--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As young people we want something to slow…" description: "\"As young people we want something to slow us down and keep us trapped in one place long enough to look below the surface of the world. That disaster is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/chuck-palahniuk-37_below-the-surface_as-young-people-we-want-something-to-slo_2489821.jpg" --- # As young people we want something to slow us down and keep… ![“As young people we want something to slow us down and keep us trapped in one place long enough to look below the surface of the world. That disaster is a car crash or a war. To make us sit still. It can be getting cancer or getting pregnant. The important part is how it seems to catch us by…” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/chuck-palahniuk-37_below-the-surface_as-young-people-we-want-something-to-slo_2489821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/chuck-palahniuk-37_below-the-surface_as-young-people-we-want-something-to-slo_2489821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/chuck-palahniuk-37_below-the-surface_as-young-people-we-want-something-to-slo_2489821.jpg) > “As young people we want something to slow us down and keep us trapped in one place long enough to look below the surface of the world. That disaster is a car crash or a war. To make us sit still. It can be getting cancer or getting pregnant. The important part is how it seems to catch us by surprise. That disaster stops us from living the life we'd planned as children - a life of constant dashing around.” [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traumatic events force us to pause, revealing deeper truths we miss in a rushed life. **In simple terms:** Disasters make us stop and see deeper. Key Takeaway Seek moments of stillness. Themes trauma pause self‑discovery Mood introspective urgent Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crisis - health scare - war experience - career change Key Concepts existential crisis mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected insight have you gained from a crisis? - How can you create intentional pauses? A Different Perspective Not all pauses are productive; some can be destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Below the surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/below-the-surface/) [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Car crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car-crash/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disaster Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster-car-952765/) [Disaster Stops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster-stops-952763/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Getting Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-pregnant/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Living the life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-the-life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pregnant/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Surprise Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise-disaster-952764/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-disaster-952766/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [The whole world is a disaster waiting to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-whole-world-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Vermont tradition is based on the idea that group life should leave each person as free as possible to arrange his own life. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/vermont-tradition-is-based-on-the-idea-that-group-life-should-leave/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [Below the surface stream, shallow and light, Of what we say and feel below the stream, As light, of what we think we feel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/below-the-surface-stream-shallow-and-light-of-what-we-say-and-feel/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Many fires burn below the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empedocles/many-fires-burn-below-the-surface/) [Empedocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empedocles/) > [The more familiar people are with the ecosystem that lives below the surface - invisible until you're actually in the ocean - the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bowermaster/the-more-familiar-people-are-with-the-ecosystem-that-lives-below-the/) [Jon Bowermaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bowermaster/) > [Now imagine that you are going beneath the surface of the ocean. Below the surface all is calm, silent, and serene. As you visualize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/now-imagine-that-you-are-going-beneath-the-surface-of-the-ocean-below/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [English life is seventh-eighths below the surface, like an iceberg, and living in England for a year constitutes merely an introduction to an introduction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/english-life-is-seventh-eighths-below-the-surface-like-an-iceberg-and/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Many times when I stop working on a problem consciously, my mind continues to work on it below the surface. Often solutions come on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/many-times-when-i-stop-working-on-a-problem-consciously-my-mind/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Women want everything of a lover. And too often I would sink below the surface. So armies disappear under sand. And there was her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/women-want-everything-of-a-lover-and-too-often-i-would-sink-below-the/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [My photographs don't go below the surface. They don't go below anything. They're readings of the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surface-they-don-t-go-below/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Fiona has the same glacial beauty of an iceburg, but unlike the iceburg she has absolutely nothing below the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/fiona-has-the-same-glacial-beauty-of-an-iceburg-but-unlike-the/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [...Was it because a lot of the heat went into melting Arctic sea ice or parts of Greenland and Antarctica, and other glaciers? Was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-e-trenberth/was-it-because-a-lot-of-the-heat-went-into-melting-arctic-sea-ice-or/) [Kevin E. Trenberth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-e-trenberth/) > [“Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many questions as we could wish, has at least the power of asking questions which increase the interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/philosophy-if-it-cannot-answer-so-many-questions-as-we-could-wish-has/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/observance-of-customs-and-laws-can-very-easily-be-a-cloak-for-a-lie/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Americans are so often thrown by Japan. It looks familiar but, an inch below the surface, it isn't anything like the West at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-davidson/americans-are-so-often-thrown-by-japan-it-looks-familiar-but-an-inch/) [Cathy Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-davidson/) ## More by Chuck Palahniuk > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [His saliva tasted like the wet dicks of ten thousand lonely truck drivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/his-saliva-tasted-like-the-wet-dicks-of-ten-thousand-lonely-truck/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“shoulder. They weigh that much. Tyler’s a banquet waiter,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/shoulder-they-weigh-that-much-tyler-s-a-banquet-waiter/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Just for the record, how I feel right now is very terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-how-i-feel-right-now-is-very-terrific/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Nobody's told me anything to date that I've been completely reviled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nobody-s-told-me-anything-to-date-that-i-ve-been-completely-reviled-by/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/then-you-re-trapped-in-your-lovely-nest-and-the-things-you-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Waiters will always pee in soup, people will always fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/waiters-will-always-pee-in-soup-people-will-always-fall-in-love/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Branch Bacardi, star of The Da Vinci Load, To Drill a Mockingbird, The Postman Always Cums Twice, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, The Twilight Bone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/branch-bacardi-star-of-the-da-vinci-load-to-drill-a-mockingbird-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Every unkind remark or crude gesture by others is a blessing, an opportunity to exercise our own capacity to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/every-unkind-remark-or-crude-gesture-by-others-is-a-blessing-an/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Nuestro deber es enseñar a esos hombres y mujeres la libertad a través de la esclavitud; y el coraje a través del miedo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nuestro-deber-es-ense-ar-a-esos-hombres-y-mujeres-la-libertad-a-trav/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Explore all 2,041 Chuck Palahniuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More Below the surface quotes > [Americans are so often thrown by Japan. It looks familiar but, an inch below the surface, it isn't anything like the West at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-davidson/americans-are-so-often-thrown-by-japan-it-looks-familiar-but-an-inch/) [Cathy Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-davidson/) > [Observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/observance-of-customs-and-laws-can-very-easily-be-a-cloak-for-a-lie/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many questions as we could wish, has at least the power of asking questions which increase the interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/philosophy-if-it-cannot-answer-so-many-questions-as-we-could-wish-has/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [...Was it because a lot of the heat went into melting Arctic sea ice or parts of Greenland and Antarctica, and other glaciers? Was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-e-trenberth/was-it-because-a-lot-of-the-heat-went-into-melting-arctic-sea-ice-or/) [Kevin E. Trenberth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-e-trenberth/) > [Fiona has the same glacial beauty of an iceburg, but unlike the iceburg she has absolutely nothing below the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/fiona-has-the-same-glacial-beauty-of-an-iceburg-but-unlike-the/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [My photographs don't go below the surface. They don't go below anything. They're readings of the surface. I have great faith in surfaces. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/my-photographs-don-t-go-below-the-surface-they-don-t-go-below/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [Women want everything of a lover. And too often I would sink below the surface. So armies disappear under sand. And there was her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/women-want-everything-of-a-lover-and-too-often-i-would-sink-below-the/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Many times when I stop working on a problem consciously, my mind continues to work on it below the surface. Often solutions come on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/many-times-when-i-stop-working-on-a-problem-consciously-my-mind/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [English life is seventh-eighths below the surface, like an iceberg, and living in England for a year constitutes merely an introduction to an introduction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/english-life-is-seventh-eighths-below-the-surface-like-an-iceberg-and/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Now imagine that you are going beneath the surface of the ocean. Below the surface all is calm, silent, and serene. As you visualize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/now-imagine-that-you-are-going-beneath-the-surface-of-the-ocean-below/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The more familiar people are with the ecosystem that lives below the surface - invisible until you're actually in the ocean - the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bowermaster/the-more-familiar-people-are-with-the-ecosystem-that-lives-below-the/) [Jon Bowermaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bowermaster/) > [Many fires burn below the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empedocles/many-fires-burn-below-the-surface/) [Empedocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empedocles/) > [Below the surface stream, shallow and light, Of what we say and feel below the stream, As light, of what we think we feel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/below-the-surface-stream-shallow-and-light-of-what-we-say-and-feel/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Vermont tradition is based on the idea that group life should leave each person as free as possible to arrange his own life. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/vermont-tradition-is-based-on-the-idea-that-group-life-should-leave/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [She was doing that thing some people do when they act nice and chipper and interested, while just below the surface they’re thinking really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/she-was-doing-that-thing-some-people-do-when-they-act-nice-and/) [Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/) [Browse all 48 Below the surface quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/below-the-surface/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As young people we want something to slow us down and keep us trapped in one place long enough to look below the surface of the world. That disaster is a car crash or a war. To make us sit still. It can be getting cancer or getting pregnant. 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