--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One can suffer a convulsion of one's…" description: "\"One can suffer a convulsion of one's entire nature, and, unless it makes some noise, no one notices. It's not just that we are incurious; we completely..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/elizabeth-bowen-1197_existence_one-can-suffer-a-convulsion-of-one-s-ent_2416074.jpg" --- # One can suffer a convulsion of one's entire nature, and… ![“One can suffer a convulsion of one's entire nature, and, unless it makes some noise, no one notices. It's not just that we are incurious; we completely lack any sense of each other's existences.” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/elizabeth-bowen-1197_existence_one-can-suffer-a-convulsion-of-one-s-ent_2416074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/elizabeth-bowen-1197_existence_one-can-suffer-a-convulsion-of-one-s-ent_2416074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/elizabeth-bowen-1197_existence_one-can-suffer-a-convulsion-of-one-s-ent_2416074.jpg) > “One can suffer a convulsion of one's entire nature, and, unless it makes some noise, no one notices. It's not just that we are incurious; we completely lack any sense of each other's existences.” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People ignore each other's inner struggles unless they manifest loudly, leading to a lack of empathy. **In simple terms:** If pain is silent, it goes unnoticed. Key Takeaway Listen beyond the surface. Themes empathy silence social isolation Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - family - community events Key Concepts existentialism psychology human connection Questions to Reflect On - How can you notice unseen pain? - What practices foster deeper awareness? A Different Perspective Silent suffering can be dismissed as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Convulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convulsion-1744160/) [Convulsion Entire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convulsion-entire-6099019/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Lack Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-sense-379791/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Noise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noise/) [Sense Existences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-existences-6099020/) [Suffer Convulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-convulsion-6099018/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [ \[A\]nd soon now we shall go out of the house and go into the convulsion of the world, out of history into history and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/a-nd-soon-now-we-shall-go-out-of-the-house-and-go-into-the-convulsion/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“When you see a stranger, your mouth start dancing like convulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-you-see-a-stranger-your-mouth-start-dancing-like-convulsion/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [We have been through this biennial convulsion four or five different times over the past 10 or 12 years, and now it appears that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-dirksen/we-have-been-through-this-biennial-convulsion-four-or-five-different/) [Everett Dirksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-dirksen/) > [There is some lack either of sense or of character in one who becomes involved in difficulties with the worthless or the vicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-is-some-lack-either-of-sense-or-of-character-in-one-who-becomes/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [“If your critics lack sense, you are steps ahead of them. If you have sense, you are miles ahead of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-your-critics-lack-sense-you-are-steps-ahead-of-them-if-you-have/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [If we don't have a sense of humor, we lack a sense of perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/if-we-don-t-have-a-sense-of-humor-we-lack-a-sense-of-perspective/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [“Life is hard, even more so for those who lack a sense of humor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-garces/life-is-hard-even-more-so-for-those-who-lack-a-sense-of-humor/) [A.J. Garces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-garces/) > [“Those who lack a sense of humor are destined to be life's hacked up hairballs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-garcia/those-who-lack-a-sense-of-humor-are-destined-to-be-life-s-hacked-up/) [S.A. Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-garcia/) > [Poverty is not only a lack of money, it's a lack of sense of meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bornstein/poverty-is-not-only-a-lack-of-money-it-s-a-lack-of-sense-of-meaning/) [David Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bornstein/) > [If our shallow, self-critical culture sometimes seems to lack a sense of the numinous or spiritual it's only in the same way a fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/if-our-shallow-self-critical-culture-sometimes-seems-to-lack-a-sense-2/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“I used to think every fool was out of his senses, but now I see that lack of sense is a man's normal state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-used-to-think-every-fool-was-out-of-his-senses-but-now-i-see-that/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The root of all difficulties is a lack of the sense of the Presence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmet-fox/the-root-of-all-difficulties-is-a-lack-of-the-sense-of-the-presence/) [Emmet Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmet-fox/) > [The lack of a sense of history is the damnation of the modern world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-lack-of-a-sense-of-history-is-the-damnation-of-the-modern-world/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The lack of a sense of history makes us really prey to manipulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-lack-of-a-sense-of-history-makes-us-really-prey-to-manipulation/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Language needs creativity and imagination to work, if not it will seem and sound stupid with its lack of sense and meaning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-loskov/language-needs-creativity-and-imagination-to-work-if-not-it-will-seem/) [Kimberly Loskov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-loskov/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/one-s-sentiments-call-them-that-one-s-fidelities-are-so-instinctive/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Only in a house where one has learnt to be lonely does one have this solicitude for things. One's relation to them, the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/only-in-a-house-where-one-has-learnt-to-be-lonely-does-one-have-this/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [To walk into history is to be free at once, to be at large among people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-walk-into-history-is-to-be-free-at-once-to-be-at-large-among-people/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [The wish to lead out one's lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one's self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/the-wish-to-lead-out-one-s-lover-must-be-a-tribal-feeling-the-wish-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Convention was our safeguard: could one have stronger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/convention-was-our-safeguard-could-one-have-stronger/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“First love, with its frantic haughty imagination, swings its object clear of the everyday, over the rut of living, making him all looks, silences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/first-love-with-its-frantic-haughty-imagination-swings-its-object/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [to leap is not only to leap, it is to hit the ground somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-leap-is-not-only-to-leap-it-is-to-hit-the-ground-somewhere/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/that-is-partly-why-women-marry-to-keep-up-the-fiction-of-being-in-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“But Miss Pym gave an impression, somehow, of having been attacked from within .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/but-miss-pym-gave-an-impression-somehow-of-having-been-attacked-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [rudeness to Mrs. Dosely was like dropping a pat of butter on to a hot plate - it slid and melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/rudeness-to-mrs-dosely-was-like-dropping-a-pat-of-butter-on-to-a-hot/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) [Explore all 275 Elizabeth Bowen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. 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