--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If, on thinking this, I look up to see if…" description: "\"If, on thinking this, I look up to see if reality can quench my thirst, I see inexpressive facades, inexpressive faces, inexpressive gestures. Stones, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/fernando-pessoa-177_body_if-on-thinking-this-i-look-up-to-see-if_1537163.jpg" --- # If, on thinking this, I look up to see if reality can… ![“If, on thinking this, I look up to see if reality can quench my thirst, I see inexpressive facades, inexpressive faces, inexpressive gestures. Stones, bodies, ideas - all dead. All movements are one great standstill. Nothing means anything to me, not because it's unfamiliar but because I don't…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/fernando-pessoa-177_body_if-on-thinking-this-i-look-up-to-see-if_1537163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/fernando-pessoa-177_body_if-on-thinking-this-i-look-up-to-see-if_1537163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/fernando-pessoa-177_body_if-on-thinking-this-i-look-up-to-see-if_1537163.jpg) > “If, on thinking this, I look up to see if reality can quench my thirst, I see inexpressive facades, inexpressive faces, inexpressive gestures. Stones, bodies, ideas - all dead. All movements are one great standstill. Nothing means anything to me, not because it's unfamiliar but because I don't know what it is. The world has slipped away. And in the bottom of my soul - as the only reality of this moment - there's an intense and invisible grief, a sadness like the sound of someone crying in a dark room.” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet feels detached from reality, perceiving life as static and meaningless, leading to deep, invisible grief. **In simple terms:** The poet feels disconnected and sad. Key Takeaway Explore ways to reconnect with meaning. Themes existentialism alienation grief Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - mental health counseling - philosophical reflection - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts nihilism subjective reality Questions to Reflect On - What small actions could restore a sense of meaning? - How can one transform grief into creative energy? A Different Perspective The perspective may be overly pessimistic, ignoring potential for change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-room/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Facade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facade/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Grief and sadness knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger than common joys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/grief-and-sadness-knits-two-hearts-in-closer-bonds-than-happiness/) [Alphonse De Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/) > [“An experience of collective pain does not deliver us from grief or sadness; it is a ministry of presence. These moments remind us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/an-experience-of-collective-pain-does-not-deliver-us-from-grief-or/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [In our culture I think most people think of grief as sadness, and that's certainly part of it, a large part of it, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-rapp/in-our-culture-i-think-most-people-think-of-grief-as-sadness-and-that/) [Anthony Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-rapp/) > [I had a hard time actually. It was an emotion that I couldn't relate to. I've never experienced grief and sadness but to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/january-jones/i-had-a-hard-time-actually-it-was-an-emotion-that-i-couldn-t-relate/) [January Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/january-jones/) > [I work grief and sadness out of my body when I dance, and I bring in joy and rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/i-work-grief-and-sadness-out-of-my-body-when-i-dance-and-i-bring-in/) [Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/) > [Will surely lead to grief and sadness of love, he can not ( not ) love the Blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/will-surely-lead-to-grief-and-sadness-of-love-he-can-not-not-love-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“It’s all over everywhere. I don’t know what I could call it. It’s like I can’t get enough outside it to call it anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-all-over-everywhere-i-don-t-know-what-i-could-call-it-it-s-like/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Away from the bright motion of the party, she carried her sadness like a dark stone clenched in her palm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/away-from-the-bright-motion-of-the-party-she-carried-her-sadness-like/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) > [You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness, Like resignation to the end, Always the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/you-can-get-addicted-to-a-certain-kind-of-sadness-like-resignation-to/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [I look at my life and wonder where I went wrong? No happiness just a life filled with sadness. Its like the world as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie/i-look-at-my-life-and-wonder-where-i-went-wrong-no-happiness-just-a/) [Melanie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie/) > [You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness. Like resignation to the end, always the end. So when we found that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/you-can-get-addicted-to-a-certain-kind-of-sadness-like-resignation-to-2/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [“I couldn't see him in the pitch of darkness, but I sensed him. He was out there communing. I could feel his sadness like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabian-black/i-couldn-t-see-him-in-the-pitch-of-darkness-but-i-sensed-him-he-was/) [Fabian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabian-black/) > [It was sad music. But it waved its sadness like a battle flag. It said the universe had done all it could, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-was-sad-music-but-it-waved-its-sadness-like-a-battle-flag-it-said/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“I remembered my pep talk to Esperanza a few months before, and understood just how ridiculous it was. There is no point in treating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-remembered-my-pep-talk-to-esperanza-a-few-months-before-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Sadness is like a drug, it takes you away from reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/sadness-is-like-a-drug-it-takes-you-away-from-reality/) Unkown ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. 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Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If, on thinking this, I look up to see if reality can quench my thirst, I see inexpressive facades, inexpressive faces, inexpressive gestures. Stones, bodies, ideas - all dead. All movements are one great standstill. Nothing means anything to me, not because it's unfamiliar but because I don't know what it is. The world has slipped away. 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