--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What i literally cannot describe is the…" description: "\"What i literally cannot describe is the hollowness in my lungs when i am out of her presence. It is as if i were dying from the want of her.\" — Jed Rub..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/jed-rubenfeld-24968_death_what-i-literally-cannot-describe-is-the_526478.png" --- # What i literally cannot describe is the hollowness in my… ![“What i literally cannot describe is the hollowness in my lungs when i am out of her presence. It is as if i were dying from the want of her.” quote by Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/jed-rubenfeld-24968_death_what-i-literally-cannot-describe-is-the_526478.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/jed-rubenfeld-24968_death_what-i-literally-cannot-describe-is-the_526478.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/jed-rubenfeld-24968_death_what-i-literally-cannot-describe-is-the_526478.png) > “What i literally cannot describe is the hollowness in my lungs when i am out of her presence. It is as if i were dying from the want of her.” [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absence of a beloved creates a physical emptiness, as if one is dying from longing. **In simple terms:** Missing a loved one feels like a physical void. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and process yearning. Themes loss longing emptiness love mortality Mood melancholic intense reflective Type emotional poetic When to use this quote - breakup - death of a relationship - separation anxiety - creative mourning Key Concepts attachment theory psychosomatic response grief Questions to Reflect On - How does longing shape your daily life? - What healthy outlets exist for deep yearning? A Different Perspective Physical metaphors may exaggerate emotional pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hollowness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollowness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [But how awful would that be? How terrible to live surrounded by the stark, sharp, hollowness of things that simply were enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/but-how-awful-would-that-be-how-terrible-to-live-surrounded-by-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [When the old way of seeing was displaced, a hollowness came into architecture. Our buildings show a constant effort to fill that void, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hale/when-the-old-way-of-seeing-was-displaced-a-hollowness-came-into/) Jonathan Hale > [Moralists love to discourse on the hollowness of success; about the hollowness of failure they are silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/moralists-love-to-discourse-on-the-hollowness-of-success-about-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Is there not a terrible hollowness, mockery, want, craving, in that existence which is given away to others, for want of something of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/is-there-not-a-terrible-hollowness-mockery-want-craving-in-that/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [We have lived long enough to experience the hollowness of earth and the rottenness of all carnal promises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/we-have-lived-long-enough-to-experience-the-hollowness-of-earth-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I see that children fill the existential hollowness many people feel; that when we have children, we know they will need us, and maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-see-that-children-fill-the-existential-hollowness-many-people-feel/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Like everyone he knew, he could discern the hollowness in people’s charm only when it was directed at someone other than himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/like-everyone-he-knew-he-could-discern-the-hollowness-in-people-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I think you can tell when you meet someone whether they read novels. There's some hollowness if they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hensher/i-think-you-can-tell-when-you-meet-someone-whether-they-read-novels/) [Philip Hensher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hensher/) > [There was something intrinsically sad about Shinjuku. A vacuum-packed hollowness that no quantity of neon could hide. Roppongi was the same, only there the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-courtenay-grimwood/there-was-something-intrinsically-sad-about-shinjuku-a-vacuum-packed/) [Jon Courtenay Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-courtenay-grimwood/) > [Are failed attempts to bring mysmile on the face, is the hollowness see time s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/are-failed-attempts-to-bring-mysmile-on-the-face-is-the-hollowness/) Mak\_786 > [Some of our loves and attachments are elemental and beyond our choosing, and for that very reason they come spiced with pain and regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/some-of-our-loves-and-attachments-are-elemental-and-beyond-our/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/no-work-or-love-will-flourish-out-of-guilt-fear-or-hollowness-of/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“He completely lacked any ardent interest that might have occupied his mind. His interior life was impoverished, had undergone a deterioration so severe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/he-completely-lacked-any-ardent-interest-that-might-have-occupied-his/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Except I think it feels more like an empty stomach than a broken heart. An aching hollowness that food can't cure. You know. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-laymon/except-i-think-it-feels-more-like-an-empty-stomach-than-a-broken/) [Richard Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-laymon/) > [I have often caught sight of myself, my spine humped over, defining my hollowness, my head too heavy for my body, swinging like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-howard/i-have-often-caught-sight-of-myself-my-spine-humped-over-defining-my/) [Maureen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-howard/) ## More by Jed Rubenfeld > [“Satisfying a savage instinct is incomparably more pleasurable than satisfying a civilized one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/satisfying-a-savage-instinct-is-incomparably-more-pleasurable-than/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [THERE IS NO mystery to happiness. Unhappy men are alike. Some wound they suffered long ago, some wish denied, some blow to pride, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/there-is-no-mystery-to-happiness-unhappy-men-are-alike-some-wound/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [Death releases the energy into air. If a true catastrophe is looming, the disturbance becomes such that a sensitive individual may become highly troubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/death-releases-the-energy-into-air-if-a-true-catastrophe-is-looming/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [Unhappiness is caused when we cannot let go of our memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/unhappiness-is-caused-when-we-cannot-let-go-of-our-memories/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“There is no mystery to happiness. Unhappy men are all alike. Some wound they suffered long ago, some wish denied, some blow to pride,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/there-is-no-mystery-to-happiness-unhappy-men-are-all-alike-some-wound/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“I know he is--sensitive--on some points, Detective, but you must bear in mind how hard it is for an honest man to do his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/i-know-he-is-sensitive-on-some-points-detective-but-you-must-bear-in/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“I am the deepest of unbelievers. Every neurosis is a religion to its owner and religions is the universal neurosis of mankind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/i-am-the-deepest-of-unbelievers-every-neurosis-is-a-religion-to-its/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“Wrong way to think about it. Don't try to figure it out all at once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/wrong-way-to-think-about-it-don-t-try-to-figure-it-out-all-at-once/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“For society, marriage is undoubtedly beneficial. But the burdens of civilized morality are too heavy for many to bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/for-society-marriage-is-undoubtedly-beneficial-but-the-burdens-of/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [There is a condition into which many young women fall. They attach themselves to violent men. They forgive any mistreatment. They think it love;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/there-is-a-condition-into-which-many-young-women-fall-they-attach/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [But there's the rub. The present can never deliver one thing: meaning. The way of happiness and meaning are not the same. To find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/but-there-s-the-rub-the-present-can-never-deliver-one-thing-meaning/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“No man can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/no-man-can-keep-a-secret-if-his-lips-are-silent-he-chatters-with-his/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [A woman's love for a man is half animal passion and half hate. The more a woman loves a man, the more she hates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/a-woman-s-love-for-a-man-is-half-animal-passion-and-half-hate-the/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“The most exquisite joy is a sting to the heart, and love -- love is a crisis of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/the-most-exquisite-joy-is-a-sting-to-the-heart-and-love-love-is-a/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [“On certain social occasions, otherwise dignified and serious men will begin behaving unconsciously like players on a stage, performing as they talk, acting as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/on-certain-social-occasions-otherwise-dignified-and-serious-men-will/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) [Explore all 22 Jed Rubenfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [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/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What i literally cannot describe is the hollowness in my lungs when i am out of her presence. 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