---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had come to understand that despair…"
description: "\"“I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual despite of it...”\" — Banana Yoshimoto"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg"
---

#  I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily…

![“I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual despite of it...” quote by Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg)

> ““I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual despite of it...””

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Despair doesn’t have to destroy; life can continue despite it.

**In simple terms:** Despair isn’t fatal; keep living.

Key Takeaway

Find resilience in hardship.

Themes

despair resilience continuity

Mood

hopeful steady

Type

literary motivational

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- daily routines
- creative work

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What anchors you during despair?
- How to cultivate resilience?

A Different Perspective

Despair can coexist with normalcy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Annihilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) [Annihilation Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation-usual-3867816/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-does-1357491/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Understand Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-despair-1818050/)

## Related quotes

> [To the extent that I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/to-the-extent-that-i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [There are circumstances in which despair does not imply inactivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-are-circumstances-in-which-despair-does-not-imply-inactivity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/but-however-close-we-sometimes-seem-to-that-dark-and-final-abyss-let/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-seem-to-be-in-any-way/)

[Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/)

> [“Money dosen't buy happiness but I understand the despair is excellent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-harris/money-dosen-t-buy-happiness-but-i-understand-the-despair-is-excellent/)

[Phillip Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-harris/)

> [“Listen closely, Sebastien Newcombe, ... I will only say this once. I understand the despair coursing through you. I understand the rage that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-duvall/listen-closely-sebastien-newcombe-i-will-only-say-this-once-i/)

[Dianne Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-duvall/)

> [“Women get desperate, but they don't understand despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/women-get-desperate-but-they-don-t-understand-despair/)

[William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/)

> [“But if someone really cared, well they'd take the time to spare, a moment to try and understand, another one's despair”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guns-n-roses/but-if-someone-really-cared-well-they-d-take-the-time-to-spare-a/)

[Guns N' Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guns-n-roses/)

> [Knowing that all things contrary to God's laws are transient, let us avoid despair and radiate hope for a warless world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/knowing-that-all-things-contrary-to-god-s-laws-are-transient-let-us/)

[Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/)

> [I love because I know how it feels like not to be loved. I am humbled for what I have and for who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/i-love-because-i-know-how-it-feels-like-not-to-be-loved-i-am-humbled/)

[London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/)

> [You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/you-have-to-maintain-a-fine-balance-between-hope-and-despair/)

[Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/)

> [“Even my Buddhist friends have been feeling despair and when they go bad, you know the end is nigh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/even-my-buddhist-friends-have-been-feeling-despair-and-when-they-go/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/)

[Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/)

## More by Banana Yoshimoto

> [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“People look so beautiful when their expressions show that they know they have a future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/people-look-so-beautiful-when-their-expressions-show-that-they-know/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“I don’t put any stock in whatever it is that happens inside my head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-don-t-put-any-stock-in-whatever-it-is-that-happens-inside-my-head/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [The way we think may be completely different, but you and I are an ancient, archetypal couple, the original man and woman. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/the-way-we-think-may-be-completely-different-but-you-and-i-are-an/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [I love feeling the rhythm of other people's lives. It's like traveling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-love-feeling-the-rhythm-of-other-people-s-lives-it-s-like-traveling/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“But that’s only because we have to be that way in order to get on with our lives. Just because people are playing doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/but-that-s-only-because-we-have-to-be-that-way-in-order-to-get-on/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“I know just how slimy people can be, and how people like that are during the daytime. They don’t get slimy at night because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-know-just-how-slimy-people-can-be-and-how-people-like-that-are/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“I wanted to strip and dance naked in front of them, because maybe then I could have demolished the fake, slimy atmosphere they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-wanted-to-strip-and-dance-naked-in-front-of-them-because-maybe-then/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [I held the feeling in my heart; the urge to discuss it died out. There was all the time in the world. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-held-the-feeling-in-my-heart-the-urge-to-discuss-it-died-out-there/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“Everything in my life revolves around people playing at being something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/everything-in-my-life-revolves-around-people-playing-at-being/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“When things get really bad, you take comfort in the placeness of a place. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/when-things-get-really-bad-you-take-comfort-in-the-placeness-of-a/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“And usually, when it’s all over, I find that everything has come together surprisingly well. When that happens, I feel like I’ve been dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/and-usually-when-it-s-all-over-i-find-that-everything-has-come/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“In the uncertain ebb and flow of time and emotions, much of one's life history is etched in the senses. And things of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/in-the-uncertain-ebb-and-flow-of-time-and-emotions-much-of-one-s-life/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [Everything that had happened was shockingly beautiful, enough to make you crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/everything-that-had-happened-was-shockingly-beautiful-enough-to-make/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [“Perhaps there are people in this world who love their fountain pens with every fiber of their being—and that's very sad. If you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/perhaps-there-are-people-in-this-world-who-love-their-fountain-pens/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

[Explore all 192 Banana Yoshimoto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

## More Annihilation quotes

> [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/)

[Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/)

> [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/)

[Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/)

> [To fight is to face death once more, perhaps the total annihilation of their kind. But to run... is that not also a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/to-fight-is-to-face-death-once-more-perhaps-the-total-annihilation-of/)

[Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/)

> [I'm not afraid of anything other than spiritual annihilation. Where your soul is sucked into the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispian-mills/i-m-not-afraid-of-anything-other-than-spiritual-annihilation-where/)

[Crispian Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispian-mills/)

> [“The breath had become as much a trick as breathing. Things were not dual merely, but multiple. I had become a cage of mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-breath-had-become-as-much-a-trick-as-breathing-things-were-not/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/there-were-days-when-she-was-unhappy-she-did-not-know-why-when-it-did/)

[Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/)

> [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/)

[Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/)

> [We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on it's vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed, for our safety, to it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/we-travel-together-passengers-on-a-little-spaceship-dependent-on-it-s/)

[Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/)

> [Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/liberty-is-to-faction-what-air-is-to-fire-an-aliment-without-which-it/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [Today I will once more be a prophet. If the international Jewish financiers, inside and outside Europe, succeed in plunging the nations once more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/today-i-will-once-more-be-a-prophet-if-the-international-jewish/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“The edge of total annihilation wasn't the worst place to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/the-edge-of-total-annihilation-wasn-t-the-worst-place-to-hide/)

[Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/)

> [To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-hope-is-to-give-yourself-to-the-future-and-that-commitment-to-the/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [Annihilation is an absurdity in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-palissy/annihilation-is-an-absurdity-in-terms/)

[Bernard Palissy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-palissy/)

> [Love is scary because it pulls you in with an intense force, a supermassive black hole which looks like nothing from the outside but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/love-is-scary-because-it-pulls-you-in-with-an-intense-force-a/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [I have issued the command, and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad, that our war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-have-issued-the-command-and-i-ll-have-anybody-who-utters-but-one/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

[Browse all 244 Annihilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual despite of it...”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Banana Yoshimoto"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not-necessarily-result-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Annihilation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not-necessarily-result-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/159/banana-yoshimoto-1375_despair_i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-do_1239871.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as…” — Banana Yoshimoto",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Banana Yoshimoto",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I had come to understand that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not-necessarily-result-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not-necessarily-result-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
