--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and…" description: "\"I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what it means. All I know is I’m totally a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg" --- # I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep… ![“I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what it means. All I know is I’m totally alone. All alone in an unfamiliar place, like some solitary explorer who’s lost his compass and his map. Is this what it means to be free? I don’t…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg) > “I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what it means. All I know is I’m totally alone. All alone in an unfamiliar place, like some solitary explorer who’s lost his compass and his map. Is this what it means to be free? I don’t know, and I give up thinking about it.” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom can feel empty and isolating when one lacks direction or connection, turning solitude into confusion. **In simple terms:** Freedom feels lonely without purpose. Key Takeaway Seek purpose and connection to give meaning to freedom. Themes freedom loneliness search for meaning Mood introspective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - traveling alone - career change - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism identity purpose Questions to Reflect On - What gives your freedom meaning? - How can you find direction in solitude? A Different Perspective Freedom alone may not bring fulfillment without purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-alone/) [Compass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compass/) [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I'm all alone, but I'm not lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-all-alone-but-i-m-not-lonely/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I am nothing. I’m like someone who’s been thrown into the ocean at night, floating all alone. I reach out, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-am-nothing-i-m-like-someone-who-s-been-thrown-into-the-ocean-at/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The Bible does not provide a map for life - only a compass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bible-does-not-provide-a-map-for-life-only-a-compass/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that maps showing platform details would be useful to visitors, especially to chaperones of school groups, etc. Also useful would be either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-thomson/i-think-that-maps-showing-platform-details-would-be-useful-to/) [Robert James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-thomson/) > [History is a compass that you locate yourself on the map of human geography, politically, culturally, financially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/history-is-a-compass-that-you-locate-yourself-on-the-map-of-human/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > […Even the idea of a city never entered his mind. It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [If I had lady-spider legs, I would weave a sky where the stars lined up. Matresses would be tied down tight to their trucks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/if-i-had-lady-spider-legs-i-would-weave-a-sky-where-the-stars-lined/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Bisexuality means I am free and I am as likely to want to love a woman as I am likely to want to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/bisexuality-means-i-am-free-and-i-am-as-likely-to-want-to-love-a/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [Being a runner means you are now 'free' to win and lose and live life to its fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rodgers/being-a-runner-means-you-are-now-free-to-win-and-lose-and-live-life/) [Bill Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rodgers/) > [Christian freedom does not mean being free to do as we like; it means being free to do as we ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/christian-freedom-does-not-mean-being-free-to-do-as-we-like-it-means/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [Salvation is all grace, which means, free, gratis, for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/salvation-is-all-grace-which-means-free-gratis-for-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [True independence means being free from the domination of your own internal automatic behaviors, not doing what you feel like when the urge strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/true-independence-means-being-free-from-the-domination-of-your-own/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [The thing is, we are never free. Death always stops us from doing certain things and we can do nothing about it. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hqlinesme/the-thing-is-we-are-never-free-death-always-stops-us-from-doing/) HQLinesme > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More All alone quotes > [I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-stranded-all-alone-in-the-gas-station-of-love-and-i-have-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory. All alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days I was beautiful then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/memory-all-alone-in-the-moonlight-i-can-smile-at-the-old-days-i-was/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) > [You staying home all alone on New Year's Eve? Unthinkable. Take my advice the countdown should be shared with someone, or it's just another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-staying-home-all-alone-on-new-year-s-eve-unthinkable-take-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Prison Wearily, drearily, Half the day long, Flap the great banners High over the stone; Strangely and eerily Sounds the wind's song, Bending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/in-prison-wearily-drearily-half-the-day-long-flap-the-great-banners/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [Those struggling with life-threatening thoughts do not feel connected to others. They feel all alone- even alone in the midst of a crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-hunt/those-struggling-with-life-threatening-thoughts-do-not-feel-connected/) [June Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-hunt/) > [Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone? Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own? Who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antwone-fisher/who-will-cry-for-the-little-boy-lost-and-all-alone-who-will-cry-for/) [Antwone Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antwone-fisher/) > [There's much more. There's all that goes beyond – all ... that is Elsewhere – and all that goes back, and back, and back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/there-s-much-more-there-s-all-that-goes-beyond-all-that-is-elsewhere/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I crawled back into myself all alone, just delighted to observe that I was even more miserable than before, because I had brought a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-crawled-back-into-myself-all-alone-just-delighted-to-observe-that-i/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [His thumb went back and forth over the satin, as if he were rubbing her hip as he had when they’d been together, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/his-thumb-went-back-and-forth-over-the-satin-as-if-he-were-rubbing/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Doubt is a central factor all the time. There's always the doubt: What the hell am I doing out here in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-welliver/doubt-is-a-central-factor-all-the-time-there-s-always-the-doubt-what/) Neil Welliver > [The stories never said why she was wicked. It was enough to be an old woman, enough to be all alone, enough to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-stories-never-said-why-she-was-wicked-it-was-enough-to-be-an-old/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [And I have the others in me. Even when I’m far away from them, I am forced to live with them. Even when I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/and-i-have-the-others-in-me-even-when-i-m-far-away-from-them-i-am/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Me and my shadow Strolling down the avenue Oh, me and my shadow Not a soul to tell our troubles to And when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-rose/me-and-my-shadow-strolling-down-the-avenue-oh-me-and-my-shadow-not-a/) [Billy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-rose/) > [I think every family has that moment when the parents realize they need help and think, Oh my gosh. We cannot do this all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-every-family-has-that-moment-when-the-parents-realize-they/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-at-some-point-in-their-lives-wakes-up-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 214 All alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what it means. All I know is I’m totally alone. All alone in an unfamiliar place, like some solitary explorer who’s lost his compass and his map. Is this what it means to be free? I don’t know, and I give up thinking about it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/haruki-murakami-21_all-alone_i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-thin_557221.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand…” — Haruki Murakami", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’m free, I think. I shut...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```