Some people see Black Friday as a much-needed break for their wallet. I see it as retail outlets showing the customers the full weight of their contempt. The frenzy to buy cheap crap from China, the human downgrade of people fighting with each other over items they can probably live without, to me, is an insult.
Sometimes it seems the harder you try to hold onto something or someone the more it wants to get away. You feel like some kind of criminal for having felt, for having wanted. For having wanted to be wanted. It confuses you because you think that your feelings were wrong and it makes you feel so small because it’s so hard to keep it inside when you let it out and it doesn’t come back. You’re left so alone that you can’t explain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the pain of trying to cling to relationships that feel out of reach, highlighting the vulnerability of wanting to be wanted.
Henry Rollins expresses the frustration and heartache that comes when we desperately try to maintain connections with people or things that seem to slip away from us. The quote delves into the emotional turmoil of needing acceptance and feeling guilty for wanting to be desired. It portrays the internal conflict of recognizing our feelings as valid while grappling with the loneliness that often stems from such desires not being reciprocated.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could serve as a reflection in a discussion about breakups and the difficulties of moving on.
More from Henry Rollins
All quotes →Strength is the product of struggle, you must do what others don't to achieve what others won't.
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When the Iron doesn't want to come off the mat, it's the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn't teach you anything.
If you paid Americans a living wage, they would be able to pay for products made by Americans in America.
If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will write in blood on forgotten walls. I will write always. I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you
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