donβt 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
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