--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were the only three people awake in a…" description: "\"“We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.”\" — Cath Crowley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg" --- # We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep… ![“We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.” quote by Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg) > ““We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.”” [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A small group awakens while most remain unaware, creating a tense, heavy atmosphere. **In simple terms:** Only a few are alert while others sleep. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant and question the status quo. Themes awakening isolation awareness Mood reflective poetic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - Night shift workers - early adopters - crisis responders Key Concepts Existential dread perception Questions to Reflect On - What does “half asleep” symbolize for you? - How does awareness change responsibility? A Different Perspective The heavy atmosphere may be metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep-air-4266281/) [Felt Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-heavy-1154071/) [Half Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-asleep-334374/) [People Awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-awake-1825005/) [World Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-half-1436420/) ## Related quotes > [You knew all along that your sanctioned world was only half the world, and you tried to suppress the other half the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-knew-all-along-that-your-sanctioned-world-was-only-half-the-world/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It's better to go into the world half-cocked than not to go into the world at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/it-s-better-to-go-into-the-world-half-cocked-than-not-to-go-into-the/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [“He didn't come to make friends. He's got fire in his eyes and a sword in his mouth and he came to cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/he-didn-t-come-to-make-friends-he-s-got-fire-in-his-eyes-and-a-sword/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [My father says that almost the whole world is asleep, everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-ryan/my-father-says-that-almost-the-whole-world-is-asleep-everybody-you/) [Meg Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-ryan/) > [“I would know that in any city, at an hour like this, there are people sleeping. That most people are sleeping. But that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-would-know-that-in-any-city-at-an-hour-like-this-there-are-people/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“A bus cuts the world in half...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/a-bus-cuts-the-world-in-half/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [And I tell you truly, Danaerys, there is no man in all the world who will ever be half so true to you as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-i-tell-you-truly-danaerys-there-is-no-man-in-all-the-world-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We should all be lucky enough to make something in this world half as fucked up as we were ourselves, something we could leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/we-should-all-be-lucky-enough-to-make-something-in-this-world-half-as/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [Most harm is done by people who are awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-hardy/most-harm-is-done-by-people-who-are-awake/) [Jeremy Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-hardy/) > [I want people to be awake. I want them to be aware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-brewer/i-want-people-to-be-awake-i-want-them-to-be-aware/) [Madeline Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-brewer/) > [“Only the ideas that we actually live are of any value. You knew all along that your sanctioned world was only half the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hessa/only-the-ideas-that-we-actually-live-are-of-any-value-you-knew-all/) [Herman Hessa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hessa/) > [“And Laurie was Tate’s Elise. He had Jonas, so she wasn’t his everything, but that didn’t mean she didn’t make up half his world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/and-laurie-was-tate-s-elise-he-had-jonas-so-she-wasn-t-his-everything/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [I like to see the people awake and alert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-like-to-see-the-people-awake-and-alert/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The New World Order run by the United Nations ain't gonna happen. Because they've shown their hand, and at least some corner of Congress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moriarty/the-new-world-order-run-by-the-united-nations-ain-t-gonna-happen/) [Michael Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moriarty/) > [This world is half the devil's and my own, Daft with the drug that's smoking in a girl and curling round the bud that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/this-world-is-half-the-devil-s-and-my-own-daft-with-the-drug-that-s/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## More by Cath Crowley > [“Get up, Henry,' he says. 'You're fermenting. Tell him he's fermenting, George.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/get-up-henry-he-says-you-re-fermenting-tell-him-he-s-fermenting-george/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Secondhand books are haunted, according to him. Ghosts in the pages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/secondhand-books-are-haunted-according-to-him-ghosts-in-the-pages/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Serial killer aren't creative." "Watch a little Dexter and get back to me on that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/serial-killer-aren-t-creative-watch-a-little-dexter-and-get-back-to/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“I made you collapsible. I put you in and raised you with string and made you stay there with putty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-made-you-collapsible-i-put-you-in-and-raised-you-with-string-and/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“I’ve been reading a heap too—not swimming. I don’t swim. I like baths, though, and they allow the added bonus of being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-ve-been-reading-a-heap-too-not-swimming-i-don-t-swim-i-like-baths/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“I spray the sky fast. Eyes ahead and behind. Looking for cops. Looking for anyone I don't want to be here. Paint sails and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-spray-the-sky-fast-eyes-ahead-and-behind-looking-for-cops-looking/) [cath crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Words matter, in fact. They're not pointless, as you've suggested. If they were pointless, then they couldn't start revolutions and they wouldn't change history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/words-matter-in-fact-they-re-not-pointless-as-you-ve-suggested-if/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Sometimes a memory is a thing that can't be explained using words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/sometimes-a-memory-is-a-thing-that-can-t-be-explained-using-words/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“I stopped doubting her predication after she told me I'd be allergic to guava juice, which was something I'd never tried. I drank a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-stopped-doubting-her-predication-after-she-told-me-i-d-be-allergic/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“If my like for you was a footy crowd, you'd be deaf cos of the roar. And if my like for you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/if-my-like-for-you-was-a-footy-crowd-you-d-be-deaf-cos-of-the-roar/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Ellipses," according to Henry, are "fucking excellent." The exclamation mark is just a weird guy who talks too loudly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/ellipses-according-to-henry-are-fucking-excellent-the-exclamation/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“Humans are strong, but if you hit them at the right point, they destruct.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/humans-are-strong-but-if-you-hit-them-at-the-right-point-they-destruct/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“He's one of the good guys,' she always said.'Just sometimes he's working undercover”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/he-s-one-of-the-good-guys-she-always-said-just-sometimes-he-s-working/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“What are you reading?’ he asks this afternoon. ‘Kafka’s Metamorphosis,’ George says, without looking up. ‘And what’s it about?’ ‘Guy turns into a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/what-are-you-reading-he-asks-this-afternoon-kafka-s-metamorphosis/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“We've got secrets coming out our arses and you want to take them to a clairvoyant?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/we-ve-got-secrets-coming-out-our-arses-and-you-want-to-take-them-to-a/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) [Explore all 256 Cath Crowley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) ## More Half Asleep quotes > [I've tried to go on like I never knew you. I'm awake but my world is half asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-tried-to-go-on-like-i-never-knew-you-i-m-awake-but-my-world-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm jealous of the moon because she knows all of your 5am secrets. And your sheets who get to touch every part of you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/i-m-jealous-of-the-moon-because-she-knows-all-of-your-5am-secrets-and/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [Take naps. Often new ideas come together when you are half asleep, but you have to train yourself to remember them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/take-naps-often-new-ideas-come-together-when-you-are-half-asleep-but/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [No one can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/no-one-can-reveal-to-you-nothing-but-that-which-already-lies-half/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [That mini heart attack you get when you're half asleep and you suddenly feel like you're falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-mini-heart-attack-you-get-when-you-re-half-asleep-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Are you half awake, or half asleep?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/are-you-half-awake-or-half-asleep/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Im like a man whos been half-asleep all his life, trying to find out what he was like before he woke up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/im-like-a-man-whos-been-half-asleep-all-his-life-trying-to-find-out/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [But I need to wake up somehow. Or maybe not. Maybe it’s best to get through the day half-asleep. Maybe that’s the only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/but-i-need-to-wake-up-somehow-or-maybe-not-maybe-it-s-best-to-get/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [I can remember times coming home from a chess club at four in the morning when I was half asleep and half dead and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/i-can-remember-times-coming-home-from-a-chess-club-at-four-in-the/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [“At five in the morning, I was half asleep. The whole left side of my body was taking a nap. Seems I’m also always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/at-five-in-the-morning-i-was-half-asleep-the-whole-left-side-of-my/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Reading text messages while half asleep is like looking into the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/reading-text-messages-while-half-asleep-is-like-looking-into-the-sun/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.” And facing death changes that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/we-really-don-t-experience-the-world-fully-because-we-re-half-asleep/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“The paradoxical situation with a vast number of people today is that they are half asleep when awake, and half awake when asleep, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-paradoxical-situation-with-a-vast-number-of-people-today-is-that/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Meanwhile, at our present level of development, largely oblivious to our origins and our destination, we are half-asleep in frog pajamas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/meanwhile-at-our-present-level-of-development-largely-oblivious-to/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/no-man-can-reveal-to-you-nothing-but-that-which-already-lies-half/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Browse all 29 Half Asleep quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-asleep-334374/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cath Crowley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a-world-half-asleep-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Half Asleep" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a-world-half-asleep-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/cath-crowley-1328_quote_we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a_1300076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were the only three people awake in a world half asleep and the air felt heavy with maybe.” — Cath Crowley", "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": "Cath Crowley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We were the only three people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a-world-half-asleep-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/we-were-the-only-three-people-awake-in-a-world-half-asleep-and-the/#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 } } ] } ```