--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our deepest moments we say the most…" description: "\"In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.\" — Edna O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png" --- # In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things. ![“In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png) > “In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.” [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In moments of deep emotion, people often express themselves inadequately. **In simple terms:** Strong feelings lead to clumsy words. Key Takeaway Accept imperfect expression. Themes emotion communication vulnerability Mood introspective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts psychology language Questions to Reflect On - What prevents us from speaking fully? - How can we improve emotional articulation? A Different Perspective Words may fail to capture true depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deepest Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-moments-1606922/) [Inadequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate/) [Inadequate Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate-things-1606920/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moments Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-say-1606923/) [Say Inadequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-inadequate-1606921/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes, in the deepest moments, there are no words. There is only food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-choi/sometimes-in-the-deepest-moments-there-are-no-words-there-is-only-food/) [Roy Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-choi/) > [ For me, challenging myself with this type of endeavor \[ultramarathons\] brings the best out in me because even at the darkest, deepest moments when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-jurek/for-me-challenging-myself-with-this-type-of-endeavor-ultramarathons/) [Scott Jurek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-jurek/) > [“It is one of those moments where there is so much to say that there is nothing to say, no adequate words, anyway, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/it-is-one-of-those-moments-where-there-is-so-much-to-say-that-there/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/your-wisest-moments-will-be-those-when-you-say-yes-to-god/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [We are only beginning to learn what to say in a photograph. The world we live in is a succession of fleeting moments, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/we-are-only-beginning-to-learn-what-to-say-in-a-photograph-the-world/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [Why do we have to wait for special moments to say nice things or tell people we care about them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-milholland/why-do-we-have-to-wait-for-special-moments-to-say-nice-things-or-tell/) [R. K. Milholland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-milholland/) > [Investors, of course, can, by their own behavior make stock ownership highly risky. And many do. Active trading, attempts to "time" market movements, inadequate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investors-of-course-can-by-their-own-behavior-make-stock-ownership/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [I tell my mother I went to God in spite of my religious education. I feel that my religious education was inadequate, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-tell-my-mother-i-went-to-god-in-spite-of-my-religious-education-i/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [The state is in danger of falling into disrepute due to the evidence of its inadequate resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-state-is-in-danger-of-falling-into-disrepute-due-to-the-evidence/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [I became interested in photography when I was sharing a studio with Walker Evans, and found my own sketching was inadequate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-became-interested-in-photography-when-i-was-sharing-a-studio-with/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [The more I read about feeding times, sleep times and waking-up times, the more inadequate and miserable I felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-porter/the-more-i-read-about-feeding-times-sleep-times-and-waking-up-times/) [Gail Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-porter/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) ## More by Edna O'Brien > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [You have to be lonely to be a writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/you-have-to-be-lonely-to-be-a-writer/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/i-crossed-the-room-and-what-you-did-was-to-feel-my-hair-over-and-over/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [We hide the truer part of ourselves when we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/we-hide-the-truer-part-of-ourselves-when-we-love/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Movie people are possessed by demons, but a very low form of demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/movie-people-are-possessed-by-demons-but-a-very-low-form-of-demons/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ordinary-life-bypassed-me-but-i-also-bypassed-it-it-couldn-t-have/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [When something has been perfect, there is a tendency to try hard to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/when-something-has-been-perfect-there-is-a-tendency-to-try-hard-to/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) [Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More Inadequate quotes > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [The more I read about feeding times, sleep times and waking-up times, the more inadequate and miserable I felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-porter/the-more-i-read-about-feeding-times-sleep-times-and-waking-up-times/) [Gail Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-porter/) > [I became interested in photography when I was sharing a studio with Walker Evans, and found my own sketching was inadequate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-became-interested-in-photography-when-i-was-sharing-a-studio-with/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [The state is in danger of falling into disrepute due to the evidence of its inadequate resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-state-is-in-danger-of-falling-into-disrepute-due-to-the-evidence/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [I tell my mother I went to God in spite of my religious education. I feel that my religious education was inadequate, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-tell-my-mother-i-went-to-god-in-spite-of-my-religious-education-i/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Investors, of course, can, by their own behavior make stock ownership highly risky. And many do. Active trading, attempts to "time" market movements, inadequate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investors-of-course-can-by-their-own-behavior-make-stock-ownership/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [It's the strangest thing about being human: to know so much, to communicate so much, and yet always to fall so drastically short of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/it-s-the-strangest-thing-about-being-human-to-know-so-much-to/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. For he proves that in a matter at the same time as prosaic and holy, banal and regenerative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-religions-have-honored-the-beggar-for-he-proves-that-in-a-matter/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Meaning is a shaky edifice we build out of scraps, dogmas, childhood injuries, newspaper articles, chance remarks, old fillms, small victories, people hated, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/meaning-is-a-shaky-edifice-we-build-out-of-scraps-dogmas-childhood/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Private beneficence is totally inadequate to deal with the vast numbers of the city's disinherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/private-beneficence-is-totally-inadequate-to-deal-with-the-vast/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-we-are-liberated-from-our-own-fear-our-presence-automatically/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [It's strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/it-s-strange-that-words-are-so-inadequate-yet-like-the-asthmatic/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) [Browse all 391 Inadequate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edna O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inadequate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/edna-o-brien-2155_inadequate_in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-i_142564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.” — Edna O'Brien", "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": "Edna O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In our deepest moments we say...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/#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 } } ] } ```