--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am evolving from being an animal,' he…" description: "\"“I am evolving from being an animal,' he said. 'But it is going very, very slowly. Sometime I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/blaine-harden-21436_evolving_i-am-evolving-from-being-an-animal-he-sa_618233.jpg" --- # I am evolving from being an animal,' he said. 'But it is… ![“I am evolving from being an animal,' he said. 'But it is going very, very slowly. Sometime I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything. Yet tears don't come. Laughter doesn't come.” quote by Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/blaine-harden-21436_evolving_i-am-evolving-from-being-an-animal-he-sa_618233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/blaine-harden-21436_evolving_i-am-evolving-from-being-an-animal-he-sa_618233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/blaine-harden-21436_evolving_i-am-evolving-from-being-an-animal-he-sa_618233.jpg) > ““I am evolving from being an animal,' he said. 'But it is going very, very slowly. Sometime I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything. Yet tears don't come. Laughter doesn't come.”” [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He feels trapped between animal instincts and human emotions, unable to access genuine feeling. **In simple terms:** Struggling with humanity. Key Takeaway Seek authentic emotional expression. Themes identity humanity emotional numbness Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - self‑reflection - creative writing - social interaction Key Concepts existential crisis psychological isolation Questions to Reflect On - What blocks your ability to feel? - How can you practice authentic laughter or tears? A Different Perspective Emotions may be suppressed but can be cultivated with effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolving/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Recovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recovery/) ## Related quotes > [All comedy is funny because it tells us truths that we recognise through laughter, but that doesn't mean it can't be unnerving. 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But there was… … a look.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-was-something-about-the-eyes-it-wasn-t-the-shape-or-the-color/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [After a few minutes, he asked, real quietly, if you turned into an animal, too. And I said, ‘She wishes she was that cool!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/after-a-few-minutes-he-asked-real-quietly-if-you-turned-into-an/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Stop enjoying yourself," Damen murmured. "We're going to be killed, any minute." "Giant animal," said Laurent. "Stop it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/stop-enjoying-yourself-damen-murmured-we-re-going-to-be-killed-any/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) > [“Man is an unoriginal animal," said Hercule Poirot”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/man-is-an-unoriginal-animal-said-hercule-poirot/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Through my films I'm eventually trying to one day tell the truth. I don't know if I'm ever going to get there, but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/through-my-films-i-m-eventually-trying-to-one-day-tell-the-truth-i/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [You can actually suffer a little bit more going slowly than when you're going really fast. A faster marathon might even be easier than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shorter/you-can-actually-suffer-a-little-bit-more-going-slowly-than-when-you/) [Frank Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shorter/) > [If you're going so fast, you can fast your destiny, but if you're going so slowly you'll never reach your destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anas-alobobo/if-you-re-going-so-fast-you-can-fast-your-destiny-but-if-you-re-going/) [Anas Alobobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anas-alobobo/) > [Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/be-not-afraid-of-going-slowly-be-afraid-only-of-standing-still/) Chinese Proverb > [The goal is not to simulate reality right now by going crazy. The goal is to prepare for reality by going slowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rener-gracie/the-goal-is-not-to-simulate-reality-right-now-by-going-crazy-the-goal/) [Rener Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rener-gracie/) > [When I look fast, I'm not smooth and I am going slowly. And when I look slow, I am smooth and going fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-prost/when-i-look-fast-i-m-not-smooth-and-i-am-going-slowly-and-when-i-look/) [Alain Prost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-prost/) > [It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-edward-housman/it-s-lucky-you-re-going-so-slowly-because-you-re-going-in-the-wrong/) [Alfred Edward Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-edward-housman/) > [Maybe I'm lucky to be going so slowly, because I may be going in the wrong direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/maybe-i-m-lucky-to-be-going-so-slowly-because-i-may-be-going-in-the/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) ## More by Blaine Harden > [“Kwon Tae-jin, a specialist on North Korean agriculture at the Korea Rural Economic Institute, which is funded by the South Korean government, told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/kwon-tae-jin-a-specialist-on-north-korean-agriculture-at-the-korea/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Shin’s story of survival is different. His mother beat him, and he viewed her as a competitor for food. His father, who was allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/shin-s-story-of-survival-is-different-his-mother-beat-him-and-he/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Among the elite in Pyongyang, one of the most coveted signifiers of status is an electric rice cooker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/among-the-elite-in-pyongyang-one-of-the-most-coveted-signifiers-of/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“About sixty percent of Shin’s class was assigned to the coal mines, where accidental death from cave-ins, explosions, and gas poisonings was common. Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/about-sixty-percent-of-shin-s-class-was-assigned-to-the-coal-mines/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Once the imperialist ideological and cultural poisoning is tolerated, even the faith unshakable before the threat of a bayonet will be bound to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/once-the-imperialist-ideological-and-cultural-poisoning-is-tolerated/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“It is difficult to overstate the importance of rice in North Korean culture. It signifies wealth, evokes the closeness of family and sanctifies a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/it-is-difficult-to-overstate-the-importance-of-rice-in-north-korean/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Freedom, in Shin's mind, was just another word for grilled meat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/freedom-in-shin-s-mind-was-just-another-word-for-grilled-meat/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“As contemporaries, Shin and Kim Jong Eun personify the antipodes of privilege and privation in North Korea, a nominally classless society where, in fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/as-contemporaries-shin-and-kim-jong-eun-personify-the-antipodes-of/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“His teachers, as a result, could shape the minds and values of their students without contradiction from children who might know something of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/his-teachers-as-a-result-could-shape-the-minds-and-values-of-their/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“To identify and isolate his perceived political enemies, Kim Il Sung created a neofeudal, blood-based pecking order in 1957. The government classified and, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/to-identify-and-isolate-his-perceived-political-enemies-kim-il-sung/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Anyone who steals or conceals any foodstuffs will be shot immediately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/anyone-who-steals-or-conceals-any-foodstuffs-will-be-shot-immediately/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“There are six camps, according to South Korea’s intelligence agency and human rights groups. The biggest is thirty-one miles long and twenty-five miles wide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/there-are-six-camps-according-to-south-korea-s-intelligence-agency/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“9. Prisoners must genuinely repent of their errors. Anyone who does not acknowledge his sins and instead denies them or carries a deviant opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/9-prisoners-must-genuinely-repent-of-their-errors-anyone-who-does-not/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“Like Nazi concentration camps, labour camps in North Korea use confinement, hunger and fear to create a kind of Skinner box: a closed, closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/like-nazi-concentration-camps-labour-camps-in-north-korea-use/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“And so Shin’s misery never skidded into complete hopelessness. He had no hope to lose, no past to mourn, no pride to defend. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/and-so-shin-s-misery-never-skidded-into-complete-hopelessness-he-had/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) [Explore all 29 Blaine Harden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) ## More Evolving quotes > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [“What happens to the world when science stops evolving?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ott/what-happens-to-the-world-when-science-stops-evolving/) [Jennifer Ott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ott/) > [With platforms like Netflix, things are evolving as they are making content-driven films and series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amyra-dastur/with-platforms-like-netflix-things-are-evolving-as-they-are-making/) [Amyra Dastur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amyra-dastur/) > [The world is getting more connected through technology and travel. Cuisines are evolving. Some people are scared of globalization, but I think people will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/the-world-is-getting-more-connected-through-technology-and-travel/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [“Too often, the notion of progress is used as a code word for perfection, the chain of being in a different guise. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/too-often-the-notion-of-progress-is-used-as-a-code-word-for/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) > [I feel like every time I train, I'm moving so far forward. I'm constantly evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-browne/i-feel-like-every-time-i-train-i-m-moving-so-far-forward-i-m/) [Travis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-browne/) > [“And so the marvels of nature go on evolving,---wheels within wheels”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beebe/and-so-the-marvels-of-nature-go-on-evolving-wheels-within-wheels/) [William Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beebe/) > [Life is never static. Despite catastrophic tragedies, life has persisted in evolving new varieties of unimaginable forms. I find comfort in the narrative of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/life-is-never-static-despite-catastrophic-tragedies-life-has/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [Forget luxury; as a great company you have to keep evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-ahrendts/forget-luxury-as-a-great-company-you-have-to-keep-evolving/) [Angela Ahrendts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-ahrendts/) > [“What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-we-re-experiencing-is-in-a-metaphorical-sense-a-reversal-of-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The practice of executing such offenders is a relic of the past and is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency in a civilized society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-stevens/the-practice-of-executing-such-offenders-is-a-relic-of-the-past-and/) [John Paul Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-stevens/) > [“Our immune system is evolving through trials of use in fighting illnesses and the bombardment of our modern world toxins and that this evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-char-love/our-immune-system-is-evolving-through-trials-of-use-in-fighting/) [Martha Char Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-char-love/) > [You have to keep evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/you-have-to-keep-evolving/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/for-me-becoming-isn-t-about-arriving-somewhere-or-achieving-a-certain/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) [Browse all 309 Evolving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am evolving from being an animal,' he said. 'But it is going very, very slowly. Sometime I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything. Yet tears don't come. 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