--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all under the same mental…" description: "\"“We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are. All that we call common sense an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/g-k-chesterton-224_life_we-are-all-under-the-same-mental-calamit_415780.jpg" --- # We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all… ![“We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are. All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for certain dead levels of our life we forget that we have forgotten. All that we call…” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/g-k-chesterton-224_life_we-are-all-under-the-same-mental-calamit_415780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/g-k-chesterton-224_life_we-are-all-under-the-same-mental-calamit_415780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/g-k-chesterton-224_life_we-are-all-under-the-same-mental-calamit_415780.jpg) > ““We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are. All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for certain dead levels of our life we forget that we have forgotten. All that we call spirit and art and ecstasy only means that for one awful instant we remember that we forget.”” [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People lose touch with their deeper identity, mistaking superficial rationality for true self‑knowledge. **In simple terms:** We forget who we really are beyond everyday logic. Key Takeaway Reconnect with inner self beyond surface rationality. Themes identity self‑knowledge spirituality modernity Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative work - mindfulness practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when you’re acting from true self versus habit? - What practices help you remember your deeper identity? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize mental states, ignoring individual variance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Every man has forgotten who he is. One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/every-man-has-forgotten-who-he-is-one-may-understand-the-cosmos-but-2/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [We have all forgotten what we really are. All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-all-forgotten-what-we-really-are-all-that-we-call-common/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We have all read in scientific books, and, indeed, in all romances, the story of the man who has forgotten his name. This man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/we-have-all-read-in-scientific-books-and-indeed-in-all-romances-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Choose to forget first before being forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/choose-to-forget-first-before-being-forgotten/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [To die completely, a person must not only forget but be forgotten, and he who is not forgotten is not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/to-die-completely-a-person-must-not-only-forget-but-be-forgotten-and/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Don't ever forget that there is no need to worry about forgetting things as you grow older because you'll soon forget what you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/don-t-ever-forget-that-there-is-no-need-to-worry-about-forgetting/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [As hard as it may seem to do you must forget those whom have forgotten you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle/as-hard-as-it-may-seem-to-do-you-must-forget-those-whom-have/) [Danielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle/) > [Women sometimes get so caught up in life... their marriage takes over their life, their relatives take over their life, and then they forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/women-sometimes-get-so-caught-up-in-life-their-marriage-takes-over/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [“His soul swayed in a vertigo of moral indecision. 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Remember me because I will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-weisman/forget-the-names-because-names-lie-but-remember-me-because-when-you/) Jordan Weisman > [For being human, we remember and forget. We stray and return, fall down and get up, and cling and let go, again and again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/for-being-human-we-remember-and-forget-we-stray-and-return-fall-down/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [9/11 is the day we all will remember and never forget the ones who died in the attack always in our hearts never forgotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/9-11-is-the-day-we-all-will-remember-and-never-forget-the-ones-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always remember to forget the things that made you sad... but never forget to remember the things that made you glad, always remember to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-to-forget-the-things-that-made-you-sad-but-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by G.K. Chesterton > [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More Common sense quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. 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