--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What can I expect from myself? My…" description: "\"What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their horrible acuity, and a profound awareness of feeling. A sharp mind that only destroys me, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/fernando-pessoa-177_awareness_what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensati_947668.jpg" --- # What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their… ![“What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their horrible acuity, and a profound awareness of feeling. A sharp mind that only destroys me, and an unusual capacity for dreaming to keep me entertained. A dead will and a reflection that cradles it, like a living child. From, The Book of…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/fernando-pessoa-177_awareness_what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensati_947668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/fernando-pessoa-177_awareness_what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensati_947668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/fernando-pessoa-177_awareness_what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensati_947668.jpg) > “What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their horrible acuity, and a profound awareness of feeling. A sharp mind that only destroys me, and an unusual capacity for dreaming to keep me entertained. A dead will and a reflection that cradles it, like a living child. From, The Book of Disquiet” [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. Self‑reflection reveals deep awareness, dreams, and inner conflict, highlighting both strength and frailty. **In simple terms:** Introspection uncovers inner complexities. Key Takeaway Explore inner life honestly. Themes self‑awareness conflict dreams Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts existential reflection psychological depth Questions to Reflect On - What inner conflict fuels your growth? - How do you balance dreaming with action? A Different Perspective Intense self‑scrutiny may lead to paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book of disquiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-of-disquiet/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) ## Related quotes > [“What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their horrible acuity, and a profound awareness of feeling. A sharp mind that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensation-in-all-their-horrible/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No other writer ever achieved such a direct transference of self to paper. The Book of Disquiet is the world’s strangest photograph, made out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-other-writer-ever-achieved-such-a-direct-transference-of-self-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [what has happened to us has happened to everyone or only us; if to everyone, then it's no novelty, and if only to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-has-happened-to-us-has-happened-to-everyone-or-only-us-if-to-2/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What can I expect from myself? My sensation in all their horrible acuity, and a profound awareness of feeling. A sharp mind that only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/what-can-i-expect-from-myself-my-sensation-in-all-their-horrible-3/) Hemantsmarty > [“With slight misconceptions of reality we fabricate our hopes and beliefs, and we live off crusts that we call cakes, like poor children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/with-slight-misconceptions-of-reality-we-fabricate-our-hopes-and/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“This little boy playing next to me is an intellectual mass of cells - better yet, he's a clockwork of subatomic movements, a strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/this-little-boy-playing-next-to-me-is-an-intellectual-mass-of-cells/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Art consists in making others feel what we feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/art-consists-in-making-others-feel-what-we-feel/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Look, there's no metaphysics on earth but chocolates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/look-there-s-no-metaphysics-on-earth-but-chocolates/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Pessoa invented The Book of Disquiet, which never existed, strictly speaking, and can never exist. What we have here isn’t a book but its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pessoa-invented-the-book-of-disquiet-which-never-existed-strictly/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [One or another man, liberated or cursed, suddenly sees-but even this man sees rarely-that all we are is what we aren't, that we fool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/one-or-another-man-liberated-or-cursed-suddenly-sees-but-even-this/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Freedom is the possibility of isolation. You are free if you can withdraw from people, not having to seek them out for the sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/freedom-is-the-possibility-of-isolation-you-are-free-if-you-can-2/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [My soul is impatient with itself, as with a bothersome child; its restlessness keeps growing and is forever the same. Everything interests me, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/my-soul-is-impatient-with-itself-as-with-a-bothersome-child-its/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“what has happened to us has happened to everyone or only us; if to everyone, then it's no novelty, and if only to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-has-happened-to-us-has-happened-to-everyone-or-only-us-if-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [There are metaphors more real than the people who walk in the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/there-are-metaphors-more-real-than-the-people-who-walk-in-the-street/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Should I be what I think? But I think about being so many things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/should-i-be-what-i-think-but-i-think-about-being-so-many-things/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## 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 Awareness quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. 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Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. 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