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
It was too much. The comfortable people made comfortable jokes about weather and things but I sat mostly silent saying a word or so when necessary a word or so trying to hide from them the fact that I was a fool and feeling terrible And I was numb, numb again, numb again again and again, numbness and pain swelling in me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the inner turmoil and numbness felt when surrounded by superficiality.
In this poignant reflection, Bukowski captures the experience of feeling isolated and disconnected in a world where others engage in trivial banter, seemingly unaffected by deeper emotions. The repetition of 'numb' emphasizes the struggle of trying to navigate through feelings of inadequacy and despair, highlighting a profound sense of alienation amidst a façade of comfort and normalcy.
Themes
NumbnessPainIsolationSuperficialityComfort
In practice
Example use cases
In a conversation about mental health awareness, this quote can illustrate the struggle many face with feelings of numbness.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when 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, can’t 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 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
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