--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the first time in longer than I can…" description: "\"For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel peaceful. Not happy. Not sad. Not anxious. Not horny. Just all the higher parts of my brain cl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chuck-palahniuk-37_anxious_for-the-first-time-in-longer-than-i-can_44610.jpg" --- # For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel… ![“For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel peaceful. Not happy. Not sad. Not anxious. Not horny. Just all the higher parts of my brain closing up shop. The cerebral cortex. The cerebellum. That's where my problem is. I'm now simplifying myself. Somewhere balanced in the perfect…” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chuck-palahniuk-37_anxious_for-the-first-time-in-longer-than-i-can_44610.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chuck-palahniuk-37_anxious_for-the-first-time-in-longer-than-i-can_44610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/chuck-palahniuk-37_anxious_for-the-first-time-in-longer-than-i-can_44610.jpg) > “For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel peaceful. Not happy. Not sad. Not anxious. Not horny. Just all the higher parts of my brain closing up shop. The cerebral cortex. The cerebellum. That's where my problem is. I'm now simplifying myself. Somewhere balanced in the perfect middle between happiness and sadness. Because sponges never have a bad day.” [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. A rare mental state of calm neutrality, beyond typical emotions, where the mind simplifies and finds balance. **In simple terms:** Calm neutrality Key Takeaway Balance through mental simplification Themes mindfulness emotional equilibrium self-awareness cognitive simplicity psychological balance Mood serene reflective detached Type personal insight philosophical observation When to use this quote - meditative practice - stress reduction - creative block - overthinking - post-traumatic growth Key Concepts cerebral cortex cerebellum neural activity emotional regulation Practical Applications - mindfulness training - psychotherapy - cognitive behavioral techniques Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to feel neither happy nor sad? - How can simplifying mental processes improve emotional health? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious/) [Bad day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-day/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness and sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-sadness/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peaceful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I think its better to do whatever is going to make you feel the most peaceful and happy. - Shoe Addicts Anonymous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-harbison/i-think-its-better-to-do-whatever-is-going-to-make-you-feel-the-most/) [Beth Harbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-harbison/) > [“That big glorious mountain. For one transitory moment, I think I may have actually seen it”. For one flash, the Mommy had seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/that-big-glorious-mountain-for-one-transitory-moment-i-think-i-may/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Because sponges never have a bad day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-sponges-never-have-a-bad-day/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“How to make life peaceful and happy? The answer is simple and easy: Just delete all negative and destructive people from your life always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-robin/how-to-make-life-peaceful-and-happy-the-answer-is-simple-and-easy/) [Lord Robin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-robin/) > [Well & a meaningful spent day brings peaceful & happy sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/well-a-meaningful-spent-day-brings-peaceful-happy-sleep/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“I took it for granted at the time but, things were peaceful...and I was happy ~ Clairabelle Keita”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-atkinson/i-took-it-for-granted-at-the-time-but-things-were-peaceful-and-i-was/) R.J. Atkinson > [If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-are-peaceful-if-we-are-happy-we-can-smile-and-everyone-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Libra dream: for the world to become a peaceful happy place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/libra-dream-for-the-world-to-become-a-peaceful-happy-place/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-in-our-daily-life-we-can-smile-if-we-can-be-peaceful-and-happy-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Support the type of thinking that leads you to feeling good, peaceful & happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-lokos/support-the-type-of-thinking-that-leads-you-to-feeling-good-peaceful/) [Allan Lokos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-lokos/) > [The feminine is the foundation on which a peaceful and happy world is to be raised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/the-feminine-is-the-foundation-on-which-a-peaceful-and-happy-world-is/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/if-we-are-peaceful-if-we-are-happy-we-can-smile-and-blossom-like-a/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-we-are-not-happy-if-we-are-not-peaceful-we-cannot-share-peace-and/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“When desire stops, there is no more fear. We are then truly free, peaceful, and happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/when-desire-stops-there-is-no-more-fear-we-are-then-truly-free/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [Compassion naturally creates a positive atmosphere, and as a result you feel peaceful and content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/compassion-naturally-creates-a-positive-atmosphere-and-as-a-result/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Anxious quotes > [Most people do surprisingly poorly when dealing with a relative who is hurting, depressed, or anxious - we get defensive and try to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/most-people-do-surprisingly-poorly-when-dealing-with-a-relative-who/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [According to Shakyamuni Buddha, it's normal for human beings to be anxious, because it's normal for human beings not to understand themselves. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reb-anderson/according-to-shakyamuni-buddha-it-s-normal-for-human-beings-to-be/) [Reb Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reb-anderson/) > [Be lamps unto yourselves. Be refuges unto yourselves. Take yourself no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/be-lamps-unto-yourselves-be-refuges-unto-yourselves-take-yourself-no/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Even speed, when we are anxious, seems like delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-speed-when-we-are-anxious-seems-like-delay/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [I'd like to be able to do complex math in my head. Any kind of adversity and I become very anxious, but if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-woods/i-d-like-to-be-able-to-do-complex-math-in-my-head-any-kind-of/) [Zach Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-woods/) > [There were times when depression, anxiety, whatever, would keep me from writing. I still get depressed and anxious, but I just don't let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-st-john/there-were-times-when-depression-anxiety-whatever-would-keep-me-from/) [David St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-st-john/) > [The millennials were raised in a cocoon, their anxious parents afraid to let them go out in the park to play. So should we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-millennials-were-raised-in-a-cocoon-their-anxious-parents-afraid/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I'm a very anxious, nervy kind of loser in many ways, and I get very stressed and a little tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-weeks/i-m-a-very-anxious-nervy-kind-of-loser-in-many-ways-and-i-get-very/) [Ed Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-weeks/) > [Dogs seek attention from you. But by paying them that attention when they want it, you're reinforcing the bad or hyperactive or anxious behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/dogs-seek-attention-from-you-but-by-paying-them-that-attention-when/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-anxious-to-be-the-loudest-voice-or-the-most-popular-but-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You simply can't be tentative in a startup. You have to go for it at every chance you get. And if the leader of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/you-simply-can-t-be-tentative-in-a-startup-you-have-to-go-for-it-at/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [I - it's simply not for me to evaluate an independent rating agency's processes. But I will say that there was reason to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-carney/i-it-s-simply-not-for-me-to-evaluate-an-independent-rating-agency-s/) [Jay Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-carney/) > [I don't understand why gay people are so anxious to get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/i-don-t-understand-why-gay-people-are-so-anxious-to-get-married/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) [Browse all 1,159 Anxious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel peaceful. Not happy. Not sad. Not anxious. Not horny. Just all the higher parts of my brain closing up shop. The cerebral cortex. The cerebellum. That's where my problem is. I'm now simplifying myself. Somewhere balanced in the perfect middle between happiness and sadness. 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