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Collapse Quote by Fernando Pessoa

“I’ve witnessed, incognito, the gradual collapse of my life, the slow foundering of all I wanted to be. I can say, with a truth that needs no flowers to show it’s dead, that there’s nothing I’ve wanted - and nothing in which I’ve placed, even for a moment, the dream of only that moment - that…” quote by Fernando Pessoa
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““I’ve witnessed, incognito, the gradual collapse of my life, the slow foundering of all I wanted to be. I can say, with a truth that needs no flowers to show it’s dead, that there’s nothing I’ve wanted - and nothing in which I’ve placed, even for a moment, the dream of only that moment - that hasn’t disintegrated below my windows like a clod of dirt that resembled stone until it fell from a flowerpot on a high balcony. It would even seem that Fate has always tried to make me love or want things just so that it could show me, on the very next day, that I didn’t have and could never have them.””

Fernando Pessoa

About This Quote

Source Poem: The Book of Disquiet, 1913

Life’s aspirations crumble, showing that desire often leads to inevitable loss and futility.

In simple terms: Desires fade, leaving emptiness.

Key Takeaway

Accept impermanence, let go of attachment.

Themes

existentialism loss desire fate

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

literary existential

When to use this quote

  • grief counseling
  • creative writing
  • philosophical reflection
  • mindfulness practice

Key Concepts

impermanence nihilism acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

  • What attachments cause you suffering?
  • Can loss lead to growth?
A Different Perspective

Not all loss is inevitable; some change can be positive.

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