--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He has the feeling that merely by being…" description: "\"“He has the feeling that merely by being alive he is blocking his own way. From this sense of hindrance, in turn, he deduces the proof that he is alive..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/franz-kafka-214_alive_he-has-the-feeling-that-merely-by-being_1829532.jpg" --- # He has the feeling that merely by being alive he is… ![“He has the feeling that merely by being alive he is blocking his own way. From this sense of hindrance, in turn, he deduces the proof that he is alive.” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/franz-kafka-214_alive_he-has-the-feeling-that-merely-by-being_1829532.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/franz-kafka-214_alive_he-has-the-feeling-that-merely-by-being_1829532.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/franz-kafka-214_alive_he-has-the-feeling-that-merely-by-being_1829532.jpg) > ““He has the feeling that merely by being alive he is blocking his own way. From this sense of hindrance, in turn, he deduces the proof that he is alive.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence feels like an obstacle; self‑awareness of hindrance proves one is alive. **In simple terms:** Being alive can feel like a burden. Key Takeaway Accept life’s paradoxes and seek meaning beyond obstacles. Themes existentialism self‑awareness paradox Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts being obstacle perception Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose despite obstacles? - How can hindrance become growth? A Different Perspective May lead to nihilism if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Aphorisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorisms/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-merely-2262810/) [Hindrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hindrance/) [Proof Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-alive-726487/) [Self -awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness/) [Sense Hindrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-hindrance-2262809/) ## Related quotes > [“I always have the feeling we are merely fearfully trying to save room for God; I would rather speak of God at the center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/i-always-have-the-feeling-we-are-merely-fearfully-trying-to-save-room/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [It was all I had, all I've ever had, the only currency, the only proof that I was alive. Memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/it-was-all-i-had-all-i-ve-ever-had-the-only-currency-the-only-proof/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [It's good when food tastes good, it's kind of like proof you're alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-s-good-when-food-tastes-good-it-s-kind-of-like-proof-you-re-alive/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [These scars on my body, I'll never regret. Cause at one point they'll be proof I was alive when I was dead inside. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/these-scars-on-my-body-i-ll-never-regret-cause-at-one-point-they-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes in his arrogance he has more anxiety for the world than for himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sometimes-in-his-arrogance-he-has-more-anxiety-for-the-world-than-for/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these are helps instead of hindrances, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the fibre of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/trials-temptations-disappointments-all-these-are-helps-instead-of/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [The principal hindrance to the advancement of the kingdom of God is greed. It is the chief obstacle to heaven-sent revival. It seems that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-s-hawkins/the-principal-hindrance-to-the-advancement-of-the-kingdom-of-god-is/) [O. S. Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-s-hawkins/) > [When our mind works freely without any hindrance, and is at liberty to 'come' or to 'go', we attain Samadhi of Prajna, or liberation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huineng/when-our-mind-works-freely-without-any-hindrance-and-is-at-liberty-to/) [Huineng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huineng/) > [You should totally get implants," she said admiringly in the mirror. I shake my head. "I don't yet know what I'm going to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mclaughlin/you-should-totally-get-implants-she-said-admiringly-in-the-mirror-i/) [Emma McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mclaughlin/) > [This was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/this-was-life-ah-how-he-loved-it-civilization-held-nothing-like-this/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Whether I'm trying to figure out what the U.S. military is doing in Latin America or Africa, Afghanistan or Qatar, the response is remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-turse/whether-i-m-trying-to-figure-out-what-the-u-s-military-is-doing-in/) [Nick Turse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-turse/) > [Many of us have a mental conception of what a Christian should be, and the lives of the saints become a hindrance to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/many-of-us-have-a-mental-conception-of-what-a-christian-should-be-and/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Utilitarianism is a civilization of production and of use, a civilization of "things" and not of "persons," a civilization in which persons are used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/utilitarianism-is-a-civilization-of-production-and-of-use-a/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/i-must-learn-that-the-purpose-of-my-life-belongs-to-god-not-me-god-is/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He has the feeling that merely by being alive he is blocking his own way. 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