--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder…" description: "\"Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We can't bear these things as they are. We know ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg" --- # Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural… ![“Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We can't bear these things as they are. We know too much. So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise. This is how we survive the universe. This is the natural language of the species.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg) > “Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We can't bear these things as they are. We know too much. So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise. This is how we survive the universe. This is the natural language of the species.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that humanity represses existential truths, creating artificial coping mechanisms. **In simple terms:** Repression masks reality. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront uncomfortable truths. Themes existential repression survival Mood somber introspective Type literary critical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - public discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology culture Questions to Reflect On - What truths do we hide? - How can we balance survival with authenticity? A Different Perspective Such coping may hinder authentic living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-unnatural-4663121/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Lightning And Thunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning-and-thunder/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-unnatural-4976818/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Thunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thunder/) [Thunder Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thunder-unnatural-4976817/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Unnatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnatural/) [Unnatural Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnatural-lightning-4976819/) ## Related quotes > [“The fear of 'unnatural' women was high, as it was in the 1980s, as it is as I write this in 2016. Women's behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carina-chocano/the-fear-of-unnatural-women-was-high-as-it-was-in-the-1980s-as-it-is/) [Carina Chocano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carina-chocano/) > [Lightning and thunder need time, the light of the stars needs time, deeds need time, even after they are done, to be seen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lightning-and-thunder-need-time-the-light-of-the-stars-needs-time/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I stretched my arms towards the sky like blades of tall grass The sun beat between my shoulders like carnival drums I sat still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/i-stretched-my-arms-towards-the-sky-like-blades-of-tall-grass-the-sun/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [“...fear and courage are like lightning and thunder; they both sart out at the same time, but the fear travels faster and arrives sooner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-keyes/fear-and-courage-are-like-lightning-and-thunder-they-both-sart-out-at/) [Ralph Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-keyes/) > [“Lightning and thunder require time, the light of the stars requires time, deeds require time even after they are done, before they can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/lightning-and-thunder-require-time-the-light-of-the-stars-requires/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [This tremendous event is still on its way, still wandering; it has not yet reached the ears of men. Lightning and thunder require time;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/this-tremendous-event-is-still-on-its-way-still-wandering-it-has-not/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Once in a blue moon, everything will be right with the man in the sky, and when I start singing 'I Love a Rainy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rabbitt/once-in-a-blue-moon-everything-will-be-right-with-the-man-in-the-sky/) [Eddie Rabbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rabbitt/) > [“You're mine now, Harry thought at the walls of Diagon Alley, and all the shops and items, and all the shopkeepers and customers; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/you-re-mine-now-harry-thought-at-the-walls-of-diagon-alley-and-all/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Thought can never capture the movement of life, it is much too slow. It is like lightning and thunder. They occur simultaneously, but sound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/thought-can-never-capture-the-movement-of-life-it-is-much-too-slow-it/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) > [“But if Rowan was caught, if Dorian was caught … “I can’t—I can’t let you go—” “You can,” he said with little room for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/but-if-rowan-was-caught-if-dorian-was-caught-i-can-t-i-can-t-let-you/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Lightning crashed close, and the cabin shuddered beneath a defeaning roar of thunder. Raven swung around and paced to a chair. "Something's going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/lightning-crashed-close-and-the-cabin-shuddered-beneath-a-defeaning/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/another-secret-of-the-universe-sometimes-pain-was-like-a-storm-that/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [Many demons are in woods, in waters, in wildernesses, and in dark poolly places ready to hurt and prejudice people; some are also in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/many-demons-are-in-woods-in-waters-in-wildernesses-and-in-dark-poolly/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“I look at you And I want to build things Four walls A roof A room with a view I look at you And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/i-look-at-you-and-i-want-to-build-things-four-walls-a-roof-a-room/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Bears quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/) [George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) [Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We can't bear these things as they are. We know too much. So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise. This is how we survive the universe. This is the natural language of the species.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don DeLillo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder-are-unnatural-pain-death/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder-are-unnatural-pain-death/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/662/don-delillo-294_bears_fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder_613498.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We…” — Don DeLillo", "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": "Don DeLillo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder-are-unnatural-pain-death/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/fear-is-unnatural-lightning-and-thunder-are-unnatural-pain-death/#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 } } ] } ```